Dick Falcon (1909-2005) was one of those bodybuilders who was comfortable on either side of the camera. A self-described sickly child, he took up weight lifting about 1930 and he developed a powerful figure on his small (5'2", 1.58m) frame. Falcon took up photography in the mid-1930's, and his photos of bodybuilders appeared in magazines, while his male nudes were privately circulated. Interestingly, Falcon later became part owner of the famous Sunshine Beach nudist (naturist) resort in Florida along with fellow physique photographer Walter Kundzicz of Champion Studio. So both of today's sets will feature photos of and by Dick Falcon, and we start with this nude self portrait.
So, was the infamous Falcon Studios in his honor, or his?
ReplyDeleteGood question! Apparently not the same Falcon. Here is the Wikipedia entry for the porn film company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Entertainment
DeleteWell, that's kind of too bad, isn't it? It may've been a nice remembrance of a man who helped bring male nudes to some sense of acceptance.
DeleteJudging from what we see here, he overcame his sickliness.
ReplyDeleteSo it would seem.
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