Sunday, January 19, 2014

Charles Atlas asks, "Why be half a man?"

Ad from Science & Mechanics, February 1957

Although Charles Atlas died in 1972, his company is still in business.

Fortunately, Charles wasn't around for this humiliation.

Charles Atlas Complaint Held as Legal Weakling. (The New York Times, 8/31/2000) .

Takes one in the shins.  Charles Atlas might have been one of America's most famous musclemen, ably taking on bullies who kicked sand in his face at the beach. But this week, a federal judge treated his company like a 97-pound weakling and threw it out of court.

More about Charles
Charles Atlas: Muscle Man.  How the original 97-pound-weakling transformed himself and brought physical fitness to the masses .  (Smithsonian, August 2009)

Lessons in Manliness from Charles Atlas.  (The Art of Manliness, 9/29/2011)

And here's his appearance on the popular game show What's My Line?   He signed in as Mr. X, although the panel was not blindfolded.  (Originally broadcast on June 10, 1956.)



Obviously, the magazine ad used a photo of a much younger Atlas.

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