Loyal blog follower and Italian-American, Mike P., suggested I do a feature on another
Italian-American, Zaro Rossi, 1934-2005. After serving in the U.S. Air Force during
the Korean War, Zaro returned to his home in the Los Angeles area and took up bodybuilding.
It wasn't long before he came to the attention of at least two important figures in physique
photography, George Quaintance and Dave Martin. Zaro shuttled for a time between L.A.
and Phoenix where Quaintance had relocated before marrying and working several years managing fitness centers in the South Central USA. He eventually settled back in Arizona and
moved his parents there. We begin the series with this photo by Dave Martin.
Zaro Rossi is a truly beautiful man. Thank you Jerry for the series and Mike P for the suggestion.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Phil! This one was fun to do, and I actually learned some interesting facts about this great model and the artist, George Quaintance.
DeleteZaro was named for the town in Italy where his parents fell in love. Martin noted this on one of his famous notecards for Zaro. I never found a Zaro in Italy. I wonder if Zaro was named for Catanzaro Italy a beautiful town and Capitol of the Calabria region.!!
DeleteZaro Rossi has for obvious reasons enjoyed a perennial popularity and his is also one of the "faces" I remember from the past. That is perhaps down to his very harmonious proportions which were mid-way between those of the bodybuilder and the erotic fitness model at a point when the two were gradually parting company. I was surprised to learn that he was in fact quite a short man, which is testament to his photographers' talent. He was also the first nude model I learnt was in fact straight and married, which came as a great surprise to the younger me.
ReplyDeleteI like your description of the "balance" Zaro reached with his development. I had no idea that he had been married until rather late in the research for this series, but I wasn't shocked. Apparently being hetero didn't keep him from participating in a party at Quaintance's house so wild that he and others broke in and retrieved literally incriminating photos after the artist died.
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