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Saturday, November 19, 2022

Brian


Brian Idol made the rounds of the great LA physique photographers, but this particular image 
has no photographer listed, despite having appeared on several well curated websites.

 

26 comments:

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    1. That looks like a Pat Milo Photo to me. But Brian Looks older here in this Photo. I read that by 1972 Bob Mizer was complaining that Brian "was just a shadow of the Athlete he had been".

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    2. It does look like Milo's work, and yes, Mr. Idol sort of let himself go in the 70s. At some point I believe he returned to work in the logging industry. Maybe that helped him get in shape.

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    3. Do you know what year Brain ended his Modeling (nude) career? I read that Bob Mizer was saying that he could not understand why Brian was popular by 1972.

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    4. Sorry, but I don't know. So little of his work is dated, and we can't go by publishing dates because older photos were often used.

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  2. I have seen 2 or 3 Photos of Brian Idol taken when he became a Logger and had left nude physique modeling. They were taken 1975-1978 I recall and in one Brian is shirtless. When I find them I will send to you. I read these sites all the time and yours has been a favorite. I like how you give extra information about the Models and Photographers which sets your site apart and above and beyond to me,!!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, and yes, please do send the photos when you find them.

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    2. Will do. When I first saw them I did not realize Brian was as popular as he seems to be now. According to GEVI he was born in Minnesota or Idaho. The year of his birth was 1949. He made films for AMG, Bruce of LA, Wyngate & Bevins and KRIS studio. The KRIS film "The Love Song" was released in 1970 but it was filmed and copyrighted in 1965. So GEVI confirms Brian was modeling nude and doing nude films before he was 18. Brian was Lance Engel for Franklin Studio and Lance Ingram for Malibu Models. If GEVI is correct Brian would be 73 years old today if he is still with us.
      I wanted to ask about Brian's small loop earring that he wears in several photos? Wasn't the Right Ear the Gay Ear in the 1970s.? It looks like Brian has the earring in his right Ear? Do you know what that was about? It seems like for Brian to do that he would have to admit that he was Gay. Or do you think the Earring was to help him hustle Guys not a declaration of his sexuality?

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    3. So many of these images have been flipped over the decades, that we probably shouldn't assume the right or left thing to be meaningful. In my research I've found that some of the original photographers and/or publishers did it for aesthetic or other reasons. And then along came digital imaging, and anybody with a computer and some cheap photo software could do it, too. Of course, Brian may well have used it as a signal to indicate he was available to gays. I don't think we'll ever know unless someone tracks him down and interviews him. He was indeed born in Minnesota, and the last trace I could find of him was in Idaho in the early 2000s.

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    4. I would love to read about a vintage pre-1975 male model that agreed to an interview in the last ten years. I would have liked to talk to John Adams for example. They will soon all be gone and many are gone already.

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  3. Mr. Idol never disappoints. I'd love to see his mid/late '70s photos if you consider them appropriate for the blog. I'd be intrigued to read about Mr. Idol's modelling (and hustling?) career,, preferably in his own words, but doubt that this will ever happen..

    Peter

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    1. I read about 12 different Vintage Male Physique Sites every day for the past 2 years. As I recall the three photos I saw of Brian Idol the Logger were by an unknown Photographer. Somehow and this is a guess on my part the photos made it back to a Vintage Male physique site. So the Photographer maybe knew who Brian was and Brian did not know he knew? They were good photos not professional but clearly Brian was just working at his job not modeling. If you think about it some of these models must have been recognized at places after the were done modeling. I assume that is exactly what happened with these 3 photos I am looking to find.!

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    2. If you click on the "Whatever happened to . . . " label near the bottom of the list on the right hand side of this page, you'll see what I've been able to glean about some of these models' later lives. They run the gamut from died an early death to went on to successful professional careers to faded into obscurity. A few have even contacted me.

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    3. Peter, I will certainly post the later photos if and when I get them.

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    4. Do you have those Brian latest photos? I really want to see them!

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    5. I haven't been able to locate the ones Peter was referring to.

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  4. A lot on the internet on Brian Idol, he was from Minnesota and made his way to that La-La Land that is Los Angeles. Hustled and posed his way around town
    and became somewhat of a legend in the 1960s. All the other guys that came after him with 'idol' in their name owe him a debt. Hope he's doing well after all these years, he deserves it.
    - Rj/IE

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  5. I have this photograph & several other with the same background labelled as being by Bruce of LA. Whether this is correct I've no idea.

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    1. I also thought of both Bruce and Milo when I saw this, so it could well be by Bruce.

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  6. Hi! I’d really like to know… there is any information of Brian Idol later life? Is he still alive? I have one picture which is suposed to be him when he finished school, I’d be pleased to share it with you. Congratulations for your amazing work!

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    1. All I have are some indications that he worked in the lumber business. Thanks for the compliment!

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  7. Hello, I’d like to share with you some information I’ve found, maybe you know about it and can help me to know whether it is or not accurate.

    Brian is still alive. He left his model career around 1975. He had family, a family that had misfortunes. Now he is divorced.

    Brian faced difficult times since he left school until the early 2000s, when he managed to somewhat stabilize his situation.

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    1. Your comment has more detail on his later life than I previously had. All I really knew was that he lived in some towns where the only industry was lumber, hence a pretty safe assumption that he worked in that industry. Thanks for writing!

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  8. Thanks for your answer Jerry, may I share the info I have with you the information I think I have? I’d like to know your opinion, but I don’t want to share his personal information here, as it may be disgusting to the real Brian. Thanks

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  9. I mean, do you have an e-mail to write to you with my possible Brian information?

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    1. I understand and respect that completely, and yes, you can use the contact form at upper right to reach me privately. It is completely secure, and no one but me can see either the message or the return address.

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