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Anyone who’s ever lifted a weight likely knows about Pumping Iron. The milestone 1977 docudrama, directed by George Butler, introduced bodybuilding to the mainstream and catapulted competitors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno into the pop-culture zeitgeist.
For newcomers, the movie centers on the lead-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia show and all the behind-the-scenes drama that goes along with it. Since its debut more than 45 years ago, the movie has been dissected by everyone, from film historians and bodybuilding legends to YouTubers who weren’t even born when the movie premiered. But if you’re still hungry for all things Pumping Iron, we’ve got nine facts that should provide even more insight into this iconic piece of moviemaking.
9 Facts About Pumping Iron
A Magazine Article Played a Part in Pumping Iron’s Creation
Most might imagine that Pumping Iron exists solely because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the first kernel of inspiration for the movie actually sprung up at a small bodybuilding show in Holyoke, Mass. (1)
In 1972, the town hosted a bodybuilding contest, and Sports Illustrated hired Butler to take photographs of the event for a feature article written by Charles Gaines. Though Butler was familiar with bodybuilding, this contest marked his first professional experience with the sport.
Butler and Gaines were fascinated by the small human dramas around them, and they saw a larger story of a fringe culture they wanted to represent. Thus, the idea for Pumping Iron — first the book (which we get into below) and then the movie — started to form.
The Pumping Iron Book Was Not a Vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger
Many fans of the film might not know that Pumping Iron started out as a book written by Gaines with photographs by Butler. (2) And it doesn’t focus solely on Schwarzenegger — heck, the “Austrian Oak” didn’t even make the cover.
The cover of the first edition actually went to the late Ed Corney, a bodybuilder with his own niche, in-sport popularity. (Later editions of the book featured bodybuilder Tom Platz on the cover before eventually using the familiar image of Schwarzenegger.)
[Read: Best Pre-Workout Supplements for Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, and More]
The book debuted in 1974, and wound up as a New York Times Best Seller. (3) The whole thing reads like an amalgamation of journalistic pieces and strikes a much more contemplative tone than the movie’s sense of humor and frequent use of charm offensive. While the book earned great reviews, it didn’t capture an audience quite like the movie and remains out of print as of January 2023.
Pumping Iron Allegedly Inspired John Travolta’s Breakout Hit
Both Pumping Iron and Saturday Night Fever hit theaters in 1977 and quickly became pop-culture sensations. And while they appear to be on opposite ends of the cinematic spectrum, Butler claimed that Pumping Iron’s supporting cast member, Lou Ferrigno, inspired the characterization of John Travolta’s fictional family life in Fever. (1)
[Read: How to Increase Your Bench Press — Tips and Programs to Try]
According to Butler, Fever writer Nik Cohn felt that the family’s bickering dynamic and Lou’s aspirational attitude perfectly captured the essence of a “big dreamer stuck in a small life” needed for his story.
“It’s all John Travolta’s family,” Butler said. “With his sister and brother and the Catholic Church and everything else. It was modeled on [the Ferrignos] in Pumping Iron.” (1)
Principal photography for Fever began in March of 1977, months after Pumping Iron’s premiere. (4) Cohn himself was clearly a fan of Butler’s work and of bodybuilding in general. He wrote extensively about Pumping Iron for New York magazine upon the movie’s release, and later wrote the book Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders. (5)(6)
One of the Movie’s Most Memorable Bodybuilders Didn’t Get Credited
In a movie full of memorable scenes, Schwarzenegger giving pre-contest advice to a young competitor stands out from the pack. It takes place right in the middle of Gold’s Gym as the newbie blonde bodybuilder obediently takes critiques from the far more experienced Austrian Oak.
The young man’s name is Wes Brown, but you’d never know that since he doesn’t even get a credit in the film. In the years since, however, his story has become representative of a minor cliché in bodybuilding circles: the small-town guy with the great body running off to California to “become the next Arnold.”
In an interview with trainer Tom Purvis, Brown said that he and his mentor were both from South Carolina. (7) Out there, 19-year-old Brown showed remarkable development for a kid with limited equipment and time. He was obsessed with bodybuilding, and his results were notable for a young man with limited exposure to anything other than what he could glean from strength magazines.
[Read: The Best Arm Workouts for Size, Strength, Beginners, and More]
At the end of his spring semester in 1975, he and his buddy decided to fly out to Venice, CA, to chase their dreams. With a few bucks in his pocket, they made their way to the original location of the legendary Gold’s Gym, and within a few days, Brown literally bumbled onto the set of Pumping Iron.
Back then, bodybuilding gyms were fringe, small establishments in a tight-knit community centered on lifting heavy weights. And when you entered a new gym, there are a lot of “introductions to the gang.” And as Brown and his friend were getting acquainted with the denizens of the gym, Brown mentioned to the other bodybuilders how much he dreamed of being just like the aesthetic Schwarzenegger. Butler supposedly overheard the conversation and loved the wide-eyed energy of the country boy. The director quickly manufactured the moments we see in the film where Brown gets put under Schwarzenegger’s wing.
No, Schwarzenegger Didn’t Skip His Dad’s Funeral to Train
Both Schwarzenegger and Butler have long since gone on the record revealing many moments in Pumping Iron were completely fictionalized in order to tell a more compelling story. It’s why the movie is labeled a docudrama rather than a documentary.
One of those fictionalized elements involved Schwarzenegger skipping his father’s funeral because he didn’t want to miss out on any of his training. (8) This scene helped create a false persona for the Schwarzenegger of the movie, portraying him as an obsessive, absolutist robot with one goal in mind. (Almost like a Terminator, you could say.)
[Read: Every Winner of the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Competition]
In a later interview, Schwarzenegger himself admitted that he stole the story from a fellow competitor he previously met in France, who truly did not attend his father’s funeral to prioritize his training. Who’s to say if that is the true origin of the fiction, but we know for certain that Schwarzenegger’s father died in 1972, long before the 1975 filming of Pumping Iron. (That said, Butler later maintained the story was true.) (1)
Schwarzenegger Actually Appeared as a Competitive Bodybuilder in a Movie the Year Before
The year before Pumping Iron premiered, a light romance film starring Sally Field and a young Jeff Bridges called Stay Hungry hit theaters. (Based on the book by — you guessed it — Charles Gaines.) The plot of the film revolves around a love triangle between a real estate investor, the young desk receptionist at a local gym that the investor had purchased, and a rising bodybuilding hopeful who worked out at the gym. Any guess on who plays the bodybuilder?
[Read: The Best Supplements for Muscle Growth for Protein, BCAAs, and More]
That’s right, in 1976, Schwarzenegger played a bodybuilder in his first mainstream movie. (We’re not counting 1969’s Hercules in New York. More on that in a bit.) Of course, the contest in the movie is all fiction, but it presents the sport in a fairly authentic way for the time. Audiences saw scenes of the Oak training, preparing backstage, and posing at the show, which likely seemed like foreign concepts in the pre-Pumping Iron world.
Though not a runaway financial hit, Schwarzenegger’s performance earned him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year, signaling bigger things heads. (9)
No One Stole Mike Katz’s T-Shirt
Another standout moment in Pumping Iron is the micro drama of bodybuilder Ken Waller stealing rival Mike Katz’s T-shirt in order to psyche him out on the day of the competition. Butler and Schwarzenegger have long since copped up to the fact that the incident was completely fabricated, too. (8)(1)
Yes, Mike Katz did really lose his shirt temporarily, and yes, he did make an offhand (and completely joking) comment that Waller probably stole it — but that was it. However, when Butler watched Katz anxiously look for his shirt, an idea popped into his head: What if Waller really did steal the shirt as an act of pre-show sabotage?
Butler then shot the scene where Waller supposedly hatched his plot and weaved the whole thing together to create an engrossing side story.
During filming, Lou Ferrigno “Predicted” He Would Become the Incredible Hulk
Countless hours of footage filmed for Pumping Iron had to be cut to meet the movie’s 90-minute run time. But that doesn’t mean the moments that were cut were duds. In fact, a few gems ultimately fell victim to the editing bay during post-production.
One such piece came when Lou Ferrigno apparently expressed that his goal was “to become the Incredible Hulk.” This is not some unique sentiment; many bodybuilders use this fictional character as an analogy for their ultimate fantasies. But as you probably know, Ferrigno would become his own pop-culture sensation as he played the Hulk on TV for five years between 1977 and 1982.
[Read: 12 of the Biggest Men’s Bodybuilders of All Time]
According to Butler, cameras caught Ferrigno talking about his goal, but the footage never saw the light of day. (1) Getting this little outtake would be incredibly precious to fans of Ferrigno and the film Pumping Iron. But Butler only mentioned the footage in passing; it doesn’t seem easily accessible to fans.
Now, the timeline is tight: The filming of Pumping Iron lasted mainly through 1975, and The Incredible Hulk television series debuted in 1977, overlapping Iron’s release. Who’s to say what motivated Ferrigno’s comment? Was he pitching himself? Did he already have a prospective audition? Was it purely a coincidence? We don’t know those answers, but according to Butler, Ferrigno made a comment on film that predicted his future success.
People Thought the Movie Would Tank Because of Schwarzenegger
When Butler wanted to get Pumping Iron funded in the early ‘70s, Schwarzenegger was far from a big-screen star. Up until that point, his most high-profile movie was 1969’s Hercules in New York, a notorious indie flop that seemed to signal the end of the bodybuilder’s nascent movie career. The movie bombed so hard that Butler’s credit request got denied from one potential financier simply because of Schwarzenegger’s involvement. (1)
Later, as Butler still tried to drum up financial support for the project, he paid for Arnold to fly across the country to the aforementioned town of Holyoke for an impromptu guest-posing routine at an amusement park full of onlookers. (10) The end result turned into 10 minutes of test footage to show potential investors.
[Read: The 10 Greatest Bodybuilders to Never Win a Mr. Olympia Title]
Butler then went to New York with his footage, showing it to influential investors in an attempt to win funding. According to Butler, dead silence. Then a wave of skepticism, particularly directed towards Arnold as unmarketable, uninteresting, and even boring. In fact, Butler quoted the wealthy Romulus Linney (actor Laura Linney’s well-networked father) as saying, “George, if you ever make a movie about Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’ll be laughed off 42nd Street.”
In Conclusion
Pumping Iron began life as a humble project by two men, birthed out of a shared curiosity about a niche subculture. In the end, this docudrama with a shoestring budget helped introduce bodybuilding to the mainstream and was a key factor in Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s. Though its impact was huge at the time, it remains the most acclaimed movie about bodybuilding decades later.
References
Perine, Shawn. “Pumping Iron at 25: The Film That Almost Wasn’t.” IronAge.Us. 2002
The Barbell Team. “Pumping Iron: The Book.” TheBarbell.com, August 19, 2022
“Best Sellers.” The New York Times, April 20, 1975
AFI Catalog, Saturday Night Fever. ??
Cohn, Nik. “Pumping Chic: The Launching of a New York Folk Hero.” New York Magazine, January 24, 1977
Abe Books. Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders
Purvis, Tom. “Interview With Wes Brown.” YouTube. August 13, 2021
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. “Pumping Iron Extra.” YouTube
“Arnold Schwarzenegger.” GoldenGlobes.com
Roach, Randy. Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors. Author House. October 2011.
Featured Image: Over Comes on YouTube
Anyone who’s ever lifted a weight likely knows about Pumping Iron. The milestone 1977 docudrama, directed by George Butler, introduced bodybuilding to the mainstream and catapulted competitors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno into the pop-culture zeitgeist.
For newcomers, the movie centers on the lead-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia show and all the behind-the-scenes drama that goes along with it. Since its debut more than 45 years ago, the movie has been dissected by everyone, from film historians and bodybuilding legends to YouTubers who weren’t even born when the movie premiered. But if you’re still hungry for all things Pumping Iron, we’ve got nine facts that should provide even more insight into this iconic piece of moviemaking.
9 Facts About Pumping Iron
A Magazine Article Played a Part in Pumping Iron’s Creation
Most might imagine that Pumping Iron exists solely because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the first kernel of inspiration for the movie actually sprung up at a small bodybuilding show in Holyoke, Mass. (1)
In 1972, the town hosted a bodybuilding contest, and Sports Illustrated hired Butler to take photographs of the event for a feature article written by Charles Gaines. Though Butler was familiar with bodybuilding, this contest marked his first professional experience with the sport.
Butler and Gaines were fascinated by the small human dramas around them, and they saw a larger story of a fringe culture they wanted to represent. Thus, the idea for Pumping Iron — first the book (which we get into below) and then the movie — started to form.
The Pumping Iron Book Was Not a Vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger
Many fans of the film might not know that Pumping Iron started out as a book written by Gaines with photographs by Butler. (2) And it doesn’t focus solely on Schwarzenegger — heck, the “Austrian Oak” didn’t even make the cover.
The cover of the first edition actually went to the late Ed Corney, a bodybuilder with his own niche, in-sport popularity. (Later editions of the book featured bodybuilder Tom Platz on the cover before eventually using the familiar image of Schwarzenegger.)
[Read: Best Pre-Workout Supplements for Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, and More]
The book debuted in 1974, and wound up as a New York Times Best Seller. (3) The whole thing reads like an amalgamation of journalistic pieces and strikes a much more contemplative tone than the movie’s sense of humor and frequent use of charm offensive. While the book earned great reviews, it didn’t capture an audience quite like the movie and remains out of print as of January 2023.
Pumping Iron Allegedly Inspired John Travolta’s Breakout Hit
Both Pumping Iron and Saturday Night Fever hit theaters in 1977 and quickly became pop-culture sensations. And while they appear to be on opposite ends of the cinematic spectrum, Butler claimed that Pumping Iron’s supporting cast member, Lou Ferrigno, inspired the characterization of John Travolta’s fictional family life in Fever. (1)
[Read: How to Increase Your Bench Press — Tips and Programs to Try]
According to Butler, Fever writer Nik Cohn felt that the family’s bickering dynamic and Lou’s aspirational attitude perfectly captured the essence of a “big dreamer stuck in a small life” needed for his story.
“It’s all John Travolta’s family,” Butler said. “With his sister and brother and the Catholic Church and everything else. It was modeled on [the Ferrignos] in Pumping Iron.” (1)
Principal photography for Fever began in March of 1977, months after Pumping Iron’s premiere. (4) Cohn himself was clearly a fan of Butler’s work and of bodybuilding in general. He wrote extensively about Pumping Iron for New York magazine upon the movie’s release, and later wrote the book Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders. (5)(6)
One of the Movie’s Most Memorable Bodybuilders Didn’t Get Credited
In a movie full of memorable scenes, Schwarzenegger giving pre-contest advice to a young competitor stands out from the pack. It takes place right in the middle of Gold’s Gym as the newbie blonde bodybuilder obediently takes critiques from the far more experienced Austrian Oak.
The young man’s name is Wes Brown, but you’d never know that since he doesn’t even get a credit in the film. In the years since, however, his story has become representative of a minor cliché in bodybuilding circles: the small-town guy with the great body running off to California to “become the next Arnold.”
In an interview with trainer Tom Purvis, Brown said that he and his mentor were both from South Carolina. (7) Out there, 19-year-old Brown showed remarkable development for a kid with limited equipment and time. He was obsessed with bodybuilding, and his results were notable for a young man with limited exposure to anything other than what he could glean from strength magazines.
[Read: The Best Arm Workouts for Size, Strength, Beginners, and More]
At the end of his spring semester in 1975, he and his buddy decided to fly out to Venice, CA, to chase their dreams. With a few bucks in his pocket, they made their way to the original location of the legendary Gold’s Gym, and within a few days, Brown literally bumbled onto the set of Pumping Iron.
Back then, bodybuilding gyms were fringe, small establishments in a tight-knit community centered on lifting heavy weights. And when you entered a new gym, there are a lot of “introductions to the gang.” And as Brown and his friend were getting acquainted with the denizens of the gym, Brown mentioned to the other bodybuilders how much he dreamed of being just like the aesthetic Schwarzenegger. Butler supposedly overheard the conversation and loved the wide-eyed energy of the country boy. The director quickly manufactured the moments we see in the film where Brown gets put under Schwarzenegger’s wing.
No, Schwarzenegger Didn’t Skip His Dad’s Funeral to Train
Both Schwarzenegger and Butler have long since gone on the record revealing many moments in Pumping Iron were completely fictionalized in order to tell a more compelling story. It’s why the movie is labeled a docudrama rather than a documentary.
One of those fictionalized elements involved Schwarzenegger skipping his father’s funeral because he didn’t want to miss out on any of his training. (8) This scene helped create a false persona for the Schwarzenegger of the movie, portraying him as an obsessive, absolutist robot with one goal in mind. (Almost like a Terminator, you could say.)
[Read: Every Winner of the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Competition]
In a later interview, Schwarzenegger himself admitted that he stole the story from a fellow competitor he previously met in France, who truly did not attend his father’s funeral to prioritize his training. Who’s to say if that is the true origin of the fiction, but we know for certain that Schwarzenegger’s father died in 1972, long before the 1975 filming of Pumping Iron. (That said, Butler later maintained the story was true.) (1)
Schwarzenegger Actually Appeared as a Competitive Bodybuilder in a Movie the Year Before
The year before Pumping Iron premiered, a light romance film starring Sally Field and a young Jeff Bridges called Stay Hungry hit theaters. (Based on the book by — you guessed it — Charles Gaines.) The plot of the film revolves around a love triangle between a real estate investor, the young desk receptionist at a local gym that the investor had purchased, and a rising bodybuilding hopeful who worked out at the gym. Any guess on who plays the bodybuilder?
[Read: The Best Supplements for Muscle Growth for Protein, BCAAs, and More]
That’s right, in 1976, Schwarzenegger played a bodybuilder in his first mainstream movie. (We’re not counting 1969’s Hercules in New York. More on that in a bit.) Of course, the contest in the movie is all fiction, but it presents the sport in a fairly authentic way for the time. Audiences saw scenes of the Oak training, preparing backstage, and posing at the show, which likely seemed like foreign concepts in the pre-Pumping Iron world.
Though not a runaway financial hit, Schwarzenegger’s performance earned him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year, signaling bigger things heads. (9)
No One Stole Mike Katz’s T-Shirt
Another standout moment in Pumping Iron is the micro drama of bodybuilder Ken Waller stealing rival Mike Katz’s T-shirt in order to psyche him out on the day of the competition. Butler and Schwarzenegger have long since copped up to the fact that the incident was completely fabricated, too. (8)(1)
Yes, Mike Katz did really lose his shirt temporarily, and yes, he did make an offhand (and completely joking) comment that Waller probably stole it — but that was it. However, when Butler watched Katz anxiously look for his shirt, an idea popped into his head: What if Waller really did steal the shirt as an act of pre-show sabotage?
Butler then shot the scene where Waller supposedly hatched his plot and weaved the whole thing together to create an engrossing side story.
During filming, Lou Ferrigno “Predicted” He Would Become the Incredible Hulk
Countless hours of footage filmed for Pumping Iron had to be cut to meet the movie’s 90-minute run time. But that doesn’t mean the moments that were cut were duds. In fact, a few gems ultimately fell victim to the editing bay during post-production.
One such piece came when Lou Ferrigno apparently expressed that his goal was “to become the Incredible Hulk.” This is not some unique sentiment; many bodybuilders use this fictional character as an analogy for their ultimate fantasies. But as you probably know, Ferrigno would become his own pop-culture sensation as he played the Hulk on TV for five years between 1977 and 1982.
[Read: 12 of the Biggest Men’s Bodybuilders of All Time]
According to Butler, cameras caught Ferrigno talking about his goal, but the footage never saw the light of day. (1) Getting this little outtake would be incredibly precious to fans of Ferrigno and the film Pumping Iron. But Butler only mentioned the footage in passing; it doesn’t seem easily accessible to fans.
Now, the timeline is tight: The filming of Pumping Iron lasted mainly through 1975, and The Incredible Hulk television series debuted in 1977, overlapping Iron’s release. Who’s to say what motivated Ferrigno’s comment? Was he pitching himself? Did he already have a prospective audition? Was it purely a coincidence? We don’t know those answers, but according to Butler, Ferrigno made a comment on film that predicted his future success.
People Thought the Movie Would Tank Because of Schwarzenegger
When Butler wanted to get Pumping Iron funded in the early ‘70s, Schwarzenegger was far from a big-screen star. Up until that point, his most high-profile movie was 1969’s Hercules in New York, a notorious indie flop that seemed to signal the end of the bodybuilder’s nascent movie career. The movie bombed so hard that Butler’s credit request got denied from one potential financier simply because of Schwarzenegger’s involvement. (1)
Later, as Butler still tried to drum up financial support for the project, he paid for Arnold to fly across the country to the aforementioned town of Holyoke for an impromptu guest-posing routine at an amusement park full of onlookers. (10) The end result turned into 10 minutes of test footage to show potential investors.
[Read: The 10 Greatest Bodybuilders to Never Win a Mr. Olympia Title]
Butler then went to New York with his footage, showing it to influential investors in an attempt to win funding. According to Butler, dead silence. Then a wave of skepticism, particularly directed towards Arnold as unmarketable, uninteresting, and even boring. In fact, Butler quoted the wealthy Romulus Linney (actor Laura Linney’s well-networked father) as saying, “George, if you ever make a movie about Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’ll be laughed off 42nd Street.”
In Conclusion
Pumping Iron began life as a humble project by two men, birthed out of a shared curiosity about a niche subculture. In the end, this docudrama with a shoestring budget helped introduce bodybuilding to the mainstream and was a key factor in Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s. Though its impact was huge at the time, it remains the most acclaimed movie about bodybuilding decades later.
References
[*]Perine, Shawn. “Pumping Iron at 25: The Film That Almost Wasn’t.” IronAge.Us. 2002
[*]The Barbell Team. “Pumping Iron: The Book.” TheBarbell.com, August 19, 2022
[*]“Best Sellers.” The New York Times, April 20, 1975
[*]AFI Catalog, Saturday Night Fever. ??
[*]Cohn, Nik. “Pumping Chic: The Launching of a New York Folk Hero.” New York Magazine, January 24, 1977
[*]Abe Books. Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders
[*]Purvis, Tom. “Interview With Wes Brown.” YouTube. August 13, 2021
[*]Schwarzenegger, Arnold. “Pumping Iron Extra.” YouTube
[*]“Arnold Schwarzenegger.” GoldenGlobes.com
[*]Roach, Randy. Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors. Author House. October 2011.
Featured Image: Over Comes on YouTube
Click here to view the article.
For newcomers, the movie centers on the lead-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia show and all the behind-the-scenes drama that goes along with it. Since its debut more than 45 years ago, the movie has been dissected by everyone, from film historians and bodybuilding legends to YouTubers who weren’t even born when the movie premiered. But if you’re still hungry for all things Pumping Iron, we’ve got nine facts that should provide even more insight into this iconic piece of moviemaking.
9 Facts About Pumping Iron
A Magazine Article Played a Part in Pumping Iron’s Creation
Most might imagine that Pumping Iron exists solely because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the first kernel of inspiration for the movie actually sprung up at a small bodybuilding show in Holyoke, Mass. (1)
In 1972, the town hosted a bodybuilding contest, and Sports Illustrated hired Butler to take photographs of the event for a feature article written by Charles Gaines. Though Butler was familiar with bodybuilding, this contest marked his first professional experience with the sport.
Butler and Gaines were fascinated by the small human dramas around them, and they saw a larger story of a fringe culture they wanted to represent. Thus, the idea for Pumping Iron — first the book (which we get into below) and then the movie — started to form.
The Pumping Iron Book Was Not a Vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger
Many fans of the film might not know that Pumping Iron started out as a book written by Gaines with photographs by Butler. (2) And it doesn’t focus solely on Schwarzenegger — heck, the “Austrian Oak” didn’t even make the cover.
The cover of the first edition actually went to the late Ed Corney, a bodybuilder with his own niche, in-sport popularity. (Later editions of the book featured bodybuilder Tom Platz on the cover before eventually using the familiar image of Schwarzenegger.)
[Read: Best Pre-Workout Supplements for Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, and More]
The book debuted in 1974, and wound up as a New York Times Best Seller. (3) The whole thing reads like an amalgamation of journalistic pieces and strikes a much more contemplative tone than the movie’s sense of humor and frequent use of charm offensive. While the book earned great reviews, it didn’t capture an audience quite like the movie and remains out of print as of January 2023.
Pumping Iron Allegedly Inspired John Travolta’s Breakout Hit
Both Pumping Iron and Saturday Night Fever hit theaters in 1977 and quickly became pop-culture sensations. And while they appear to be on opposite ends of the cinematic spectrum, Butler claimed that Pumping Iron’s supporting cast member, Lou Ferrigno, inspired the characterization of John Travolta’s fictional family life in Fever. (1)
[Read: How to Increase Your Bench Press — Tips and Programs to Try]
According to Butler, Fever writer Nik Cohn felt that the family’s bickering dynamic and Lou’s aspirational attitude perfectly captured the essence of a “big dreamer stuck in a small life” needed for his story.
“It’s all John Travolta’s family,” Butler said. “With his sister and brother and the Catholic Church and everything else. It was modeled on [the Ferrignos] in Pumping Iron.” (1)
Principal photography for Fever began in March of 1977, months after Pumping Iron’s premiere. (4) Cohn himself was clearly a fan of Butler’s work and of bodybuilding in general. He wrote extensively about Pumping Iron for New York magazine upon the movie’s release, and later wrote the book Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders. (5)(6)
One of the Movie’s Most Memorable Bodybuilders Didn’t Get Credited
In a movie full of memorable scenes, Schwarzenegger giving pre-contest advice to a young competitor stands out from the pack. It takes place right in the middle of Gold’s Gym as the newbie blonde bodybuilder obediently takes critiques from the far more experienced Austrian Oak.
The young man’s name is Wes Brown, but you’d never know that since he doesn’t even get a credit in the film. In the years since, however, his story has become representative of a minor cliché in bodybuilding circles: the small-town guy with the great body running off to California to “become the next Arnold.”
In an interview with trainer Tom Purvis, Brown said that he and his mentor were both from South Carolina. (7) Out there, 19-year-old Brown showed remarkable development for a kid with limited equipment and time. He was obsessed with bodybuilding, and his results were notable for a young man with limited exposure to anything other than what he could glean from strength magazines.
[Read: The Best Arm Workouts for Size, Strength, Beginners, and More]
At the end of his spring semester in 1975, he and his buddy decided to fly out to Venice, CA, to chase their dreams. With a few bucks in his pocket, they made their way to the original location of the legendary Gold’s Gym, and within a few days, Brown literally bumbled onto the set of Pumping Iron.
Back then, bodybuilding gyms were fringe, small establishments in a tight-knit community centered on lifting heavy weights. And when you entered a new gym, there are a lot of “introductions to the gang.” And as Brown and his friend were getting acquainted with the denizens of the gym, Brown mentioned to the other bodybuilders how much he dreamed of being just like the aesthetic Schwarzenegger. Butler supposedly overheard the conversation and loved the wide-eyed energy of the country boy. The director quickly manufactured the moments we see in the film where Brown gets put under Schwarzenegger’s wing.
No, Schwarzenegger Didn’t Skip His Dad’s Funeral to Train
Both Schwarzenegger and Butler have long since gone on the record revealing many moments in Pumping Iron were completely fictionalized in order to tell a more compelling story. It’s why the movie is labeled a docudrama rather than a documentary.
One of those fictionalized elements involved Schwarzenegger skipping his father’s funeral because he didn’t want to miss out on any of his training. (8) This scene helped create a false persona for the Schwarzenegger of the movie, portraying him as an obsessive, absolutist robot with one goal in mind. (Almost like a Terminator, you could say.)
[Read: Every Winner of the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Competition]
In a later interview, Schwarzenegger himself admitted that he stole the story from a fellow competitor he previously met in France, who truly did not attend his father’s funeral to prioritize his training. Who’s to say if that is the true origin of the fiction, but we know for certain that Schwarzenegger’s father died in 1972, long before the 1975 filming of Pumping Iron. (That said, Butler later maintained the story was true.) (1)
Schwarzenegger Actually Appeared as a Competitive Bodybuilder in a Movie the Year Before
The year before Pumping Iron premiered, a light romance film starring Sally Field and a young Jeff Bridges called Stay Hungry hit theaters. (Based on the book by — you guessed it — Charles Gaines.) The plot of the film revolves around a love triangle between a real estate investor, the young desk receptionist at a local gym that the investor had purchased, and a rising bodybuilding hopeful who worked out at the gym. Any guess on who plays the bodybuilder?
[Read: The Best Supplements for Muscle Growth for Protein, BCAAs, and More]
That’s right, in 1976, Schwarzenegger played a bodybuilder in his first mainstream movie. (We’re not counting 1969’s Hercules in New York. More on that in a bit.) Of course, the contest in the movie is all fiction, but it presents the sport in a fairly authentic way for the time. Audiences saw scenes of the Oak training, preparing backstage, and posing at the show, which likely seemed like foreign concepts in the pre-Pumping Iron world.
Though not a runaway financial hit, Schwarzenegger’s performance earned him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year, signaling bigger things heads. (9)
No One Stole Mike Katz’s T-Shirt
Another standout moment in Pumping Iron is the micro drama of bodybuilder Ken Waller stealing rival Mike Katz’s T-shirt in order to psyche him out on the day of the competition. Butler and Schwarzenegger have long since copped up to the fact that the incident was completely fabricated, too. (8)(1)
Yes, Mike Katz did really lose his shirt temporarily, and yes, he did make an offhand (and completely joking) comment that Waller probably stole it — but that was it. However, when Butler watched Katz anxiously look for his shirt, an idea popped into his head: What if Waller really did steal the shirt as an act of pre-show sabotage?
Butler then shot the scene where Waller supposedly hatched his plot and weaved the whole thing together to create an engrossing side story.
During filming, Lou Ferrigno “Predicted” He Would Become the Incredible Hulk
Countless hours of footage filmed for Pumping Iron had to be cut to meet the movie’s 90-minute run time. But that doesn’t mean the moments that were cut were duds. In fact, a few gems ultimately fell victim to the editing bay during post-production.
One such piece came when Lou Ferrigno apparently expressed that his goal was “to become the Incredible Hulk.” This is not some unique sentiment; many bodybuilders use this fictional character as an analogy for their ultimate fantasies. But as you probably know, Ferrigno would become his own pop-culture sensation as he played the Hulk on TV for five years between 1977 and 1982.
[Read: 12 of the Biggest Men’s Bodybuilders of All Time]
According to Butler, cameras caught Ferrigno talking about his goal, but the footage never saw the light of day. (1) Getting this little outtake would be incredibly precious to fans of Ferrigno and the film Pumping Iron. But Butler only mentioned the footage in passing; it doesn’t seem easily accessible to fans.
Now, the timeline is tight: The filming of Pumping Iron lasted mainly through 1975, and The Incredible Hulk television series debuted in 1977, overlapping Iron’s release. Who’s to say what motivated Ferrigno’s comment? Was he pitching himself? Did he already have a prospective audition? Was it purely a coincidence? We don’t know those answers, but according to Butler, Ferrigno made a comment on film that predicted his future success.
People Thought the Movie Would Tank Because of Schwarzenegger
When Butler wanted to get Pumping Iron funded in the early ‘70s, Schwarzenegger was far from a big-screen star. Up until that point, his most high-profile movie was 1969’s Hercules in New York, a notorious indie flop that seemed to signal the end of the bodybuilder’s nascent movie career. The movie bombed so hard that Butler’s credit request got denied from one potential financier simply because of Schwarzenegger’s involvement. (1)
Later, as Butler still tried to drum up financial support for the project, he paid for Arnold to fly across the country to the aforementioned town of Holyoke for an impromptu guest-posing routine at an amusement park full of onlookers. (10) The end result turned into 10 minutes of test footage to show potential investors.
[Read: The 10 Greatest Bodybuilders to Never Win a Mr. Olympia Title]
Butler then went to New York with his footage, showing it to influential investors in an attempt to win funding. According to Butler, dead silence. Then a wave of skepticism, particularly directed towards Arnold as unmarketable, uninteresting, and even boring. In fact, Butler quoted the wealthy Romulus Linney (actor Laura Linney’s well-networked father) as saying, “George, if you ever make a movie about Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’ll be laughed off 42nd Street.”
In Conclusion
Pumping Iron began life as a humble project by two men, birthed out of a shared curiosity about a niche subculture. In the end, this docudrama with a shoestring budget helped introduce bodybuilding to the mainstream and was a key factor in Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s. Though its impact was huge at the time, it remains the most acclaimed movie about bodybuilding decades later.
References
Perine, Shawn. “Pumping Iron at 25: The Film That Almost Wasn’t.” IronAge.Us. 2002
The Barbell Team. “Pumping Iron: The Book.” TheBarbell.com, August 19, 2022
“Best Sellers.” The New York Times, April 20, 1975
AFI Catalog, Saturday Night Fever. ??
Cohn, Nik. “Pumping Chic: The Launching of a New York Folk Hero.” New York Magazine, January 24, 1977
Abe Books. Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders
Purvis, Tom. “Interview With Wes Brown.” YouTube. August 13, 2021
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. “Pumping Iron Extra.” YouTube
“Arnold Schwarzenegger.” GoldenGlobes.com
Roach, Randy. Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors. Author House. October 2011.
Featured Image: Over Comes on YouTube
Anyone who’s ever lifted a weight likely knows about Pumping Iron. The milestone 1977 docudrama, directed by George Butler, introduced bodybuilding to the mainstream and catapulted competitors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno into the pop-culture zeitgeist.
For newcomers, the movie centers on the lead-up to the 1975 Mr. Olympia show and all the behind-the-scenes drama that goes along with it. Since its debut more than 45 years ago, the movie has been dissected by everyone, from film historians and bodybuilding legends to YouTubers who weren’t even born when the movie premiered. But if you’re still hungry for all things Pumping Iron, we’ve got nine facts that should provide even more insight into this iconic piece of moviemaking.
9 Facts About Pumping Iron
A Magazine Article Played a Part in Pumping Iron’s Creation
Most might imagine that Pumping Iron exists solely because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the first kernel of inspiration for the movie actually sprung up at a small bodybuilding show in Holyoke, Mass. (1)
In 1972, the town hosted a bodybuilding contest, and Sports Illustrated hired Butler to take photographs of the event for a feature article written by Charles Gaines. Though Butler was familiar with bodybuilding, this contest marked his first professional experience with the sport.
Butler and Gaines were fascinated by the small human dramas around them, and they saw a larger story of a fringe culture they wanted to represent. Thus, the idea for Pumping Iron — first the book (which we get into below) and then the movie — started to form.
The Pumping Iron Book Was Not a Vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger
Many fans of the film might not know that Pumping Iron started out as a book written by Gaines with photographs by Butler. (2) And it doesn’t focus solely on Schwarzenegger — heck, the “Austrian Oak” didn’t even make the cover.
The cover of the first edition actually went to the late Ed Corney, a bodybuilder with his own niche, in-sport popularity. (Later editions of the book featured bodybuilder Tom Platz on the cover before eventually using the familiar image of Schwarzenegger.)
[Read: Best Pre-Workout Supplements for Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, and More]
The book debuted in 1974, and wound up as a New York Times Best Seller. (3) The whole thing reads like an amalgamation of journalistic pieces and strikes a much more contemplative tone than the movie’s sense of humor and frequent use of charm offensive. While the book earned great reviews, it didn’t capture an audience quite like the movie and remains out of print as of January 2023.
Pumping Iron Allegedly Inspired John Travolta’s Breakout Hit
Both Pumping Iron and Saturday Night Fever hit theaters in 1977 and quickly became pop-culture sensations. And while they appear to be on opposite ends of the cinematic spectrum, Butler claimed that Pumping Iron’s supporting cast member, Lou Ferrigno, inspired the characterization of John Travolta’s fictional family life in Fever. (1)
[Read: How to Increase Your Bench Press — Tips and Programs to Try]
According to Butler, Fever writer Nik Cohn felt that the family’s bickering dynamic and Lou’s aspirational attitude perfectly captured the essence of a “big dreamer stuck in a small life” needed for his story.
“It’s all John Travolta’s family,” Butler said. “With his sister and brother and the Catholic Church and everything else. It was modeled on [the Ferrignos] in Pumping Iron.” (1)
Principal photography for Fever began in March of 1977, months after Pumping Iron’s premiere. (4) Cohn himself was clearly a fan of Butler’s work and of bodybuilding in general. He wrote extensively about Pumping Iron for New York magazine upon the movie’s release, and later wrote the book Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders. (5)(6)
One of the Movie’s Most Memorable Bodybuilders Didn’t Get Credited
In a movie full of memorable scenes, Schwarzenegger giving pre-contest advice to a young competitor stands out from the pack. It takes place right in the middle of Gold’s Gym as the newbie blonde bodybuilder obediently takes critiques from the far more experienced Austrian Oak.
The young man’s name is Wes Brown, but you’d never know that since he doesn’t even get a credit in the film. In the years since, however, his story has become representative of a minor cliché in bodybuilding circles: the small-town guy with the great body running off to California to “become the next Arnold.”
In an interview with trainer Tom Purvis, Brown said that he and his mentor were both from South Carolina. (7) Out there, 19-year-old Brown showed remarkable development for a kid with limited equipment and time. He was obsessed with bodybuilding, and his results were notable for a young man with limited exposure to anything other than what he could glean from strength magazines.
[Read: The Best Arm Workouts for Size, Strength, Beginners, and More]
At the end of his spring semester in 1975, he and his buddy decided to fly out to Venice, CA, to chase their dreams. With a few bucks in his pocket, they made their way to the original location of the legendary Gold’s Gym, and within a few days, Brown literally bumbled onto the set of Pumping Iron.
Back then, bodybuilding gyms were fringe, small establishments in a tight-knit community centered on lifting heavy weights. And when you entered a new gym, there are a lot of “introductions to the gang.” And as Brown and his friend were getting acquainted with the denizens of the gym, Brown mentioned to the other bodybuilders how much he dreamed of being just like the aesthetic Schwarzenegger. Butler supposedly overheard the conversation and loved the wide-eyed energy of the country boy. The director quickly manufactured the moments we see in the film where Brown gets put under Schwarzenegger’s wing.
No, Schwarzenegger Didn’t Skip His Dad’s Funeral to Train
Both Schwarzenegger and Butler have long since gone on the record revealing many moments in Pumping Iron were completely fictionalized in order to tell a more compelling story. It’s why the movie is labeled a docudrama rather than a documentary.
One of those fictionalized elements involved Schwarzenegger skipping his father’s funeral because he didn’t want to miss out on any of his training. (8) This scene helped create a false persona for the Schwarzenegger of the movie, portraying him as an obsessive, absolutist robot with one goal in mind. (Almost like a Terminator, you could say.)
[Read: Every Winner of the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding Competition]
In a later interview, Schwarzenegger himself admitted that he stole the story from a fellow competitor he previously met in France, who truly did not attend his father’s funeral to prioritize his training. Who’s to say if that is the true origin of the fiction, but we know for certain that Schwarzenegger’s father died in 1972, long before the 1975 filming of Pumping Iron. (That said, Butler later maintained the story was true.) (1)
Schwarzenegger Actually Appeared as a Competitive Bodybuilder in a Movie the Year Before
The year before Pumping Iron premiered, a light romance film starring Sally Field and a young Jeff Bridges called Stay Hungry hit theaters. (Based on the book by — you guessed it — Charles Gaines.) The plot of the film revolves around a love triangle between a real estate investor, the young desk receptionist at a local gym that the investor had purchased, and a rising bodybuilding hopeful who worked out at the gym. Any guess on who plays the bodybuilder?
[Read: The Best Supplements for Muscle Growth for Protein, BCAAs, and More]
That’s right, in 1976, Schwarzenegger played a bodybuilder in his first mainstream movie. (We’re not counting 1969’s Hercules in New York. More on that in a bit.) Of course, the contest in the movie is all fiction, but it presents the sport in a fairly authentic way for the time. Audiences saw scenes of the Oak training, preparing backstage, and posing at the show, which likely seemed like foreign concepts in the pre-Pumping Iron world.
Though not a runaway financial hit, Schwarzenegger’s performance earned him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year, signaling bigger things heads. (9)
No One Stole Mike Katz’s T-Shirt
Another standout moment in Pumping Iron is the micro drama of bodybuilder Ken Waller stealing rival Mike Katz’s T-shirt in order to psyche him out on the day of the competition. Butler and Schwarzenegger have long since copped up to the fact that the incident was completely fabricated, too. (8)(1)
Yes, Mike Katz did really lose his shirt temporarily, and yes, he did make an offhand (and completely joking) comment that Waller probably stole it — but that was it. However, when Butler watched Katz anxiously look for his shirt, an idea popped into his head: What if Waller really did steal the shirt as an act of pre-show sabotage?
Butler then shot the scene where Waller supposedly hatched his plot and weaved the whole thing together to create an engrossing side story.
During filming, Lou Ferrigno “Predicted” He Would Become the Incredible Hulk
Countless hours of footage filmed for Pumping Iron had to be cut to meet the movie’s 90-minute run time. But that doesn’t mean the moments that were cut were duds. In fact, a few gems ultimately fell victim to the editing bay during post-production.
One such piece came when Lou Ferrigno apparently expressed that his goal was “to become the Incredible Hulk.” This is not some unique sentiment; many bodybuilders use this fictional character as an analogy for their ultimate fantasies. But as you probably know, Ferrigno would become his own pop-culture sensation as he played the Hulk on TV for five years between 1977 and 1982.
[Read: 12 of the Biggest Men’s Bodybuilders of All Time]
According to Butler, cameras caught Ferrigno talking about his goal, but the footage never saw the light of day. (1) Getting this little outtake would be incredibly precious to fans of Ferrigno and the film Pumping Iron. But Butler only mentioned the footage in passing; it doesn’t seem easily accessible to fans.
Now, the timeline is tight: The filming of Pumping Iron lasted mainly through 1975, and The Incredible Hulk television series debuted in 1977, overlapping Iron’s release. Who’s to say what motivated Ferrigno’s comment? Was he pitching himself? Did he already have a prospective audition? Was it purely a coincidence? We don’t know those answers, but according to Butler, Ferrigno made a comment on film that predicted his future success.
People Thought the Movie Would Tank Because of Schwarzenegger
When Butler wanted to get Pumping Iron funded in the early ‘70s, Schwarzenegger was far from a big-screen star. Up until that point, his most high-profile movie was 1969’s Hercules in New York, a notorious indie flop that seemed to signal the end of the bodybuilder’s nascent movie career. The movie bombed so hard that Butler’s credit request got denied from one potential financier simply because of Schwarzenegger’s involvement. (1)
Later, as Butler still tried to drum up financial support for the project, he paid for Arnold to fly across the country to the aforementioned town of Holyoke for an impromptu guest-posing routine at an amusement park full of onlookers. (10) The end result turned into 10 minutes of test footage to show potential investors.
[Read: The 10 Greatest Bodybuilders to Never Win a Mr. Olympia Title]
Butler then went to New York with his footage, showing it to influential investors in an attempt to win funding. According to Butler, dead silence. Then a wave of skepticism, particularly directed towards Arnold as unmarketable, uninteresting, and even boring. In fact, Butler quoted the wealthy Romulus Linney (actor Laura Linney’s well-networked father) as saying, “George, if you ever make a movie about Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’ll be laughed off 42nd Street.”
In Conclusion
Pumping Iron began life as a humble project by two men, birthed out of a shared curiosity about a niche subculture. In the end, this docudrama with a shoestring budget helped introduce bodybuilding to the mainstream and was a key factor in Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s. Though its impact was huge at the time, it remains the most acclaimed movie about bodybuilding decades later.
References
[*]Perine, Shawn. “Pumping Iron at 25: The Film That Almost Wasn’t.” IronAge.Us. 2002
[*]The Barbell Team. “Pumping Iron: The Book.” TheBarbell.com, August 19, 2022
[*]“Best Sellers.” The New York Times, April 20, 1975
[*]AFI Catalog, Saturday Night Fever. ??
[*]Cohn, Nik. “Pumping Chic: The Launching of a New York Folk Hero.” New York Magazine, January 24, 1977
[*]Abe Books. Women of Iron: The World of Female Bodybuilders
[*]Purvis, Tom. “Interview With Wes Brown.” YouTube. August 13, 2021
[*]Schwarzenegger, Arnold. “Pumping Iron Extra.” YouTube
[*]“Arnold Schwarzenegger.” GoldenGlobes.com
[*]Roach, Randy. Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors. Author House. October 2011.
Featured Image: Over Comes on YouTube
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