By Randy Roach

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors Volume III – Book 1

© 2015 Randy Roach. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher and author. For permission requests please write to the author. www.randyroach.ca Cover photos and all photos herein may not be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the photographer or their agent. Printed in Quebec, Canada By Marquis First Edition 2015 ISBN: 9780992091408 Published in Toronto, Canada By Primal Synergy Inc. For ordering information please contact the author. Because of the dynamic nature of the internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author.

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors Volume III – Book 1

Dedication

I sincerely wish to dedicate all the remaining books that will constitute Volume III of “Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors” to you, the reader. Your support and encouragement for this very challenging project is truly appreciated. It is my humble, and very biased, opinion that you make up the very best our industry has to offer!

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors Volume III – Book 1

Acknowledgements

My deepest thanks and gratitude to my dear friend Patti for her support and for the many gifts she brought to this project.

Again, my great appreciation to Tamas Acs who has taken on various roles throughout the Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors journey going back to Volume I. Tamas has become a partner for Volume III, filling many holes and expanding us deeper into what modern media technologies have to offer.

I would like to thank Ryan McMillan, Tamas Acs and Gary Neeb for assisting in the cover design.

Book 1 – Volume III would not have been possible without the extensive interaction from a number of great guys from the land down under, Australia. Wayne Gallasch, Kit Laughlin, Terry Gibson, Peter Hardwick, Peter McCarthy and Vince Basile all interacted extensively through email, and Skype. These men definitely added much more depth to the 1980 Mr. Olympia story. Greg Zulak, John Hansen, Wayne DeMilia, Boyer Coe and Roger Schwab gave similar insight into the 1981 Mr. Olympia.

A final thanks to Vince Basile, Garry Bartlett, David Marsh and Robert Gardner for the bulk of the photos that constitute this book’s cover and inside storyline.

Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors Volume III – Book 1 Table of Contents

Prologue: The 1980s ....................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1: Bigger Than The Sport? ................................................................ 9

Chapter 2: Muscle Zenith & Zane ................................................................ 17

Chapter 3: A Heavy Duty Threat? ................................................................ 29

Chapter 4: Judgment Day ............................................................................. 41

Chapter 5: Judging The Judgment ................................................................ 57

Chapter 6: A Comeback For “The Comeback”? .......................................... 82

Chapter 7: Franco See, Franco Do.............................................................. 101

Chapter 8: Where Eagles Dare ................................................................... 114

Chapter 9: Points of Contention ................................................................. 126

Chapter 10: United We Stand, Divided We Fall! ....................................... 141

Chapter 11: A Penny For Your Thoughts? ................................................. 149

Chapter 12: Plausible Deniability ............................................................... 167

Epilogue: Final Judgment ........................................................................... 180

Appendix A: Mr. Olympia, 1980 ............................................................... 181

Appendix B: Mr. Olympia, 1981 ................................................................ 181

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Chapter 1: Bigger Than The Sport?

In 1981, Charles Gaines and George Butler released a revised edition of their landmark publication “Pumping Iron”. When writing on the bodybuilding comeback of Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 1980 Mr. Olympia contest, Gaines made a reference that bore a relative significance to his subject at hand. Twenty-eight years later, John D. Fair would draw upon this same reference in his extensive 2009 article in Iron Game History Journal of Physical Culture, “The Intangible Arnold”. Both men wrote on the irony in timing of Muhammad Ali’s comeback against Larry Holmes that took place on October 2, 1980. This match was only two days before Arnold would once again take centre stage after a five-year layoff from competitive physique competition. Fair went one step further by quoting Arnold on the comparative relevance between his situation and that of Muhammad Ali:

“You hear the stories of the old guys, the former champs, coming back and getting wiped out by the new guys. And it was happening to Ali right before my eyes. Just like me, he decided to come back one more time. I could see he was making a mistake and for a split second I had to wonder if I'd be making the same mistake by entering the Olympia the next day. Would I be risking my legend? But it was only for a split second.” (Muscle & Fitness (M&F), Feb/1981)

Obviously there was some similarity for Arnold to draw upon, but this quote would have more relevance had Arnold actually been comparing apples to apples. The annals of professional sport are filled with tales of both heroic and disastrous athletic comebacks, spurred most often by money, fame, ego, or any combination of the three. The driven, returning athletes soon discover whether time, the sport, or both have passed them by.

In 1991, Olympic champion swimmer Mark Spitz was still competitive with, and in some cases surpassed, his seven Olympic gold medal performances 20 years earlier at the 1972 Munich Games. He demonstrated that time had not necessarily passed him by, but he was still two seconds short of any qualifying times for the Games in Barcelona, Spain in 1992. For Mark Spitz, the sport had simply evolved beyond his legendary

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performances. Also in the early 1990s, Swedish tennis sensation Björn Borg attempted a comeback after a nine-year absence. He chose to opt out of the latest in graphite equipment for his traditional wooden racket that brought him five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976 through 1980. Borg soon learned that the sport’s technology and time had both passed him by. Three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) winner Royce Gracie experienced the evolution of the UFC when he returned after 11 years in 2006 to be soundly defeated by then champion Matt Hughes.

In the case of Muhammad Ali on October 2, 1980, he had only been away from the ring for less than two years, since regaining the prestigious heavyweight boxing title for an unprecedented third time when he beat Leon Spinks in their rematch in 1978. Nonetheless, this did not at all impede Larry Holmes from showing Ali that Father Time had in fact caught up with him and as incredible as “The Greatest of All Time” had claimed to be, he was not bigger than the sport itself. When analyzing the circumstances surrounding Arnold Schwarzenegger and his 1980 comeback, he, more than any of the above-mentioned athletes, came closest to making the claim: bigger than the sport!

In Arnold’s quote, he stated that for a split second he wondered whether he was making the same mistake as Ali in coming back with the potential of being wiped out by the competition. In the case of Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes, Ali did not control all the variables and Holmes was allowed a fair venue in order to demonstrate the natural progression of boxing without polluting the sport. Schwarzenegger’s opposition would not be granted such an opportunity. Furthermore, with the timing and the circumstances of physique competition in 1980, the controversy surrounding Arnold’s comeback definitely brought various levels of disruption to both the emergence of competitive bodybuilding and a number of careers at the time. The Professional Scene

The year 1975 was a critical turning point for gaining control over both amateur and professional bodybuilding. Joe and Ben Weider, with their International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB), still had no hegemony on either front for the first half of the decade. President Gerald Ford’s 1975 President’s Commission on Olympic Sports (PCOS) began the process of divesting the Amateur Athletic Union of its governance over amateur sports. Chapters 9 and 10 of “Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, Volume II” covered extensively how this shift of power to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) opened up an opportunity for the IFBB to gain affiliation with and control over American amateur bodybuilding.

Even with Arnold Schwarzenegger as their flagship competitor from 1969 through 1975, the IFBB was still fighting for professional supremacy

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with Dan Lurie’s World Body Building Guild (WBBG) and Oscar Heidenstam’s National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA). IFBB outcast Serge Nubret and his World Amateur Body Building Association (WABBA) came late in the game in 1976. Arnold would actually prove more effective for IFBB professional bodybuilding away from the posing dais than he did as a competitor.

Upon announcing his retirement from competitive bodybuilding following his victory in Pretoria, South Africa in 1975, it was already announced at that year’s IFBB Congress that Arnold, along with Reg Park and Franco Columbu, would work towards a professional committee and report back to the next year’s Congress. (Muscle Builder (MB), Jul/1977)

Arnold kept with his plan of teaming with Jim Lorimer, with Jim becoming the workhorse of this newly formed promotional team. Together they promoted and ran the 1976 Mr. Olympia in Columbus, Ohio. This show was a significant leap forward in prize money and presentation. It was a turning point in terms of allure for the IFBB. It must be recalled that the Mr. Olympia had Arnold running unopposed in 1971 as the NABBA clearly outdrew the IFBB in contestants that year at their Professional Mr. Universe show with the likes of Frank Zane, Reg Park, Sergio Oliva, and the retiring Bill Pearl. Dan Lurie pulled a bigger audience with his Pro Mr. America show contestants than what Tom Minichiello could draw with Arnold, Franco, and Serge Nubret heading his Mr. Olympia lineup in September of 1973. Of course, it helped Dan enormously to have the legendary bodybuilder/actor Steve Reeves as a special guest.

This would all change in 1976. It was at that year’s IFBB Mr. Universe show and seventh international congress in Montreal, Canada where Wayne DeMilia first met Ben Weider. Wayne then joined John Balik, George Turner, Warren Langman, Bill Drake, Jim Lorimer and Paul Graham in Arnold’s hotel room for the first and only IFBB Professional Committee meeting. (W. DeMilia, phone 2004) Franco Columbu, who had just won his first Mr. Olympia title in Columbus, Ohio, was not in attendance for this gathering. Following Arnold’s meeting, DeMilia attended his first IFBB Congress with an “observer” status where Arnold spoke on the direction of IFBB professional bodybuilding.

Sitting right next to Arnold as he addressed the Congress was Tom Minichiello. Tom had run the 1973 and 1974 Mr. Olympia shows in New York. DeMilia recalled Tom doing a double take when he heard Arnold call Wayne’s name as part of the new Professional Committee. (W. DeMilia, phone 2014) It was only weeks prior to that when Wayne and Tom had their falling out at the 1976 IFBB Mr. America contest that Minichiello also ran. Tom was no longer interested in promoting professional shows and wanted to focus on the IFBB Mr. America event. It was at this time that Minichiello’s American Federation of Amateur Bodybuilding (AFAB) replaced Ralph P. Johnson’s American Amateur Bodybuilding Association (AABA) as the American

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affiliate to the IFBB. Tom Minichiello and the IFBB would mutually depart within two years when the IFBB dropped the AFAB after finally gaining the affiliation of the AAU/NPC.

Somewhat confusing the atmosphere, the IFBB would supposedly disband the Professional Committee at the 1977 Congress in favour of professional delegates at large. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Jim Lorimer, Reg Park, and Boyer Coe were named as such delegates. (MB,

Jun/1978) Coe does recall being in France that year where the Congress was held, but had no idea as to why he was named as one of the delegates, or whether he was even aware of it at the time. (B. Coe, phone Aug/2014) Although the IFBB, under the direction of Oscar State, was undergoing serious federation restructuring in order to align the organization for proper global amateur recognition and governance, they were still operating by the seat of their pants in many regards.

Whether there was a professional committee or not, those promoting a professional IFBB event were dealing directly with Ben Weider anyway. Wayne DeMilia, who was the new kid on the block, got caught between Ben and Arnold over the payment of sanctioning fees for a pro contest when he ran his first Night of Champions in the spring of 1978. Left with very little choice, Wayne ended up paying the fee to Ben. This angered Arnold who strongly felt that no such fees should have been paid. In the case of Mr. Ken Sprague, Ken did not know of any professional committees or delegates, inwardly held no respect for the IFBB at any time, and paid no sanction fees for the pro show he ran in 1978. When asked why he then handed the AAU/NPC to the IFBB, Ken simply felt it gained him great political and promotional leverage for his Gold’s Gym with Jim Manion as chairman and Ken as secretary of the emerging NPC. (K. Sprague, email 2006-2014)

Regardless, between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer, Wayne DeMilia, Ken Sprague and even Chet Yorton, the prize money, presentation and prestige began to elevate tremendously for IFBB professional bodybuilding during the second half of the 1970s. The scene had evolved enough that Ben Weider once again revived the IFBB Professional Committee when he appointed a new chairman to take on that growing responsibility. What happened to Arnold? Arnold had co-promoted, along with Jim Lorimer, the previous four Mr. Olympia shows from 1976 through 1979. His movie career was in fact on the rise and taking more and more of his time. The late 1970s saw a very strained relationship between Arnold and the Weider brothers as well. With the lawsuit involving Arnold via Ken Sprague, the Weiders found themselves aligned with Ken and Gold’s Gym, whereas Arnold was on the side of World Gym. Arnold was instrumental in persuading Joe Gold to open World in opposition to Gold’s. Joe Weider testified on behalf of Ken Sprague in July of 1978 and his testimony did not at all favour Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Gold’s v Schwarzenegger et al., # 234425) Later that summer, Arnold was at odds with Ben Weider over union initiatives put forth

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by young Kalman Szkalak, who sacrificed his career with his efforts to organize the professional bodybuilders.

Regardless, with Arnold off building Arnold, Ben appointed the 30-year-old Wayne DeMilia as the new head of the IFBB Professional Committee. Oscar State, who was the instrument of the IFBB structural growth through the 1970s, took issue with Ben’s new appointee. The senior Oscar and a much younger Wayne were worlds apart in many ways in 1979, but would find out soon enough that they shared a planet or two. According to DeMilia, this was one of the few times Ben Weider stood behind him when Ben defended his decision with Oscar. Ben actually had a pretty solid case. Wayne had by then very successfully carried out two Night of Champions events, and in 1979 added two new Grand Prix shows. No one else was close in terms of contest activity and Oscar relented. (W. DeMilia, phone Aug/2014)

Network Coverage

Competitive bodybuilding was in fact emerging into mainstream American culture. This was clearly evident with the growing media coverage by the major television networks. Before haggling with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wayne DeMilia over sanction fees in late 1977, Ben Weider continued his traffic direction on the one-way IFBB financial highway with a new decree from the executive council issued at the 1977 IFBB Congress in Nimes, France. “It was decided that the IFBB would from then on ‘retain a share of all television fees.’” (MB, Jun/1978)

ABC’s Wide World of Sports was the first major television network to air both weightlifting and bodybuilding back at Jim Lorimer’s AAU World Weightlifting Championships and Pro Mr. World contest in late September of 1970. According to the IFBB 1974 fifth international Congress Report, their cameras again were present for that year’s World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships (Mr. Universe) contest in Verona, Italy. (MB,

May/1975)

By 1977, the “Pumping Iron” book had sold over 125,000 copies following the debut of the movie earlier that year and the charms of Arnold Schwarzenegger no doubt helped lure ABC back to film his promotional efforts for the 1977 and 1978 Mr. Olympia contests in Columbus, Ohio. Arnold also served as colour commentator for these events. CBS joined in 1978 for their shot at the World Amateur Championships in Acapulco, won by Mike Mentzer. They obviously liked what they saw since they outbid ABC and signed a 3-year contract from 1979 through 1981 for the Mr. Olympia events. (MB, Feb/1980) Little did they know that the deal would sour terribly in only the second year of their contract while bodybuilding’s favourite son was standing centre stage.

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One would think that having a contest filmed by a major American television network for international viewing would be deterrent enough for any level of contest compromise, but CBS would experience the quirks of competitive bodybuilding in the land down under. In early October of 1980, their network cameras rolled at the Sydney Opera House in Australia where they shot what was definitely one of the most controversial Mr. Olympias ever contested.

Cutting straight to the heart of the matter was top competitor Mike Mentzer. Mike was one of a few favored to win the 1980 Mr. Olympia title, but ended up in a disappointing fifth place. When addressing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s controversial comeback victory at that particular event with John Stamatopoulos of bodybuilding.com 20 years later, an angry Mentzer asserted:

“The 1980 Mr. Olympia was definitely fixed. The promoter of that contest was Paul Graham, a very, very close friend of Arnold's. As it turned out, while the rules stated that individuals had to officially enter their application to compete one month before the contest, the IFBB bent the rule and let Arnold enter the day before! He waited that long because by that point he knew who the judges were. CBS, who was there to film the event for future televising, was convinced it was fixed and discovered that a majority of the judges had either close personal or financial ties with Arnold. Well, so convinced – and pissed off – was CBS Sports that, despite the time, money and effort required to send a film crew halfway around the world to Australia to film a sporting event, they refused to air that contest.” (bodybuilding.com 2001)

Mentzer spewed a mouthful of accusations with his above statements; some true, some inaccurate, and some speculation. He was certainly correct regarding CBS Sports, who were angry enough to summon Ben Weider to meet with them months after the contest to defend his sport by explaining specific judging antics caught on film. Ben, the political diplomat of the Weider family, would delegate IFBB diplomacy for this controversy over to his head of the Professional Committee, Wayne DeMilia. It would have been interesting had Arnold Schwarzenegger still held that position. Would Ben have sent Arnold to CBS to answer for his own antics? Arnold’s laughter would have been heard all the way from California!

It was winter in New York early in 1981 when Wayne received the call from Ben Weider instructing him to go to CBS headquarters to smooth things

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over for the IFBB. Boyer Coe, who had finished fourth in the contest, was in New York at the time and met Wayne and his wife Karen in front of CBS headquarters. They were also joined by Chris Dickerson and another friend. Chris had actually placed second just behind Arnold in a controversial decision. The group set off to meet with CBS producer Sherm Eagan, in order to eat some Arnold crow on behalf of Ben Weider and the IFBB.

DeMilia recalled being quite uncomfortable sitting through what he had to view. Compounding matters, he had to actually explain it. Wayne basically had to concede on several issues that he had no explanation as to what he had just witnessed. (W. DeMilia, phone 2009-2015) Wayne’s only saving grace, if any, was that he did not participate in the judging and better yet, he was on the other side of the planet at the time of the contest. However, Boyer Coe was in fact there and recalled what he viewed on the CBS screen that day actually looking even more bizarre than what he personally witnessed in Sydney on stage standing just one over from Schwarzenegger. (B. Coe, phone 2009-2015) We’ll look more at what DeMilia watched on screen in New York in Chapter 4, including comments from Norm Komich who was present at the Sydney Opera House in the front row area, and basically concluded that Arnold “marches to his own drummer and that is why he is as successful as he is…” (N. Komich, email 2009)

Marching to the beat of his own drum, was there anyone who Arnold needed to answer to in 1980? The Schwarzenegger brand and persona had built itself by that time to such a magnitude, as compared to bodybuilding, that he had become arguably bigger than the sport itself!

As mentioned earlier, great athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Björn Borg, and Mark Spitz all enjoyed periods of total dominance, but none rose above that of their chosen field of athletics. Boxing, tennis, and swimming had cultural establishment going back many decades. Bodybuilding was just emerging into societal acceptance after years of shunning and ridicule. By 1980, bodybuilding as a vehicle for improved strength and health was on a solid track. The sport, too, was finally given some spotlight, but it had nowhere near the established credibility as soccer, rugby, hockey, basketball, baseball or football.

Any athlete who had reached superstar status within the realm of their sport rarely, if ever, matched that level of popularity in their succeeding endeavours after leaving their game. This wasn’t necessarily the case with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the sport of bodybuilding. Physique competition still carried enough of a precarious public disposition so that an athlete leaving that sport for a shot in Hollywood would definitely be taking a step up in career status. As popular as Arnold became in the small circle of bodybuilding, that status was dwarfed when compared to how well-known he became in his subsequent pursuits.

Arnold was a six-time Mr. Olympia winner from 1970 through 1975. Only Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva and Frank Zane had won more than once,

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with Oliva and Zane taking three victories each. No one had yet matched the bodybuilding status of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Without money, sport glory, or public status serving as any real allure, it could actually have been argued that a return to bodybuilding for Arnold would be a step backward for his career.

Arnold may in fact have marched to the beat of his own drum when forging his success, as Norm Komich asserted. How much can be attributed to the brash charisma of Arnold, Joe Weider’s business avenues, or the breakout publicity from George Butler and Charles Gaines is up for debate. Let’s not forget Jim Lorimer with his accumulated resources from his days as an Ohio mayor, an FBI agent, and in a significant position with Nationwide Insurance. Lorimer had the pull to secure a private corporate jet to fly Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Dave Draper, and Boyer Coe from New York to Columbus, Ohio in order to make the AAU Pro Mr. World show back in September of 1970. The jet belonged to Volkswagen, a sponsor for that event. (“Total Recall”, 2012)

Regardless of the influence all of these men had in moving Arnold along through the 1970s, there still seemed to be some level of additional media and political undercurrent writing the music for the Schwarzenegger drum from the 1980s onward. By the end of the 1970s, none of his acting roles resembled that of a marquee performance, nor were any all that memorable except perhaps his brazenness in “Pumping Iron.” Compounding the issue was the fact that western culture was still being groomed to accept the bodybuilding look; they certainly were not begging for it. However, on the Hollywood scene, Arnold just seemed to have kept on coming no matter what the critics had to say.

As impressive as Arnold’s Hollywood status became, it arguably stood second to his political ascent. It was curious enough as to how Arnold was absorbed into the Kennedy family, but considering his academic and professional background, it is still dumbfounding to many as to how he landed as a Republican in the Governor’s Office for the state of California. Even acknowledging the political path of Ronald Reagan, one does not become head of the eighth largest economy of the world without being very heavily connected and, some might say, compromised as well. This no doubt came when Arnold was brought into the fold of the heavily powerful political family headed by one George Herbert Walker Bush!

Regardless, Arnold Schwarzenegger was destined for power and it was already becoming apparent by 1980. The bigger question was why Arnold decided to test this power by putting his bodybuilding legend on the line with a Mr. Olympia comeback. And could the sport of bodybuilding, still with a fragile public interpretation back at that time, absorb the ramifications from the manner in which Arnold returned to the Mr. Olympia venue that year?