Abbye ‘Pudgy’ Stockton played a central role in popularizing physical culture and exercise for women in the central decades of the twentieth century. Famed for her hand balancing routine at Muscle Beach with her husband Les, Pudgy Stockton has been rightly credited by many as one of the leading proponents of female weightlifting and physical culture more generally. Aside from her hand balancing routines, which captured attention both inside and outside the weightlifting community, Pudgy’s greatest influence was undoubtedly her monthly ‘Barbelles’ column in Strength and Health magazine from 1944 to 1954.  Pudgy’s ‘Barbelles’ column was one of the first sustained efforts...

Established by American physical culturist Bernarr MacFadden in late 1899, Physical Culture Magazine was one of the most iconic American health, weight lifting and physical culture magazines of the early twentieth century. Covering everything from health and diet to fictional short stories, Physical Culture is a deeply rich resource for scholars of health, physical culture, gender, sport and American politics. The early years of MacFadden’s magazine witnessed the evolution of his health thinking, the promotion of his first physical culture competition (held in Madison Square Garden) and a series of disputes with American politicians and physicians. Thanks to the Stark’s digitization efforts, the first...

One of the most iconic images of the Stark Center, aside from the Farnese Hercules, is undoubtedly the Thomas Beecham collection of paintings. Done by the painter Thomas Beecham for Joe Weider, Beecham’s painted several portraits of famed bodybuilders from the 1960s to 1980s. Eight in total, the paintings depicted the awarded winning physiques of Franco Columbu, Lee Haney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry Scott, Rick Wayne, Dorian Yates, and Frank Zane, all of which are held in the Stark Center. Only two of the eight men never won the Mr. Olympia title—the most prestigious in physique contests – Lou Ferrigno and...

Born in Rochester, New York in 1910, Christopher Gian-Cursio was one of America’s most outspoken, popular and reviled commentators on alternative medicine. Trained at Dr. Benjamin Lust’s American School of Naturopathy, Gian-Cursio came to practice what he termed Natural Hygiene for several decades. Like many practitioners of alternative medicine at this time, Gian-Cursio was against traditional medicines and nostrums, believing that natural methods could cure all diseases. This opinion, somewhat unsurprisingly, often brought Gian-Cursio into conflict with established medical authorities. In fact, Gian-Cursio was arrested several times during the 1940s on the charge of practicing medicine without a license. Acquitted...