Richard Burke

Every high end 1970s male had an elaborate stereo system and a color TV.

Both are on display in this Playgirl shot of Richard Burke.

 

Gene Burton

Pen and ink fill in order forms seem so quaint these days, but were de rigueur back then.

Playgirl often used that page to tease us with someone from the following month.

In this case it was Gene Burton in a rustic sailing spread.

 

David Grant

The message David Grant over the shoulder shirt is a subtle (or not so subtle) message:

"Look, I've taken off my clothes just for you.  I'm available."

 

Barry Hostetler

I get a faint bordello vibe from this picture of Barry Hostetler 

with some cut glass, red velvet, and a chandelier.

 

Rock Pamplin

This photo of Rock Pamplin is an example of the folded posters Playgirl sometimes enclosed in the magazine.  I have to say Mr. Pamplin has that classic look for both the publication and the era.

 

Steve Rally

I have a strong feeling that Steve Rally permed his hair for this photo shoot where he 

seems to be changing a light bulb.  Playgirl loved guys who could look handy.

And am I the only one who thinks Rally was a stage name?

 

Frank Scolaro

Orange tinted photos showed up all over the place in Playgirl's early years.  I think some industrial psychologist they hired must have told them that it was a turnon.  Whether that was actually 

the case or not, Frank Scolaro looks very good in this shower photograph.

 

Greg Wainwright

Construction themed settings and props appear in nearly all the Playgirl photos I have seen featuring Greg Wainwright.  He's not the only model who appears in that motif by a long shot.

 

Shawn Wilson

Our last alphabetically arranged Playgirl model is Shawn Wilson

in a photo I can't help but say was cropped too much.

 

Great Outdoors Day

Today's theme is men in the great outdoors in a variety of settings.

Our first fellow seems to have stripped and laid his clothes in the dirt.

 

Bathing suit?

I've seen German swim teams from the 1920s and 30s in suits like his,

but I don't know anything at all about this picture.

 

Floss

Why do I get the feeling that he's going to go "flossing" any second?

 

Pick of the Day

This is far and away my favorite picture of today's series.

 

Horseplay

This one looks like some sort of towel related horseplay,

but there's no body of water anywhere in sight.

 

Tosser

Our model here looks like he just threw something, and I can't tell 

if he rolled his undies down or they are just about to fall off.

 

Cook

You chubby chasers will no doubt enjoy our outdoor cook.

I wonder if sausage is on the menu?

 

Dancing

Dancing on a river bank?  Whatever.

 

Sturdy and furry

While we might wish for a clearer photo, this fellow still impresses.

 

Chummy trio

These three guys seem awfully friendly.

 

Men in Boats

Our daily theme is men in boats, and we start with what I believe to be a European photo.

 

Canoe

I was taught not to paddle a canoe while standing up, but this guy didn't get the memo.

 

German Soldier

This World War II German soldier in an inflatable came from Mr. Scumbeast's collection.

 

Tan line

I have no provenance on this one, but I like the tan lines.

 

Hard to see

It looks like this gentleman neatly folded his suit at left.  If you look closely, 

you can see just the hint of a money shot, and the hat is perfect.

 

Tan lines and bush

Our model's tan lines and bush really stand out in this shot.  He must have been

 a novice nudist because the photo came from one of those nudist magazines.

 

Rigging

Here we have a 1960s nudist hanging on to the sailboat rigging.

 

At the tiller

This hairy fellow is steering the boat with an old fashioned tiller.

 

Lake Mead

We can barely see the boat in this nudist magazine picture, and it's an inflatable in Lake Mead.  These days, the lake has shrunk to the point that many of the docks and marinas are high and dry.

 

Classic

The gear and the man's pose in our last boating photo both have a classic look.

 

Men and Their Balls

Today we look at men playing with balls in a variety of settings.

All the info that came with this one was "Nazi era."

 

Taking aim

This man on a muddy looking hill seems to be taking aim.

 

Seven sturdy fellows

These seven well built men may be some sort of team,

or just some guys who like to toss a ball around.

 

Stump

Is he standing on a stump to get a better view . . . or give us a better one?

 

Stretch

I call this one "stretch."

 

Three men, three balls

These three fellows and their medicine balls make a nice sight on a marshy shoreline.

 

Vincent Burke

I have incorrectly identified this athlete in the past as Arundell Nichols, 

but he is actually Vincent Burke.  Mr. Nichols was the photographer.

 

David Hockney

I happen to know that several of my regular viewers are fans of artist David Hockney,

so here is a photo of him with a ball in somebody's back yard.

 

Muscular volleyball

We get a really good look at the musculature of this man about to hit a volleyball.

 

Suspicious

Is it just me, or does this guy look like he's casting a suspicious look off to the right?

 

Paul Cadmus

It's Paul Cadmus day, and we'll look at some diverse pieces of his art.  We start with a drawing of his lover of 35 years, Jon Anderson  The two were a couple from the time they met until Mr. Cadmus' passing at age 95 in 1999.  Jon was a cabaret singer in Nantucket when they met.

 

Sleeping beauty(ies)

Throughout his long career, Paul Cadmus often used sleeping male nude subjects for his work.

This example makes me think Ted Starkowski might have been the model.

 

Locker Room

There's a lot going on this this 1933 Cadmus painting, Y.M.C.A Locker Room.

The guy in the black singlet seems to be working on a pickup.

Study for "The Shower"

I posted the full color finished version of The Shower some time ago, and you can find it by clicking on the Paul Cadmus label in the column on the right side of this page.  This study is very close to the completed painting, with the main difference being the water splashing on the guy in the shower.

 

Peekaboo

No title came with this one, but it should be Peekaboo for more than one reason.

 

Sailors and Floozies

Paul Cadmus did a series of several paintings in the late 1930s featuring sailors on shore leave in New York.  I recall it being referred to as "The Fleet's In Series."  I've posted others from the series before, and commentators have noted the masculine appearance of some of the women.  The woman in the red blouse in this example, "Sailors and Floozies," really gives that impression.

 

1965

I see a 19th C. academic art influence in this 1965 drawing of a reclining nude.

 

Lynes influence?

This drawing seems incomplete, but it may just show an artistic trend of the 1930s 

and 40s where male nudes were presented with cropped bodies, sometimes showing 

just the torso.  We see this quite often in the male nude photos of George Platt Lynes.

 

The Nap, 1952

This is another example of Paul Cadmus using a sleeping male subject.  It's The Nap from 1952, 

and I have to say that the way he captured the light from the window is quite good.

 

Exiting the tub

I don't know if it was done by Paul Cadmus or the online art auction site that sold this drawing, 

but it was titled "Nude in Front of Tub."  I would have said, "Nude exiting tub."

 

Leftovers and Strays

When I do a series, I usually pick out several more photos than I need and then edit down to the ones I actually post.  That results in leftovers, which is today's theme.  We start with Georges Dardennes, 1922-2011, a Belgian race car driver and bodybuilder.  He was Mr. Belgium for 1950 and placed fourth for Mr. Universe that same year.  Won a lot of car races, too.  Quite a guy.