Mr. Michigan
The Mr. Michigan bodybuilding contest was actually a side-event of the annual Michigan weight lifting championship contest held in Detroit by the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) from 1942 to 1987.
We have nude photos of many of the Mr. Michigan winners. I think this is largely due to the presence of physique photographer Douglas Juleff, better known as Douglas of Detroit, working in the same city in the 1940s and 1950s. Here are some of the Mr. Michigan winners.
.jpg)
Above, Mr. Michigan 1945, Mike Dubel, photographed by Douglas of Detroit.
%20(from%20MenFromBackThen).jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1947, Leo Maryck, photographed by Douglas of Detroit. I got the photo from Men From Back Then. Thanks, James!
%20(from%20Men%20From%20Back%20Then).jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1948, Michael Craver, photographed by Douglas of Detroit. I also got this photo from Men From Back Then. Thanks, James!
%20again.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1949 was Mike Dubel again, photographed by Douglas of Detroit as a double exposure to make it twice as nice.
%20from%20Vintage%20Muscle%20Men.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1950, Dick Buckholtz, photographed by Douglas of Detroit. I got this photo from Vintage Muscle Men. Thanks, Jerry!
.jpeg)
Mr. Michigan 1951, Vic Seipke, photographed by Douglas of Detroit.
.jpeg)
Mr. Michigan 1953, Norbert Schemansky, photographed by Douglas of Detroit.
.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1954, Dick Garza, photographed by Douglas of Detroit.
In the late 1950s, Douglas of Detroit was involved in a censorship battle. The Detroit police ransacked his house and confiscated and burned almost all of his prints and negatives. It destroyed his career, and he never recovered.
The Mr. Michigan contest continued, but we have no nude photos of the winner until ten years later. This is Mr. Michigan 1964, Kent Kuehn. Photographer unknown.
.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1968, Dan Miles, photographed in 1978 by Roy Dean.
%20(Bob%20Mizer)%20from%20Men%20From%20Back%20Then.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1970, Ron Thompson (at left, with Skeeter Block), photographed by Bob Mizer. I got the photo from Men From Back Then. Thanks, James!
.jpg)
Mr. Michigan 1972, Roger Callard, photographed by Colt.
The Mr. Michigan contest continued through 1987, but I this was the last nude photo of a contest winner that I could find.
7 comments:
"Skeeter Block"-love that name! I guess he wore Deep Woods Off as after-shave-Dee Exx
Wonderful to see these professional bodybuilders go full nude. Wouldn't it be great if all the competitions actually required full nudity? A stage with dozens of these muscular men....all completely nude.... lined up for inspection by the audience.
Very nice line-up.
Excellent series! The "Double Dubel" photo has long been a personal favorite.
Male beauty personified.
Douglas Juleff of Detroit photographed all of them well, the best for the best in the Mid-West. :) Not bad for a man who was also a professional photographer for the legendary Hudson’s dept store. Very daring full nudes at the time for both Juleff and his models.
Unfortunately, Juleff and a few of his models would pay a high price for their endeavour. :(
Beaux hommes exceptionnels !
Le Michigan a été béni. :)
Très audacieux pour les vainqueurs du titre de poser complètement nus.
Magnifiquement rendu par Juleff.
DoD's mastery of lighting and composition is as sublime as his story was tragic. Very glad to read from other sources of his emotional response to a retrospective celebrating his work happened before the end - he deserved to know his work outlived his persecution.
Post a Comment