Vintage Muscle Men

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Military Day, Part 1 - Assorted

It's Military Day and a two-parter with part one being assorted and part two all Frenchmen.

We start with some U.S.. Army men skinnydipping in the Minnesota River in 1918.

U.S. Navy 1935

An impeccable source says these are U.S. Navy personnel on a cruiser in 1935.

The partioned showers don't seem right, unless that was a perk for officers.

Conductor

I have no idea what's going on here, but we seem to have a conductor.

Several of these men are built quite nicely.

I'm not sure, but I think these are 1970s Swedish troops

practicing chemical decontamination procedures.

Here is yet another Bernard Hoffman shot of our favorite chunky truck driver giving "America" a splash in 1944. (You're welcome, Leroy!) Note the winch on the heavy duty front bumper which probably got a lot of use pulling other trucks out of mudholes and ditches along the way.

Military Day, Part 2 - Frenchmen

Part two of Military Day is all Frenchman, and we start with a photo that left me puzzled. My source says that this was hand tinted, but that was a relatively expensive process usually reserved for portraits and monuments rather than ordinary French soldiers bathing in a creek in 1916.

Verdun I

The Battle of Verdun was one of the bloodiest in history with truly horrific conditions for both sides. I recently came across some photos of men who had been rotated out of the Verdun front for rest and refitting. Here we see some men enjoying a bath in what might be part of a mill pond.

1920?

My source says this is from around 1920, but it looks more like 1930 to me.

Verdun II

Our second photo from behind the Verdun front

shows a soldier happily lathering his crotch.

Everything but . . .

Our final French army man is kitted out with everything but his uniform,

which we can see on the ground at far left.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Arty Photos

Today I'm posting 10 photos that I find on the artsy side.

We start with a 1940s unknown.

Jimmie De Sana

This is TV by Jimmie De Sana from 1978. I like its quirkiness.

Trying too hard

This 1930-ish model is trying a bit too hard to look artistic,

but that's not unusual for the era.

Beach House

The only info that came with this photo was "Beach House, 1960."

GEMS

Gary Brandenburg posed for George Price of GEMS Studio in 1974.

Movendo

This is from an early 20th C. German series called Movendo by Fiedler.

Emerick Bronson

Best known as a fashion photographer in the 1950s,

Emerick Bronson took this undated photo.

Tinkerbell

Tinkerbell never looked like this.

Lorenzo

This is Lorenzo by John Lesnick from 1973.

Pierre Bonnard

Our last photo is a self portrait by French artist Pierre Bonnard.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Celebrities in the Tub

Today's theme is celebrities in the tub, and we start the show with baseball star Jerry Reuss

sharing a whirlpool bath with LA Dodgers manager Tommy Lasords.

Sean Connery

That's Sammy Davis, Jr. on the cover of the magazine Sean Connery

is reading in the tub in this scene from Diamonds Are Forever.

Alan Hale, Jr.

Better known as the Skipper on Gilligan's Island, Alan Hale, Jr.

appears here in a bathtub scene from much earlier in his career.

Rock Hudson

In this scene from Pillow Talk, Rock Hudson was chatting with Doris Day on the phone while in the tub. She was in her own tub, and the director used a split screen to show the conversation.

Henry Fonda

The Best Man was a political drama from 1964 that starred Henry Fonda.

The guy on the toilet is actor John Henry Faulk.

Dan Blocker

Dan Blocker (1928-1972) has been called a gentle giant, a teddy bear, and one of the most decent men to ever grace a TV screen. When asked how he managed to cry on demand for film and TV roles, his co-star Michael Landon said, "I just think of Dan Blocker dying so young and the tears come." Mr. Blocker was a decorated Korean War veteran, held a master's degree in dramatic arts, and was a devoted husband and father of four. Here are two GIFs from Bonanza.