The Artistry of Bruce of LA

For our quarterly Bruce of LA feature, we will be looking at some 

of Bruce Bellas' more artistic efforts, starting with Dick Dene and a rope.

 

Mr. Dene

Here's one of Bruce's shots of Dick Dene that I haven't posted before.

 

Dick Dene

Bruce of LA photographed Dick Dene in cowboy gear for one of the best and most authentic 

Western themed photo sets in my collection.  I won't complain a bit about this one, though.

 

Dick Dene

Here's a color shot from Dick Dene's memorable cowboy photo shoot with Bruce.

 

Dick Dene

As many of you know, I have a sharp disdain for cowboy photos lacking at least some level of authenticity.  Chuck Renslow of Kris was a great photographer, but his cowboy themed work was nothing less than ridiculous, featuring BB guns, toy store hats, and a Shetland pony.  Bruce of LA generally did much better, and our last favorite model is one of his shots of Dick Dene.  Mr. Dene might not have been a real cowboy, but he certainly knew how to look like one.

 

Dick Dene

Dick Dene was one of the more convincing models to portray cowboys,

as can easily be seen in this photo by Bruce of LA.

 

Cover

 

Jerry's Likes, Part 1 - Physique Models

A while back, I did an entire series on a model (Robert Rex) and confessed at the end that I don't really like his looks.  Well, that provoked a number of inquiries as to just what I do like.  All I can say is, "Watch out what you ask for."  Here's a six part series on my likes, starting with a few physique models, the backbone of the blog.  This is the great Dick Dene by Bruce of LA.

 

Dick Dene by Request

I had an anonymous request a few weeks ago for a series on Dick Dene, and the only question that occurred to me was why I hadn't thought of it myself.  He signed on with Bruce of LA in 1961, and appears to have had about four sessions with him between then and 1965 when he did a short posing strap movie called "Cowboy Washup."  Some stills from that film appeared the same year in Manual magazine.  We start today's series with Dick on his horse, as mentioned in the request.  From what I've pieced together, it seems that Bruce took some frontal nudes of Dick in cowboy gear that weren't part of either the movie or the magazine piece, but were privately distributed or saved for later.

 

Bench shot

Here we see Mr. Dene trying to look demure in a classic pinup pose.

 

Odd Cowboy

This is the "oddball" cowboy photo of Dick Dene by Bruce as it was made indoors.

The hat looks the same, but we don't get a look at the boots.

 

Wheel

Although the wagon wheel certainly gives a western feel to the photo,

I don't think this was part of the cowboy series.  And why is he standing

almost on tiptoes?  He certainly would have been tall enough without it.

 

Ranchito

Bruce Bellas, aka Bruce of LA, owned a "ranchito" in the hills outside of LA where he could relax and do some outdoor photo shoots.  It is thought that Dick Dene's cowboy series was done there.

 

Color

Mr. Dene doesn't look as hairy in this color photo as he does in most of his others.

I'm really not complaining, though, as it is quite good.

 

A lot to like here

What else can I say?  This picture simply has it all.

 

Light and Shadow

Bruce of LA had remarkable studio lighting skills that are well used in this photo of Dick Dene.

 

Grub

In the last of four shots from his memorable cowboy series for Bruce,

we see Dick Dene rustling up some grub.  I'm sure he was good at stirring a pot.

 

A little pomp?

I don't know if it was the angle of approach or what, but Dick 

seems to have a mini-pompadour in this posing strap photo.