Performers - Part 64

Kip Behar

Another bodybuilder who was also an actor was Kip Behar.  Born in 1936, he "starred" in the 1963 movie Beauty and the Body, in which he was the Body (that's him wearing the black briefs).  Hardly the "excitement of a lifetime" that the poster above claims, it was actually a forgettable documentary on beauty contests and other events.  He also had a bit part in the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  If you look at the clip of Jane Russell's song from that movie in my last Performers post about John Weidemann, Kip is one of the athletes, but I can't tell which one.

Kip also had bit parts in a couple of other movies, and he appeared as a bodybuilder in Mae West's Las Vegas stage review.

Kip posed nude in the 1950s for several physique photographers.  Above, a photo by Pat Milo.  At the time, Kip had a distinctive flat-top haircut.

A rear view by Bruce of L.A.

Another shot by Bruce of L.A., with Kip holding what appears to be a sword.

A photo of Kip, photographer unknown.

Kip was in at least two homoerotic films made by early gay filmmakers.  The photo above was said to be by Bob Mizer, showing Don Fuller, standing, and Kip Behar, sitting, in a film They Went Thataway in the late 1950s, presumably from AMG.  I have been unable to find anything else about this film.

Here's another photo of Don Fuller, left and Kip Behar on the set of that film.  In films of that era, they would have worn posing straps in the film, with no frontal nudity, but nude photos could have been taken on the set.

I got this photo from Vintage Muscle Men.  Thanks, Jerry!  Jerry had tentatively attributed the photo to Chuck Renslow, but the rocks are recognizably identical to the previous photo.

Another gay film that Kip Behar and Don Fuller were in was A Date With the Boys, 1956, made by Richard Fontaine, a.k.a Apollo.  It's a movie about how physique photos are made, from the moment the models arrive to the final shot.  The gif above is from that film, showing how models are oiled before shooting begins.

I got the remaining 5 photos of Kip from Vintage Muscle Men, which  has run several posts on Kip Behar.  Thanks, Jerry!

Above, a photo of Kip by Chuck Renslow of Kris Studio.

A photo of Kip by Richard Fontaine, a.k.a. Apollo.

The next three photos are by Pat Milo, who took more nude photos of Kip than anyone else.  Here's another front view ...

another rear view ...

and my favorite photo of Kip Behar, showing him next to a wicker chair.  I think this captures that era perfectly.

Kip was gay, and he had affairs with Rock Hudson (right) and Hudson's manager Henry Willson (left).  In those days you did not publicly admit that you were gay.  Rock Hudson managed to have a stellar movie career while pretending to be straight, until he came down with AIDS, came out as gay in 1984, and died later that year.

Kip Behar escaped AIDS and is apparently still alive and 88 years old.