Professor Desbonnet Day II

Today will be my second full series featuring the work of Professor Edmond Desbonnet,

and we will start with a photo of the man himself.

 

Statue duplicate

The model here is Brancaccio, who will appear later today without the fig leaf.

Desbonnet posed him here to duplicate a Classical statue, even down to the leg support.

 

Before?

This model is not nearly as well developed as most of Desbonnet's

Perhaps he was a beginner who posed for a "before" photo.

 

Derriere

We get a nice derriere here, but the model is unknown.

 

Fig Leaf

Maitrot must have been modes because he posed in a fig leaf.

 

Deriaz?

The  profile here makes me think of one of the Deriaz brothers,

but most of them were even beefier than this guy.

 

Later work

This photo of an unknown bodybuilder was made late in 

Professor Desbonnet's career, which lasted into the early 1950s.

 

Dramatic

This photo captures a dramatic moment.

 

Brancaccio

I have seen other photos of this athlete listed only as Brancaccio, but have been unable to find any information on his career.  Desbonnet photographed him several times.

 

And finally, an American pupil

The photo of American bodybuilder John Grimek was made during a time when he had acquired some of Professor Desbonnet's books and used his training methods.  It paid off because Mr. Grimek went on to win Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and AAU Mr. USA titles in the 1940s.  He made a pilgrimage to Paris to visit Prof. Desbonnet and thank him for his long lifetime of work in 1950.  The good professor gave Mr, Grimek a medal which he  had specially made to award to his best students.  The American champion described the visit as one of the high points of his career.

 

G-Rated Ordinary Average Guys with Hairy Chests Day, Part 1 - Medium Size

Today's theme is Ordinary Average Guys with Hair Chests, and it's a two parter starting with some medium size fellows.  This one may or may not be going for the Joe Cool look.

 

Aspiring

These two ordinary average guys seem to be aspiring for greater things.

 

Nothing fancy

This fellow is nothing fancy, but quite good looking.

 

Sunbather

I think this guy posed during a sunbath on a lawn.

 

Happy

This guy looks happy and wet.

 

G-Rated Ordinary Average Guys with Hairy Chests Day, Part 2 - The Chubby Guys

Part two of G-Rated Ordinary Average Guys with Hairy Chests Day 

is made up of chubby men, starting with this guy and his amusing hat.

 

Bath house

This chubby guy seems to be emerging from a bath house.

His shoes don't go with the rest of his outfit.

 

Two out of four

Here we have a nice mixed group of friends out for a swim.

 

Happy trail

  

Happy trails to you!

 

Not too happy

Our final chub doesn't look too happy.

Maybe they closed the buffet early at his hotel.

 

Al Urban Day

We are overdue for an Al Urban series, and I'll start with Joe Sawacki.

 

Fine musculature

This unknown model shows off some fine musculature.

 

Johnny Bousa

This G-rated number is Johnny Bousa from 1940.  In a 1938 precursor to the Mr. America contest in upstate New York, Mr. Bousa won best legs and placed first in the over 5'11' height category.

 

Henry Karczewski

Al Urban took several photos of Henry Karczewski, at least one of which appeared on the cover of Strength and Health magazine.  Disclosure:  I removed yellowing and fading electronically.

 

Trio

 The two men at each end of this unknown trio seem way more comfortable than the guy 

in the middle. Also they way their hands are clasped seems awkward.

Ludwig Shusterich

A heavily oiled Ludwig Shusterich looks like he's ready to take flight.  He appeared 

on the covers of several top fitness and bodybuilding magazines in the 1940s and 50s.

 

Unknown

This model looks familiar, but both my source and Google Images search had no info.

 

Lawrence Langenecker

This is Lawrence Langenecker, and although he looks quite impressive here,

 I was unable to find any biographical information on him.

 

Jules Bacon

Mr. America of 1943 was Jules Bacon, a bodybuilder who posed numerous times 

for Al Urban and went on to found a chain of fitness gyms in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bacon is in the Bodybuilders Hall of Fame.

 

Kenneth Pendleton

Despite being just 4’11” and 135lb, Kenneth Pendleton managed to win the Most Muscular Award at the 1941 AAU Mr New York City.  He also won other awards and posed nude for Al Urban.