Keith Stephan

MAN AS LIVING ART

In addition to competing, Mr. Stephan was a very popular physique model and he was featured in the 1952 issue of IronMan (volume 11 number 5) and the 1952 issue of Strength and Health.  As IronMan says, it was an era of American Body Culture and Keith had the goods to show off for that culture.  Going back to ancient Greek and Roman times, an athletic/muscular male human form was regarded as a thing of beauty and strength to admire, and nothing to be modest about celebrating or showing off.   In addition to posing with crotch covers, Keith went au'naturel for several photo shoots and some 60 years later, VGMH says THANK YOU Keith for sharing with all of us! 

Just look at those big hands and that rugged mug on Keith in the photo above.  He could easily have been a prize fighter in the boxing ring in addition to being a body builder.  The image not only showcases Keith's strong arms and that classic "V" torso, but it also offers a nice angle shot of what those posing pouches typically hid from our view.  I wish I could find a photo of Keith fully dressed in this same pose, wearing a dark wool suit, black leather shoes and a skinny black tie with a crisp white starched shirt.  It would be fun to see how sexy he looks both dressed in clothing from that era and also nude.

Final segment in this series Tomorrow!

More Keith Stephan

There's just something special about Keith that many men continue to admire.  His thick, curly jet-black hair and tanned muscles are certainly eye-catching...but they aren't "it".  Photographers know when a model and their camera have chemistry together, and that was definitely the case with Keith.  Luckily for us, Keith maintained a healthy man-bush, evidenced in the photo above.  Of special interest in the photos below are the World War II-era ship backdrops.

He was born March 12, 1927 and was interested in the sport of personal development from an early age.  In 1951, Keith won 6th place as Mr. America-AAU.  The following year, Mr. Stephan won 6th place as Mr. California-AAU and also 6th place as Junior Mr. America-AAU.  Considering that it's been about 60 years since Keith posed for physique photographers, the fact that he continues to create interest, excitement (and lust) is something to be proud of.  Keith's energy and personality definitely continue to shine.

Part three: Keith without a posing strap.

Poolside with Keith Stephan

I like everything about the photo above.  The pool looks beautiful, with sparkling clear water and that classic ladder to climb up after diving in on a hot sunny Hollywood California afternoon.  Hmm...where does that step lead up to in the background where it's so dark?  And then of course there's Keith showing off his body.  For some reason I keep thinking that he should be playing the role of a hunky private detective in the movies.  Those buns look a little white compared to the rest of his amazing torso, nothing a little Coppertone suntan lotion wouldn't help fix.  It's my bet Keith could find a few people around the pool to help rub some in if he wanted to.

Standing 6'3", Keith was as tall as he was muscular.  He modeled for various physique photographers during the 1950's, including Bruce of LA, Russ Warner, Lyle Frisbee, and Spartan.  It's reported that Keith found his way into beefcake photography via physique bodybuilding contests in the early 1950's.  It's easy to see why photographers would take note of this magnificient man.

Fantasy Fun: Something in the Water?

Jimmy's wedding to Jane was a big deal here in Easyville last June. Lucky Jimmy just couldn't pick 1, so he had 7 best men! Only ever since their nuptials, poor Jane's been complaining to her friends because Jimmy just isn't delivering his 'male' into her female post office 'box', so to speak.

It looks like she's busy trying to turn him on while he's trying to turn on the radio (probably a wedding gift) to listen to tonight's baseball game.  Jane, Jane, Jane--Go buy yourself a battery operated vibrator....and wash the soles of your dirty feet while your at it!  It seems that Jane's girlfriends are having the same complaint--their guys just don't seem very interested in fooling around anymore.  What would cause that?  And why do kitchens all over town keep running out of Crisco all of a sudden?

Mayor Johnson commented at a town hall meeting that it's a pleasure to see the menfolk getting along so well.  It's true!  Even the barber shop is full of younger guys with long hair chatting up the older men sporting crew cuts...it's as if they suddenly found something they all have in common.  Then all of a sudden someone will whisper something and off they go together.

Whatever is going on, Jane knows that she's not getting her share of nookie from her hubby and it's starting to really get her hair curled!  And that happy smile on Jimmy's face everytime he comes home from being out 'with the boys' isn't helping matters!

Fantasy Fun: "How I spent my Summer" (part one)

With the economy being so bad and not many job opportunities, it looks like young bucks in the small town of Easyville have figured out ways to keep themselves entertained.  To be more specific, it looks like they've discovered the joys of a tight ass on a hot summer afternoon.  Their girlfriends want to talk (yak yak yak about stupid things) and want to go out to movies and stuff...but with a butt buddy, all you have to do is put him in position and plow away.  Once word spread that guys like Jimmy were an easy piece of tail to nail, the dog days of August were downright fun in Easyville. 

Who could have guessed that summer would have turned out so swell!

Ken Hoffman

Ken hit the big time around 1980 when he was in his mid-twenties.  He had several stage names which included Ken Hoffman and Ken Foxx.  It's reported that the long-schlonged stud appeared in straight erotica such as Pussy Delights (volume #1) as well as male-oriented print material like Handfull (Nova Studios), Jock magazine, Inches, In Touch, and Superstuds (volume 1 #2).  His movies included titles for Nova, Maverick and Filmco.

His stats were reported as being 5' 10" and 130 pounds.  As for the size of that salami, various reports measure it between 10 and 11 inches.

August 1974

The August 1974 issue of Playgirl remains one of their true classics, thanks to the sexy men shown on the cover (who were also nude inside).  Ron and Gregg Rogers, real-life brothers, continue to draw excitement from men young enough to be their grandchildren.  And the Discovery for August was a salty sailor named Gene Burton (photographs by David Meyer).

 

It was photo sets like this one of Gene that gave Playgirl a special look--non-studio settings and men who didn't appear to be overly-groomed, as if they truly had just undressed with a photographer handy to capture the masculine moment with his camera.  Of course that wasn't really the case, but compared to so many of today's bored-looking 'strike a pose' models in sterile studios settings, it certainly remains a special look.

And what about those brothers? Here's one of their famous photos that's still all all over the internet:

August 1974 was hot!

VGMH Male Sex Icon: Al Parker (end of series)

His last Years

After some extended time off, Parker started to work in film again and began a new relationship with Canadian porn star Justin Cade (left in the photo), however the relationship soon ended.  Unlike Scott's attitude, rumors were that Cade didn't like Parker's desire for recreational sex with unknown partners. According to Parker legend, Al (who could have gone into any gay bar and selected almost anyone he wanted) preferred the seductive hunt as much as anything, and would drive his van around town and pick up a variety of men for playtime in the tricked-out back of the van. If true, then men waiting at bus stops, construction workers, joggers, hamburger flippers, and convenience store guys (even two landscaping men at the same time!) all eventually made their way into the back of the van for a quickie good time. In any case, Justin and Parker were said to have remained good friends. 

Andrew "Drew" Okun died August 17, 1992 from complications of AIDS at the age of 40.  He was cremated and his ashes scattered to the sea at the celebrated nude section of San Gregorio Beach on Highway 1.

Some photos from one of Al's most famous movies, The Other Side of Aspen

Vintage August Hunk: Drew Ricciardi

 Playgirl magazine was heating up the stores in August 1993 with Drew Ricciardi posing as their centerfold, starting on page 48.  The issue also featured their pick of the top-ten sexiest male rock stars and the cover even boasted 25% more erotic pages---more naked men!  Who do you think was their selection for #1 sexiest rocker?

Male Sex Icons: Al Parker

1970's Al Parker's Sex Empire

Note: Al Parker (1952-1992) was arguably the most famous gay porn star of the 1970’s. Amazingly, it seems that unlike other celebrities, Drew Okun (Al's real name) maintained most of the same beliefs, values and interests for his entire life (even after becoming Al Parker). Drew became a star during an era of gay sexual promiscuity like America had never seen before, as newly-liberated (and part of the massive baby-boom) men explored who they were and enjoyed almost unlimited opportunities for sex in the major cities across the nation. On the screen in movie houses, Al personified the 1970's gay "clone" look of short cropped hair, a beard/moustache, and masculine work clothing. As the decade continued, the clone look became part of male gay culture, part of mainstream advertising for the era (especially cigarettes) and eventually mainstream straight men copied the look as their own. In this final post on the life of Drew/Al, it becomes apparent how the carefree-sexual life he and so many others innocently lived in the 1970's (no one knew yet about the horrible storm that was about to arrive) was about to change for the 1980's.

Al's Surge Studios  understood the money-making potential for marketing sex-related "enlargement toys" through their films.   Parker, along with his father and partner Scott, had been making penis pumps and other enlargement gadgets under the names of two companies, the Boston Pump Works and the San Francisco Pump Works. These same gadgets were often used and advertised inside the Surge Studio sex films, making instant customers. The penis pumps are supposed to have made more money for Parker than his movies! It's reported that Parker was not only selling pumps, but for years he had been enjoying using the devices personally, along with cock rings and other sex toys.  In both his home and his van he was said to have kept a treasure-trove of plastic and latex devices, should the opportunity to use them come up. Later in life he supposedly also had his foreskin surgically restored.

In addition to the marketing of sex toys in their movies, Surge Studios would also be a pioneer in the fight against a new sickness that was killing many gay men.  While others in the business were afraid they would have fewer customers if their actors wore condoms, Parker was one of the first in the business to address the need for safe sex. His studio had their actors use condoms when performing...it wasn't requested, it was a mandate.  This was no small deal at the time, and Al Parker deserves recognition for helping to protect tens of thousands of gay men's lives who watched the protected sex on the screen and then introduced condoms into their own lives.