Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr. Britain in 1949. He then won Mr. Universe in 1951, 1958, and 1965. He went on to star in five films. Later in life, he received renewed interest for being the first inspiration (and later a mentor) to

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

Early life

Park was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on 7 June 1928. Showing athletic interests early in life, he dedicated his teenage years to excelling in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, where he played in the reserves for Leeds United FC. He had no specific interest in bodybuilding until age 16, when he met David Cohen. Upon learning that Cohen lifted weights at a friend's house, Park joined in out of curiosity; his resulting legendary physique would soon begin to grow from

barbell A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end. Barbells range in length ...

dumbbell The dumbbell, a type of free weight, is a piece of equipment used in weight training. It is usually used individually and/or in pairs, with one in each hand. History The forerunner of the dumbbell, halteres, were used in ancient Greece as li ...

s, and a simple chinning bar. During his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, Park worked as a

Physical Training Instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Physi ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Upon his discharge from the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1948, he witnessed his first physique contest, the inaugural NABBA Mr. Universe contest in London. The competition saw

John Grimek John Carroll Grimek (June 17, 1910 – November 20, 1998) was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s. Grimek was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. In 1949, he won his last contest, t ...

beating

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder and actor. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonist as muscular characters ...

in controversial fashion, and it was this contest that inspired Park to compete.

Career

After one year of training, Park earned the title of Mr. Britain in 1949. He then spent six months in the United States after his parents paid his expenses as a gift. There, he met up with publisher

Joe Weider Josef Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. Ol ...

, who began to feature him prominently in his popular muscle magazines. The next year, Park was runner-up to Reeves in the 1950 NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe in London, which was also a close contest. After a second full year of training, Park broke what had been an American monopoly on bodybuilding titles by winning the 1951 National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA) Amateur Mr. Universe. He cemented his status by winning the 1958 and 1965 NABBA Pro Mr. Universe titles. Standing 6 ft 1 in and with a top weight of 250 lb, he was known for his mass and was a forerunner to the size-focused aspects that dominate modern bodybuilding. He was also renowned for his strength, which he often demonstrated in contests and strongman exhibitions. He is on record as the second man (after Doug Hepburn) to bench press 500 lb. As an actor, he made five films, all of which were Italian sword and sandal pictures featuring him as

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Maciste Maciste () is one of the oldest recurring characters of film, cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. He is usually depicted as a ...

and Ursus. Park was an early influence and lifelong mentor to Austrian bodybuilder

, who said that he was first inspired to lift weights after seeing Park playing Hercules. For three years in the 1960s, Schwarzenegger was trained by Wag Bennett at Bennett's gym in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

, where he had the chance to meet Park and be mentored by him. Bonus footage from the DVD release of the documentary '' Pumping Iron'' (1977) features Park mentoring Schwarzenegger. Park can also be heard performing MC duties in the Mr. Universe and

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...

contests featured in the film. Park moved to South Africa at an unknown date; up to the time of his fatal illness in 2007, at the age of 79, he continued to train clients at the Morningside Virgin Active Gym in

Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...

. He has been featured in many fitness and bodybuilding magazines, and has also appeared on the cover of ''

Muscle & Fitness ''Muscle & Fitness'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title ''Your Physique'', before being renamed to ''Muscle Builder'' in 1954, and ac ...

''. He was inducted into the

International Federation of Bodybuilders The International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness. Headquartered in Las Rozas de Madrid, it oversees many of the sport's major international events, ...

(IFBB) IFBB Hall of Fame's first ballot in 1999.

Death

Eight months after being diagnosed with

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the Human skin, skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells (biology), cells that have the ability to invade or metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. It occurs when skin cells grow ...

that soon spread to the rest of his body, Park died on 22 November 2007 at his home in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

at the age of 79. His wife of 55 years, Mareon, and their two children Jeunesse and Jon Jon were by his side. His son Jon Jon, who was trained by Park, also became a personal trainer and is a former Olympic swimmer. Today, Jon Jon is the owner of the popular Legacy Gym in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...

. Park's daughter Jeunesse founded the non-profit organisation Food & Trees for Africa.

Bodybuilding titles

*1946 Mr Britain 4th *1949 Mr Britain 1st *1950 Best Developed Athlete in America - IFBB, Tall, 1st *1950 Best Developed Athlete in America - IFBB, Overall Winner Mr Europe *1950 Overall Winner Mr Universe - NABBA, Tall, 2nd *1951 Mr Universe - NABBA, Tall, 1st *1951 Mr Universe - NABBA, Overall Winner *1958 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 1st *1958 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Overall Winner *1965 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 1st *1965 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Overall Winner *1970 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 2nd *1971 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 3rd *1973 Mr Universe - Pro - NABBA, Tall, 2nd

Competitive stats

* Height: * Contest weight: * Off-season weight: * Arms: 18.5 @ 215 lbs, 19.0 @ 230 lbs" (47–48 cm)

Filmography

*''Ercole Alla Conquista Di Atlantide'' (1961) Italy. aka '' Hercules Conquers Atlantis'' (1962 UK title) '' Hercules and the Captive Women'' (1963 US title) *''Ercole Al Centro Della Terra'' (1961) Italy. aka ''Hercules in the Centre of the Earth'' (1962 UK title) and ''

Hercules in the Haunted World ''Hercules in the Haunted World'' ( Italian: ''Ercole al centro della terra'', lit. "Hercules at the Center of the Earth") is a 1961 Italian sword-and-sandal film directed by Mario Bava. British bodybuilder Reg Park plays Hercules while Briti ...

'' (1963 US title) co-starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

*''Maciste Nelle Miniere Di Re Salomone'' (1964) Italy. aka ''

Maciste in King Solomon's Mines ''Samson in King Solomon's Mines'' () is a 1964 Italian peplum film written and directed by Piero Regnoli. Cast * Reg Park as Maciste * Wandisa Guida as Fazira * Dan Harrison as Abucar * Giuseppe Addobbati as Namar * Eleonora Bianchi as Samar ...

'' (1964) *''Ursus, Il Terrore Dei Kirghisi'' (1964). Italy. aka '' Hercules, Prisoner of Evil'' (1964) *''Sfida Dei Giganti'' (1965) Italy. aka '' Hercules the Avenger'' (1965)

Notes

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Times'', 27 November 2007
*
Reg's personal site

Reg's fan tribute
*

The Reg Park Story

Reg Park “Mr. Universe”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Reg 1928 births 2007 deaths British male bodybuilders Deaths from cancer in South Africa Deaths from melanoma English male bodybuilders English expatriates in Italy English male film actors People associated with physical culture Professional bodybuilders Military personnel from Leeds 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers English emigrants to South Africa 20th-century English sportsmen