Steve Reeves (1926-2000), Mr. America 1947

Clarence Ross (1923-2008), Mr. America 1945

What a difference a year makes. Or five.

I recently acquired this Russ Warner group (also attributed to Stanford St. George), and the 8 x 10 named the sitters on the reverse: Lang & Suitro.

I had seen the photo in an early issue of Physique Pictorial, and there I found the image in the November 1951 number … except that they were given as Bill Parker and Johnny Travis in Warner’s Group B-10.

I later found it shown in the Spring 1957 issue, showing them as John Lang and Bill Suitro and thus agreeing with the (presumably original to the studio) text on the reverse.

I’ve since found them as Bill Barker and Bill Berker; Travis’s name remains stable!

Here are the others…

One could argue that this reads Lane and (certainly) Sutro. 

Russ Warner

Louis Venegas

Norman Tousley

Jack Thomas

Models with props 27

Models with props 24

Don Peters, photo attributed to Russ Warner