Bert Goodrich

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Bert M. Goodrich (born December 26, 1906 in Tempe , Arizona , † December 6, 1991 in Sepulveda, North Hills , Los Angeles , California ) was an American bodybuilder who temporarily acted as a stuntman and actor . He also owned the first chain of gyms in the United States for several years.

life and career

Goodrich was born on Boxing Day 1906 in Tempe , Arizona , where he grew up near a river. Already from his childhood he honed his swimming skills. He was already successful as an acrobat when he was 12 years old; two years later he also won the Arizona state championship in flyweight and diving . That same year he took the first step into his future life as a bodybuilder and strongman when the then just 95 pound and skinny Bert Goodrich was sent to a Charles Atlas training course and after four years he was 185 pounds and trained returned again. At that time, however, he did not focus on bodybuilding, it still served him as a means to an end. With his strength training he wanted to concentrate much more on his talents in other sports such as gymnastics, especially tumbling , or American football . While he was still building his strength for the sports mentioned earlier in high school, he developed into an excellent sprinter in the 100-meter run during his later career at Arizona State University . He also appeared in other disciplines such as the shot put , javelin throw or long jump . At a young age as a flyweight boxer, he began to work as a heavyweight boxer at an advanced age and even played professional fights at Madison Square Garden in New York City . Goodrich was also successful as a trapeze artist (100 feet above the ground and not secured by a safety net) and adagio acrobat, and together with a partner as a vaudeville artist.

Before his 20th birthday, Goodrich started the trip to Hollywood , where he also settled briefly and had his first assignments in film productions. So, due to his athletic background, he completed activities as a stuntman; for the first time in Jay Marchant's The Great Circus Mystery in 1925. In the almost 15-minute adventure film - serial , he acted alongside strongman Joe Bonomo and the female lead actress Louise Lorraine . At the beginning of the 1930s he moved to Hollywood again, where he appeared in films such as The Galloping Ghost (1931), The Hurricane Express (1932) or Tarzan the Fearless (1933) as a stunt double for actors such as Red Grange , John Wayne and Buster Crabbe made an appearance and was one of Hollywood's best stuntmen at the time. During the breaks he often entertained at the local vaudeville circuit or could be found at Crystal Pier in Santa Monica , the location of today's Muscle Beach . It was there that he met the vaudevillian Charlie Schaeffer, with whom he created an act with which they performed all over the country and brought it to New York, where Bert Goodrich's actual bodybuilding career finally began. Together with Schaeffer he appeared in the Top Music Halls of New York, later he changed partners and appeared together with his new partner, the figure skating champion and balancer Jack Nelson.

During this time, Goodrich also visited his first “Mr. New York “contest, but only as a spectator. However, due to his stature, he was noticed by a photographer in the crowd and convinced him to take part in the competition himself. From Sig Klein , the promoter of the competition, some shorts were his posturing, called trunks , borrowed and Goodrich was brought in the "Tall Class Competition" to the stage. He was finally able to win this competition and in the end was even the winner of the overall competition with his 5'11 '' and 195 pounds, which is why he is now “Mr. New York ”. With this title he was automatically qualified for the " AAU Mr. America " competition, which was held for the first time this year . Since there were no fixed regulations when this competition was held on July 4, 1939, these were only introduced during or after the competition. In the competition in 1939, the jury rated the symmetrical proportions, posture, general appearance and stage presence, among other things. With the support of his partner Jack Nelson, who did not even take part in the competition, Goodrich carried out a tumbling act and was able to convince the jury, as none of the other candidates otherwise dared such a demonstration. The title as "Mr. America ”, Goodrich became increasingly known. Among other things, he was featured on the cover of numerous well-known magazines (e.g. on the cover of Look or Pic ) or was featured in Esquire with Charles Atlas and Johnny Weissmüller .

With the victory at the "Mr. America ”competition, he finally made the leap into the big show business and enjoyed celebrity status from that point on. The newfound fame also helped Goodrich, together with Vic Tanny, to win the “Mr. & Miss USA ”competition and to establish it. This competition, which was held in front of around 6,000 spectators in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles , was also the first of its kind, as the prize money for the winner was $ 1,000 and prize money had never been paid out in a bodybuilding competition. Bert Goodrich also organized the so-called “Mr. Hercules ”competitions, in which Hollywood star Mae West was the only judge to appear. The winners of this show were signed by West in their night clubs.

During the Second World War , Bert Goodrich worked as a Physical Training Instructor (PTI) in the US Navy and was stationed there at Naval Air Station North Island until his release . There he was, among other things, head of the local Navy fitness studio for three years, as well as "Director of Physical Training" of the North American Aviation Company in Canoga Park . During this time he also met his partner George Redpath , with whom he worked as a hand balance duo, with Goodrich being the lower part of a "two-man hand balancing act". With his long-time partner, whom he met in 1944 when they were both stationed in San Diego during World War II , he also did numerous other performances, including on the famous Muscle Beach on Venice Beach . When the "Mr. America ”had to leave the Navy in 1939 after refusing to undergo knee surgery, he was drawn back to Los Angeles, where he opened his gym on Hollywood Boulevard in 1946 . He himself called it “ the most sumptuous, beautiful gym in the country ”, which it probably was, as it was the first so-called glamor gym that could come up with synthetic leather walls and additional chrome fittings. There he trained stars such as Fess Parker , Steve Reeves , Bob Mathias and James Arness . He also trained the acting great Mario Lanza for the film The Student Prince , based on the operetta of the same name , £ 20.

But he himself also briefly got involved as an actor in various film productions, only in minor roles that were, however, specially tailored to him. For example, he was a member of an acrobatic team in Berlin-Express (1948); a year later he was also seen in the films Roseanna McCoy and Alias ​​the Champ . He was also seen in 1954 as a bodybuilder in the romantic musical comedy Athena . Another six gyms followed in the years after he opened his first gym, which also marked the first chain of gyms in the United States. However, Goodrich sold all seven facilities in California in 1956 and shifted his professional career to other activities. Until his retirement he worked in public relations, worked as a stock broker and as a business developer. He was also a guest on numerous US television shows (including To Tell the Truth ) in the 1960s and was later seen on local television several times. He also took part in the Senior Olympics and did 75 push-ups every morning until shortly before his death.

In 1976, at the age of 69, he also took part in the Senior Olympics and was praised by journalists for having a consistently good pulse and blood pressure despite his age. Even in old age he learned to make music on the ukulele and harmonica and often played with it in old people's homes and other similar institutions. From June 1991, Bert Goodrich's health deteriorated after a large part of his colon had to be removed in the hospital because it had developed gangrene . December 6, 1991 Goodrich died at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in the district of North Hills belonging to the district Sepulveda . He left behind his wife Norma, the sister of his long-time partner Vic Tanny, who was married for almost 50 years, his son Bert Jr., his daughter Lucinda, and two grandchildren. The farewell and subsequent burial took place on December 11, 1991 at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Cemetery - Griffin Memorial Park, Mortuary and Crematory in Westlake Village . His wife Norma survived him by ten years, died in 2001 and was buried by his side.

A few years before his death, he was honored with numerous awards. This included the honoring of the venerable "Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen" on May 23, 1987 for winning the "Mr. America ”competition from 1939, which was then called America's Best Physique Contest . He also received the "Pioneer of Physical Fitness Award" in 1985 and the "Hollywood Stuntman's Award" a year later.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report on George Redpath and Bert Goodrich (pdf; English), accessed on July 16, 2014

literature

personal data
SURNAME Goodrich, Bert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Goodrich, Bert M.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American bodybuilder and stunt man
DATE OF BIRTH December 26, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Tempe , Arizona , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1991
Place of death Sepulveda, North Hills , Los Angeles , California , United States