Golden Age Muscle Fireplug Flexing on TV

From: stephano

Categories: Muscle-Videos

Tags: arms, back, Biceps, black and white, bodybuilder, chest, delts, flexing, george eiferman, golden age, lats, muscle, pecs, posing, retro, sitcom, thick, tight shirt, tv

Added: Today

Like many muscle afficionados of my era, my intro to bodybuilding came via TV, mainly old sitcom reruns in which a muscleman would have a walk-on part and do some brief but oh-so-memorable flexing. Even before I understood ‘why’, I knew to keep my fascination with such scenes secret. Later, as puberty fully ignited my muscle lust, I’d pore over TV listings to find the ‘jewels’ among such appearances – Denny Miller on “Gilligan’s Island’, a trio of bodybuilders on ‘Bewitched’, and, best of all, Dave Draper on ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. (This was before the media discovered bodybuilding in the wake of ‘Pumping Iron’). I saw this particular show mentioned in a list of similar TV moments that some muscle mag ran, but, as ‘The Danny Thomas Show’ wasn’t in syndication then, I never saw it until finding it recently online.
George Eiferman won the 1948 America and captured the Universe title in the early 60s when this episode was shot. On the shorter side, he was one of the first true muscle fireplugs, with quite thick legs for his day, big arms, and one of the biggest chests then on the scene. He was also notable for his strength, doing a strongman act and appearing with Mae West in her revue. As seen here, was also rather cute, and, supposedly, he provided inspiration for the ‘George of the Jungle’ cartoon character.
I remember seeing his old pics in the muscle mags I was devouring in the late 70s, and the powerful thickness of his physique brought me to attention right away. As silly as this scene is, I think it’s fun to look back on the kind of material afficionados like us had for ‘inspiration’ back then. Though we don’t get to see his amazing chest here, one can still enjoy how he fills his shirt, especially as it stretches across his broad back, and watching his big arm flexing is still a delight. Many viewers used to today’s mass monsters may consider this development unimpressive, but how would you react if he was standing next to you?