From the Golden Age of Trade 10

Born March 12, 1927, KEITH STEPHAN was a Navy brat who grew up in the many places his Dad's tour of duty took him before the family settled in LA. After high school and his own stint in the Navy, he went to work as a salvage diver & pipe-fitter. A giant of a guy (6' 3"/240 lb), he was as strong as an ox long before he started weight training. Despite showing early promise--placing 6th in the 1950 Mr. America, his very first contest--he stopped competing shortly afterward. But such studios as AMG, Bruce & Spartan had already made him a ubiquitous pin-up in the beecake magazines of the day, where his pix inflamed countless gay teenagers trying to puzzle out their sexuality. He was much sought after as a trainer/"bodyguard" by the idle rich of both sexes, who were drawn both to his rugged, if not brutal, good looks and the fact that he was (as Bob Mizer put it)"as gentle as a big collie dog." Although unable to verify it in time for this post, I recall reading that he was bi-polar, and took his own life while still in his thirties. This silent posing film dates from 1959, and appears to have been shot by Bob Mizer, both at the AMG compound and the Spartan studio.