Jack Thomas

Best known for his legendary duo posing session with Jack Lalanne,

Jack Thomas was photographed solo dozens of times by Russ Warner.

 

Jack Thomas and Jack Lalanne

This photo of Jack Thomas (left) and Jack Lalanne is part of a legendary photo shoot, the product of which Russ Warner refused to hand over or destroy when Jack Lalanne's TV career took off.

It is the onlh shot from that session that I have not previously posted.

 

1955 - Jack Thomas - Junior Title

I'm fudging here on both the title and the date.  Jack Thomas, famous for posing nude alongside 

Jack Lalanne, is widely referenced as a Junior Mr. America winner in the 1950s. The 

"Junior" designation was apparently only run for a few years, and the record keeping 

was spotty.  Mr. Thomas was in G-rated physique photos at age 16, so I'm 

guessing at 1955 as the title date.  The magazine cover above is from 1959. 

 Although the great bulk of his nudes are attributed to Russ Warner, 

I don't have a photographer for the one below.

 

Jack Thomas

This youthful looking photo of Jack Thomas looks like it was made early in his career.

 

Russ Warner

Jack Thomas was one of Russ Warner's best models, and this well posed seated photo is a great one that I have somehow failed to post until now.  For some reason, I keep looking at his hands.

 

Jack Thomas

I was delighted to find this picture of a very young looking Jack Thomas by Rip Searby, even though he has trunks on.  Thanks again to Bryan B. for both inspiring and contributing to today's series.

 

Jack

I've saved my favorite Russ Warner model, Jack Thomas, for last. 

 

Late 1950's, Part 1 - Five of our Favorite Physique Photographers

Today's double feature centers on the late 1950's with one or two possible shots from 1960.  

Part one has photos by five well known physique photographers, starting with this one 

of Jack Thomas by Russ Warner.  Jack was Young Mr. America of 1956.

 

Jack Thomas - More Side by Sides

Jack Thomas was a 21 year old U.S. Marine when he started posing for physique photos.  Although marketed as a competitive bodybuilder, I found only one record of him winning a prize, Junior Mr. America.  His photos seem to have appeared primarily in magazines pitched to gays.  Jack was photographed at least a dozen times nude with posing straps later drawn on for publication and distribution.  Knowing buyers would erase the posing straps from some versions to see the real deal.  Last June, I poste five side by side comparisons of these.  Today we see five more.

 

In the first of two studio photos in today's composite series,

we see Jack Thomas in seated version of the classic flex pose.

 

Is he hailing a cab from a rock outcropping?

 

I like the slightly quizzical Jack is giving the camera man in this one.  Despite being drawn in, what we can see of the posing strap looks realistically like a tight mesh type used often in the 1950's.

 

If he were wearing a kilt and not standing on a pile of rocks,

Jack Thomas might look like he was doing the Highland Fling.

 

Jack LaLanne and Jack Thomas took things to an extreme in this 1950s 

photo by Russ Warner.  Now that’s just showing off!

Thanks once again to LarryK for another great guest series.

 

I recently posted another picture from what had to be a memorable 

photo shoot where Jack Thompson posed for Russ Warner.

Jack Thomas, Drawn in and Natural

 Today I'm showing some side by side composites of Jack Thomas with and without drawn-in posing straps.  It was illegal at the time these were made to show frontal nudity, but some brave photographers made them anyway and penciled in posing straps that knowing buyers could erase or rub off.  Sometimes this worked, and sometimes they got arrested.  While many attribute all of Jack's nude photos to Russ Warner, I obtained these without any photographer being listed.

The fake posing strap in this set actually looks quite realistic.

Jack Thomas strikes a classic stage pose from competitive bodybuilding.

I see this as a possible clue that his unattributed photos could be by Russ Warner,

a photographer who specialized in bodybuilders and was one himself for a time.

The unaltered version of this photo of Jack Thomas looks a bit "washed out,"

and I'm not sure if that is due to how it was developed or due to deterioration over time.

Jack looks quite relaxed here, especially given 

that he's propped up on a rough slab of rock.