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Steve Reeves
1926-2000
Updated 4/13/2009.
biography
Born in Montana on January 21, 1926, actor and bodybuilder Steve Reeves moved to California at the age of ten with his widowed mother. He cultivated an interest in bodybuilding while in his teens; by the time he was 17 years old, Reeves had developed quite a Herculean build. After graduating high school, Reeves entered the Army during the latter days of World War II. Upon his release, Reeves decided to enter bodybuilding contests and soon blew his competitors away, winning the titles "Mr. Pacific Coast," "Mr. Western America," and "Mr. America" in 1947. He won the "Mr. World" contest the following year, and in 1950 he became Mr. Universe, beating Reg Park. While a success in the sport of bodybuilding, luck with Reeves' other interest, acting, seemed elusive. He enrolled in acting classes and nearly landed the role of Samson in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949), a part that was eventually won by Victor Mature. Reeves would have to wait nearly ten years before his second shot at stardom.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Steve Reeves made a number of local and national television appearances. His TV career first started in 1949, when he starred in a 15-minute pilot titled Kindar, but the show was never picked up and did not go to series. Reeves then took guest roles on established TV shows, such as Topper, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.
Reeves in a 1952 appearance on Burns and Allen
It seems odd that Reeves' first film appearance came in Ed Wood's Jailbait. Jailbait (1954) finds Steve Reeves playing cops and robbers with Dolores Fuller and Lyle Talbot. In fact, since so many of Reeves' movies are dubbed, Jailbait is one of the few opportunities to actually hear the voice of the future Hercules star. Incidentally, Reeves had only good things to say about his first film director, Ed Wood: It was a pleasure to work with a director like Ed Wood. He was patient and understood how to make new and inexperienced actors feel at ease and get the best performance out of them. (from Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Grey, 1992, p. 50). Reeves' second film, the 1954 MGM musical Athena, was a box-office disappointment. Starring in Athena were Debbie Reynolds, Linda Christian, and Jane Powell. Also, Mr. America 1954 Dick DuBois was cast in the film, billed as Richard Sabre. Quick eyes can also spot Ed Fury, Bert Goodrich, Joe Gold, and Irvin 'Zabo' Koszewski.
the films of steve reeves
Athena (1954)
LEFT: Debbie Reynolds is suspended in mid-air by Dick Dubois and Steve Reeves during a publicity stunt. CENTER: With Debbie Reynolds. RIGHT: With Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds
Hercules (1958)
LEFT: Steve Reeves watches his new film at the premier for Hercules. RIGHT: Scene from the film. As rumor has it, the daughter of Italian director Pietro Francisci saw Reeves in Athena; she urged her father to hire the actor for the starring role in his new picture, Hercules.
Behind the scenes on the set of Hercules. The picture on the far right includes co-star Sylva Koscina
Hercules Unchained (1959)
Images from Hercules Unchained. LEFT: Reeves wrestles with Primo Carnera. CENTER A: With Sylva Koscina. CENTER B, C, and LEFT: Reeves as Hercules. Given the wild success of the original Hercules, producers decided to cash in again with the sequel, Hercules Unchained. In a feat which is rare in films, the sequel is actually more entertaining than the original
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This page premiered February 1, 1998.
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