Bill Melby Day

Today is Bill Melby day, and we will see five photos by Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild, four by Bruce of Los Angeles, and one by an unknown.  We start with the only indoor shot 

of the day, and it is, perhaps surprisingly. by Mr. Whitman of WPG.

 

Bruce I

Our first photo of the day by Bruce of LA shows off Bill Melby's derriere on a beach.

 

WPG II

The pose for this Don Whitman photo of Bill Melby looks like it was adapted from his wrestling career.  That would make sense because Mr. Melby had stopped removing his chest hair 

when he transitioned from competitive bodybuilding to professional wrestling.

 

Bruce II

This woodland shot by Bruce of LA is one that I only recently acquired.

 

WPG III

Our only color image of the day is a classic Western Photography Guild location and pose.

 

Locker Room

This photo is said to have been made in the locker room 

of a wrestling venue where Bill Melby performed.

 

Bruce III

Initially, I had not photographer attribution for this beach photo of Mr. Melby,

but I subesqently saw some convincing signs that it is by Bruce of LA.

 

WPG IV

Don Whitman used what I call the "playing the castanets" pose for this one.

 

Bruce IV

I posted this Bruce of LA photo of Bill Melby over five years ago,

but I'm pretty sure you viewers won't mind a repeat.

 

WPG V

Closing the Bill Melby series with another amazing photo 

by Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild.

 

Bill Melby

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I never get tired of looking at Bill Melby.

 

Bill Melby

We get a great smile from Bill Melby in a Western Photography Guild photo by Don Whitman.

 

Bill Melby and Billy Darnell

Bill Melby was a competitive bodybuilder and physique model before he took up wrestling 

in the 1950s.  I have posted his excellent physique photos on numerous occasions, as well 

as some solo wrestling promo photos.  This is the first time that I've shown him with 

his tag team partner, Billy Darnell, and their impressive championship trophy.

 

Bill

I wish I knew who took this excellently lighted photo of Bill Melby.

 

Bill Melby Day

Bill Melby has appeared here on the blog as recently as a few weeks ago, and I've decided he needs his own series.  Today's posts are roughly in chronological order.  The early pictures are by Bruce of LA and show Bill during his successful days as a competitive bodybuilder.  Sadly, he seems to have removed his chest hair like a lot of his peers did, but it will show up later.  Mr. Melby grew up in the Salt Lake City area, having attended nearby Granite High School, and several of Bruce's photos (including this one) look like they were made at Great Salt Lake.  That leaves me wondering if Bruce made these during the memorable trip to Salt Lake City in which he photographed Mike Sill, Walt Needham, Dennis Christenson, and Reed Phippen.  Bill was already competing at the Mr. America level by that time, so he may not have entered the Mr. Utah competition that the others did.  The above is one of only two known frontal nude shots of this amazing man.

 

Odd strap?

I can't tell if that's a jockstrap with the side pieces tucked away or some kind of odd posing strap,

but this Bruce of LA photo's hint of fur on the derriere might please some of you.  While it might seem strange that Bill Melby got rid of his chest hair, but kept some on his behind, remember that he was a competitive bodybuilder at the time, and didn't normally display his bum.

 

Bruce shots in trunks

Bill Melby is quite attractive even with pants on.  I made this composite of three Bruce of LA 

G-rated shots, one of which shows Bill on the cover of Bruce's in-house magazine.  Although

never as popular as Bob Mizer's Physique Pictorial, The Male Figure had a substantial

 following and tended somewhat more toward the artistic end of the beefcake genre.

 

Competition stance

This pose should remove any doubt that this Bruce of LA 

photo of Bill Melby was done during his bodybuilder days.

 

I've previously posted this Bruce of LA beach photo of Bill Melby, but I think it is definitely worth a second look.  There seems to be quite a bit of debris about.  Great Salt Lake?

 

Unattributed, but not really

I originally had no attribution for this photo of Bill Melby, but the table underfoot 

resembles one used in a WPG photo that appears later in today's series.  Well, I 

accidentally posted it early on November 5, and viewer B.B. kindly confirmed that.  

So if you think you might have seen this one before, now you know why.