In
the mid-to-late ‘60s, Dave Draper, “The Blond Bomber”,
came to personify the California blond beach boy muscle ideal
that holds sway to this day. An overweight teenager, he set
about a transformation that progressed to carving a massive,
shapely and spectacularly tapered physique. Draper began
working at Weider headquarters in Union City, New Jersey,
before moving to the company’s Santa Monica office in 1963.
From that base, he began his climb to bodybuilding stardom, in
the process annexing the 1965 IFBB Mr. America, 1996 IFBB Mr.
Universe, and 1970 IFBB Mr. World titles.
He
had a substantial role as an aspiring bodybuilder in the
successful movie Don’t Make Waves (1967), which starred Tony
Curtis, Claudia Cardinale and ill-fated Sharon Tate. Known as
a free spirit, Draper drifted away from the bodybuilding
mainstream in the ‘70s but returned in the ‘80s. Renowned
as one of the sport’s gentlemen, he married wife Laree in
1988 (webmaster of his official website).
