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Steve Reeves (Stephen L. Reeves) (January 21, 1926
- May 5, 2000), was a bodybuilder, actor, and
author. 

== Bodybuilding ==
Born in Glasgow, Montana, Reeves became interested
in bodybuilding as a teenager, long before the
rise in general interest in the activity. His
competitive bodybuilding period was brief, but he
won the following events:

*1946 - Mr. Pacific Coast  
*1947 - Mr. Pacific Coast
*1947 - Mr. America 
*1948 - Mr. World 
*1950 - Mr. Universe 

By his own account, his best cold (unpumped)
measurements at the peak of his bodybuilding
activity were:

*Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
*Weight: 216 
*Neck: 18 1/2" 
*Chest: 52" 
*Waist: 29" 
*Biceps: 18 1/4" 
*Thighs: 26" 
*Calves: 18 1/4"

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern
Bodybuilding states:

By the 1940s the distinction between lifting
weights purely for strength and training with
weights to shape and proportion the body had been
clearly made. ... However, bodybuilding still
remained an obscure sport. No champion was known
to the general public--that is, until Steve Reeves
came along. Reeves was the right man in the right
place at the right time. He was handsome,
personable, and had a magnificent physique.
Survivors from the Muscle Beach era recall how
crowds used to follow Reeves when he walked along
the beach, and how people who knew nothing about
him would simply stop and stare, awestruck.

== Acting == 
After WWII military service, Reeves came to the
attention film director Cecil B. De Mille, who
considered him for the part of Samson. Paramount
considered Reeves for the title role of their
upcoming film version of the Broadway musical Li'l
Abner in 1958, but the part eventually went to
Peter Palmer.  

Reeves first film was the 1949 Kimbar of the
Jungle, a made-for-television movie, which was a
pilot for a series that never materialised.
Throughout the 1950s, Reeves also had guest spots
on The Jimmy Durante Show, The Dinah Shore Show,
The Burns and Allen Show, The Ralph Edwards Show,
The Red Skelton Show, Topper and The Adventures of
Ozzie and Harriet. 

In 1954 he had a co-starring role in his first
major motion picture Athena (film)|Athena playing
Debbie Reynolds' boyfriend, and the same year was
seen in Ed Wood's cheapie Jail Bait. Rumor has it
that Reeve's appearance in Athena is what prompted
Italian director Pietro Francisci's daughter to
suggest him for the role in her father's upcoming
Hercules movie. In 1957, he played the title
character in Francisci's Hercules, which was
released in Italy in February of 1959, and then in
the U.S. in July of 1959. Following the U.S.
release, the film was an enormous hit and created
a new sub-genre of the sword and sandal film (also
known as the peplum film): the 'Hercules' or
'strong man' movie. 

From 1959 through 1964, Reeves went on to appear
in a string of sword and sandal movies, and
although he is perhaps best known for his
portrayal of the Greek hero Hercules, in actuality
he played the character only twice - in Hercules
and the sequel Hercules Unchained (released in the
U.S. in 1960). He played a number of other
characters on screen, including Sir Edward George
Bulwer-Lytton's Glaucus of Pompeii; Goliath (also
called Emiliano); Russian hero Hadji Murad;
Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome (opposite
Gordon Scott as his twin brother Remus); pirate
and self-proclaimed governor of Jamaica Captain
Henry Morgan; and Karim, the Thief of Bagdad.
Twice he played Aeneas of Troy and twice he played
Emilio Salgari's Malaysian hero, Sandokan. In 1968
Reeves appeared in a spaghetti western which he
also co-wrote, A Long Ride From Hell. His last
on-screen appearance was in 2000 when  he appeared
as himself in the made-for-television A&E
Biography: Arnold Schwarzenegger - Flex Appeal.

== Later life ==
Later in his life, Reeves promoted drug-free
bodybuilding and bred horses. The last two decades
of his life were spent in Valley Center
(Escondido), California.

== External links ==

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716302/bio

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0716302/