Here’s a rare shot of Dave Draper, 1965 Mr. America and ’66 Mr. Universe, flexing and perplexing at why couch lady copied his haircut.
Draper was very shy, a lot like his Malibu Beach bodybuilder character Harry Hollard in “Don’t Make Waves,” a feature film that starred Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, and the late Sharon Tate (murdered by the Manson Family).
Here’s Dave catching Sharon as she vaults off of her trampoline. That’s Curtis to the left.
Dave also made a hilarious appearance in an episode of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” recruited as a boyfriend for Ellie May by Mr. Drysdale, their banker…
When Drysdale introduced him to the hillbilly family as Mr. Universe, Dave gave them a flex. Granny, the family matriarch, asked how he got that way. Dave said it was the barbells. She decided that he had a disease called The Barbell Bloat.
They saw him out by the cement pond (their swimming pool) trying to do a hack squat with the barbell behind his thighs. Sadness overtook the family as they thought “the suffering boy” was trying to build himself a wheelchair.
That’s some classic muscleman humor right there. And incase you’re not familiar with Dave’s physique, it was exceptional…
His nickname was the Blond Bomber, and while his hair, tan, and muscles made him appear to be a homegrown California beach dude, he was actually born and raised in Secaucus, New Jersey. He came out to Cali thanks to Joe Weider who saw his potential…
Dave was a prolific, talented writer. We excerpted his newsletter for Iron Man magazine, and it was a reader favorite. He had a special way with words and poetically captured the bodybuilding lifestyle and training. He was still hitting the weights into his 70s.
In his heyday, he trained at Gold’s Gym alongside Arnold, Franco, Zane, and the stars of the era. He was an introspective guy who knew how to focus and zero in on the target muscle every set.
He recently passed away in November 2021 at the age of 79. He was a true hall-of-fame bodybuilding legend who will be missed.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
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