Clark

My source didn't name most of Dean's models, but this is Clark Wade . . . 

one of those names that would work either way.

 

Bamboo

This photo was likely made in Hawaii, and I have the same bamboo in my gardens.

 

Boxing, Part 1 - Nudes

Sunday's double feature is all about boxing, imagined and real.  We start with what I believe 

to be a pair from an AMG movie or photo story set.  Quite a bit of contrast here, eh?

 

AMG again

All I have on this guy in a sailor cap is that the photo is by AMG.

 

Trio for Albert

Boxers John Conteh, Bunny Johnson and their manager George Francis

take the plunge into Highgate Pond, Hampstead Heath in 1973.

I find it so cute that they are holding hands, don't y'all?

 

Puzzled

I can't tell if this one is amateur, some obscure physique model, or photoshopped.

The gloves seem ridiculously oversized.

 

Mike . . . twice

Finishing the nude half of our boxers double feature with a great special effects

 photo by Douglas of Detroit of Mike Dubel boxing with himself.

 

Intermission . . . photoshopped

I

 

Here we have an example of someone who obviously had far too much time on their hands.  

The photo at left is the AMG original of Don Hawksley.  At right the photoshopped version.

I deal with this sort of crap regularly and still get fooled.  This one was easy, however.

Boxing, Part 2 - Hairy in the 20th Century

Part two of our double feature showcases some hairy 20th Century

 boxers, and we start with the great Rocky Marciano.

 

Bill

"I'm not a boxer, but I played one once in a B movie."  This is actor Bill Williams, 

husband of Barbara Hale who played Perry Mason's secretary Della Street.  A rare happy 

Hollywood marriage, they lasted 46 years until Bill died of cancer in 1992.

 

Joe and Tony

You couldn't ask for more contrast than this matchup between Joe Louis 

and Tony Galento.  The footwear is interesting, too.  Joe had spiffy

 street shoes and Tony seems to be wearing house slippers.

 

Ingemar

I never get tired of looking at Ingemar Johansson.

 

Unknown, to me at least

This Marine (or former Marine) looks a bit battered, 

but still appealing.  I wish I knew his name.

 

Kovert of Hollywood

Doing another Kovert of Hollywood series today, starting with this impressive photo of David DeBorges.  The light, the pose, and the oil combing to create something sculptural.

 

Leonard

Fred Kovert and Leonard Chambers were both tragic figures of the post-war physique photography world.  Although he also worked for  Bruce and AMG, I think his best work was with Kovert.

 

Andy

In my multiple postings of photos of Andy Kozak,

I somehow managed to miss this one by Kovert.

 

Don

A heavily oiled Don Silvas looks like he's either about to shake his fists at the gods or yawn.

 

Tom

Tom Mathews did quite a few photos for Kovert of Hollywood, both solo and in tandem with other models.  This one shows off his somewhat hairy chest and muscles.

 

Early 20th Century, Part 1 - Photos

Our Friday double feature is based on early 20th Century works.  This guy's hair style 

fits the period, but the rest of the photo makes me wonder if it's not earlier.

 

Samson

Larry K. sent me this 1904 photo by Carl Rau called "Samson."

Thanks, Larry!  Check out his blog at:  https://unashamedmale.blogspot.com/

 

No clue

I have no clue what this is about, but I like it.

 

Muscles

I think the whole point here is to show off the muscles,

but most of you will be looking at something else.

 

Possible Galdi

I'm not certain, but I think this is by von Pluschow's lover and disciple, Vincenzo Galdi.

 

Early 20th Century, Part 2 - Art

We start the art section of our early 20th C. double feature with 

Albert Männchen's 1900 self portrait.

 

1919

This image of a well built middle aged athlete is dated 1919.  Or does the goatee just make him

 look middle aged?  My first boss after graduate school in 1975 threatened to fire me if I 

shaved off my beard, saying, "You probably would look 11 years old without it!"

 

Holiday Card

Hard as it may be to believe, this is a Christmas card said to symbolize the German POWs who were still being held after the end of World War I.  While symbolically powerful, the prison bars are a bit over the top seeing as how they were rarely, if ever, used in Allied prison camps.

 

1921 Quartet

François-Barraud painted "The Musicians, the Barraud Brothers" in 1921, and yes, 

one of them is indeed the artist.  Now I have to ask, "Do small ones run in families?"

 

Throwback

This unnamed work is dated 1923, and it seems a throwback to the 1880s when Jacques Lalaing was using similar photographs as studies for his sculptures.  Also, it leaves me wondering how an art auction site could know the year but the name of neither the painting nor the artist.

 

Bruno Reprise

I've had a request for a follow-up series featuring classic Colt Studios model Bruno.  This guy became iconic at one point, with one commentator remarking about how frequently his armpits were shown by Jim French.  All I can say to that is,  "And this is bad because . . .?"  Oh, one more thing.  If anyone has any derriere shots of this guy please contact me.  You will be lavishly praised and credited.

 

Cowboy Bruno

Bruno's chest thatch doesn't look as thick as usual in this cowboy shot.

 

Is that Toby?

I think the guy with Bruno here is probably fellow Colt model Toby.

The two did some memorable work together.

 

Director's chair

Although it doesn't appear to have been shot on a movie set, this photo 

of Bruno in a director's chair likely alludes to his movie career.

 

Mr. Colt

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Whatever happened to Paul Ferguson?

The past "whatever happened to" series that I've done have tended to focus on models who 

went on to be photographers, film makers, artists, fire fighters, and other respectable sorts.  

Well, given the background of some of these guys, it should come as no surprise that some s

tories didn't end well.  Today we'll look at Paul Ferguson, a man who modeled

 for Kris in 1964 at age 18 and then went on to . . . well other endeavors.

The photo above is by Kris but was published in AMG's Physique Pictorial.

 

Half Dressed

Chuck Renslow photographed quite a few of his models in half dressed mode,

and Paul Ferguson turned out to be no exception.

 

Derriere

Chuck Renslow of Kris Studio told Bob Mizer of AMG that Paul Ferguson had "a fine ass."

And here it is as he photographed it.

 

Jockstrap pushup

Although the picture quality isn't great, you jockstrap fans may like this one.

 

Shower again

I made this composite of two Kris photos of Paul Ferguson in the shower.

He looks a bit sullen in the right hand shot.  Four years later he was in LA and infamous.

 

Ramon Novarro Murdered

Paul Ferguson was joined by his younger brother Tommy came in Los Angeles in 1968, and the two turned to prostitution, sometimes through a "massage" callout agency that silent movie star Ramon Novarro used.  Another hustler at the agency told Paul that Mr. Novarro kept at least $5000 in cash in the house and handed over his phone number.  A call was made, and a threesome was set up.  The victim even ordered the brothers' favorite brand of cigarettes for the occasion.  The two demanded money, and proceeded to beat, torture, and eventually strangle Mr. Novarro when none was produced.  Interestingly, Paul was married for the third time at 22, and Tom was involved with a woman whose testimony would help convict the pair.  The police traced the murder to the Fergusons because Tommy had called an old girlfriend in Illinois for 48 minutes while Paul was beating Ramon.  Not bright.

 

Mug shots

Well, the Ferguson brothers got the fame, but not the fortune, they sought in California when these mug shots appeared in the LA papers.  Their attorney, realizing he had a hopeless case, tried to blame the victim, calling Ramon Novarro "a queer" in court and implying that the boys were only defending themselves from his advances.  Yeah, right.  Oh, and then he put them on the witness stand.

 

Painting testimonial pictures, oh, oh, oh, oh . . .

The Ferguson brothers looked pretty clean cut in court, as above, but they weren't too bright.  Each tried to blame the other, but managed to incriminate himself  in the process.  Their mother had Tommy convinced at one point to take the blame since as a juvenile, he could not be given a death sentence.  Tommy botched that strategy, however, and both were convicted and given life sentences.

 

San Quentin and beyond

Paul Ferguson claimed to have taught himself to read and write in his chaotic childhood home, 

and he did apparently have some success at writing, mainly while in prison when he had a lot of 

time on his hands.  He won an award while in San Quentin (above) and managed to publish a few 

short pieces afterward.  He and Tommy were paroled in 1976, far too soon one would think.  Both married, and both divorced.  Tommy was imprisoned two more times before fatally slashing his

 own throat in a motel room in 2005.  Paul ran several businesses including a rodeo, a 

steeplejack company, and a restaurant before landing back in prison himself.

 

In prison again, for life as it turned out

Paul Ferguson went back to prison in Missouri for raping a woman in 1989 with a term of 60 years.  

The undated photo above was made during an interview for a piece on the Novarro murder.  

Ferguson died in prison of natural causes in 2018 at age 70.  He continued to make excuses

and to shift the blame for the murder until the very end, even getting on a prison computer

in 2011 and claiming on the old IMDb forum that it was homicide and not a murder.

 

African-American Models Across the USA

Today I am saluting African-American models who worked all across the USA by featuring some photos of them by some men you'll recognize as among the best in the business.  We'll start our tour in the middle of the continent in Denver with Ronnie Moore as photographed by the great Don Whitman of the Western Photography Guild.

 

Bill

We move on to Los Angeles for Bob Mizer of AMG's photo of championship 

bodybuilder Bill Grant.  He should not be confused with the white guy of the same 

name who was also photographed by Bob Mizer.  They are both amazing men to look at.

 

Claude and Gig

Lon of New York was perhaps the earliest and most prolific photographer of nude African-American men.  Here we have a 1940s photo of Claude Powell and Gig Gigolo.  That last one had to be a pseudonym, but I could be wrong.  I've been wrong plenty of times before.

 

Walt

San Francisco is represented by Walt Jourdan as photographed by Dave Martin in 1958.

 

Henry

We have six instead of the usual five photos in today's series because I couldn't decide which of the great Los Angeles photographers to go with.  This is Henry Jones by Bruce of LA.

 

Tom

We finish our tour in Chicago with Tom Cowans by Chuck Renslow of Kris Studio.

 

Nudist Duos

Today we look at some nudist male pairs, starting with these two attractive fellows.