William Arnold Pearl (October 31, 1930 – September 14, 2022) was an American professional

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

and athlete. During the 1950s and 60s, he won many titles and awards, including winning the Mr. Universe contest five times, and was named "World's Best-Built Man of the Century". He later became an expert trainer and author on bodybuilding.

Early life and competitive career

Pearl was born in

Prineville, Oregon Prineville is a city in and the seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census. History Prineville was founded in 187 ...

on October 31, 1930.Pearl, Bill and Shott, Kim (2003). ''Beyond the Universe-The Bill Pearl Story''. Bill Pearl Enterprises. p. 15. While enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, stationed at

San Diego Naval Air Station Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

, he worked out at Leo Stern’s Gym (which still operates as of 2021). Leo Stern, himself a champion bodybuilder, coached Pearl in his training and encouraged him to compete. In 1952, he competed in two local contests (3rd place in the Mr San Diego contest, followed by winning his first contest, Mr Oceanside). In 1953, he competed in 4 higher-level contests, and won them all. This included being crowned ‘Mr America’ and ‘Mr Universe’. Pearl competed six times in two years, but then only competed twice in 1956, and then only once in the years 1961, 1967, and 1971. In all, he only competed in 11 contests, winning the overall in 9 of them. Of all the professional contests between 1956-1971, only

Jack Delinger Jack Delinger (June 22, 1926 – December 28, 1992) was an American professional bodybuilder. He won the 1949 AAU Mr. America and the 1956 Mr. Universe. About At 16 Delinger began training at the local YMCA. He looked to John Grimek for inspir ...

defeated Pearl (1956 NABBA Pro Mr Universe). During that 18 year span, no bodybuilder was more successful. Even with his final Mr Universe win (at age 41), Pearl defeated

Frank Zane Frank Zane (born June 28, 1942) is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author. He is a three-time Mr. Olympia, and his physique is considered one of the greatest in the history of bodybuilding due to his meticulous focus on symmetry ...

Reg Park Roy "Reg" Park (7 June 1928 – 22 November 2007) was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor. His first title was Mr Britain in 1949. He then won the Mr Universe in 1951, 1958 and 1965. He also starred in five films, four featured as ...

Dave Draper David Draper (April 16, 1942 – November 30, 2021) was an American bodybuilder, actor and author. Early life Draper was born in Secaucus, New Jersey on April 16, 1942. His weight training began at the age of ten and was a well-formed habit by ...

, and Sergio Oliva. In addition to competing, Pearl gave posing and strongman exhibitions all around the world. His strongman act included blowing up hot water bottles, bending tent spikes, breaking chains, and tearing up license plates. Pearl also ran two Bill Pearl gyms in California.

Vegetarianism

Pearl became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

at age 39. His diet was

lacto-ovo Lacto-ovo vegetarianism or ovo-lacto vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which forbids animal flesh but allows the consumption of animal products such as dairy and eggs. Unlike pescetarianism, it does not include fish or other seafood. A t ...

vegetarian, which means he ate

dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...

s and

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. Pearl mentioned the benefits of vegetarian bodybuilding in his book ''Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Sports'', published in 2005.

Later career

Pearl is the author of the exercise book, ''Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men and Women'', which has sold over 350,000 copies in the United States and has been translated into four other languages, including Chinese. His book, ''Keys To The INNER Universe'' contains 1,500 weight-training exercises, weighs five pounds, and has sold over 60,000 copies. Pearl had his own monthly question-and-answer column called "Pearl of the Universe" in the bodybuilding magazine ''

MuscleMag International ''MuscleMag International'' or ''Musclemag'' was a Canadian bodybuilding, fitness and men's magazine, considered one of the top magazines in its field. It was established in Canada in 1974 by Robert Kennedy, an immigrant to Canada and leading expe ...

'' as well as one in ''Muscle Builder'' (later ''Muscle & Fitness'') magazine, titled "Wisdom of Pearl" in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003 with co-author Kim Shott, Pearl published his autobiography, ''Beyond the Universe: The Bill Pearl Story''. During the 1980s, Pearl served as a mentor, trainer, and training partner to many of the top professionals that were still competing, including

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

, Chris Dickerson. In 2004, Pearl was awarded the

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

Classic Lifetime Achievement Award for significantly impacting the world of bodybuilding. In November 2004, Pearl acted as Master of Ceremonies for Sri Chinmoy's Weightlifting celebration, in New York. In 2011 Pearl appeared in the documentary '' Challenging Impossibility'' describing when he hosted the 2004 strength exhibition by spiritual teacher and peace advocate

Sri Chinmoy Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (27 August 1931 – 11 October 2007), better known as Sri Chinmoy, was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the West after moving to New York City in 1964.Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

Personal life and death

As of 2009, Pearl lived in

Phoenix, Oregon Phoenix is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2010 census. Phoenix is a part of the Medford Metropolitan Statistical Area, in the Rogue Valley, and is southeast of Medford on Interstate 5. History ...

. He was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 2016. On April 7, 2022, Pearl was involved in an accident where he and his rider mower tumbled down an embankment, resulting in the mower landing on top of Pearl, who was "face-down in the grass." His initial diagnosis was a "compression fracture of his T-10 Vertebrae, among other things." Another neck fracture was discovered a few days later. Pearl died on September 14, 2022 at his home in

. He was 91.

Bodybuilding titles and awards

*1952 Mr. San Diego, 3rd place (San Diego, California) *1952 Mr. Oceanside (Oceanside, California) *1953 Mr. Southern California (Los Angeles, California) *1953 Mr. California (Los Angeles, California) *1953 A.A.U., Mr. America (Indianapolis, Indiana) *1953 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe Amateur (London, England) *1956 Mr. U.S.A., Professional (Los Angeles, California) *1956 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe, Professional, Tall Man's Class (London, England) *1961 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe, Professional (London, England) *1967 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe, Professional (London, England) *1971 N.A.B.B.A., Mr. Universe, Professional (London, England) *1974 W.B.B.A., World's Best-Built Man of the Century (New York, New York) *1978 Entered into W.B.B.A., Hall of Fame (New York, New York) *1978 Elected the I.F.B.B. National Chairman of the Professional Physique Judges Committee (Acapulco, Mexico) *1988 Entered into Pioneers of Fitness Hall of Fame *1992 Entered into Gold's Gym Hall of Fame *1994 Guest of Honor of the Association of Oldetime Barbell & Strongmen 12th Annual Reunion *1994 Entered into The Joe Weider Hall of Fame *1995 A.A.U. Lifetime Achievement Award *1995 Oscar Heidenstam Foundation Hall of Fame *1996 American Powerlifters Federation Hall of Fame *1997 International Chiropractors Association Sports & Fitness Man of the Year *1999 I.F.B.B. Hall of Fame Inductee *2000 Spirit of Muscle Beach Award *2001 World Gym Lifetime Achievement Award *2001 Society of Weight-Training Injury Specialists Lifetime Achievement Award *2002 Canadian Fitness Award for 60+ Years of Inspiration to the Industry *2002 National Fitness Trade Journal Lifetime Achievement Award *2003 Iron Man magazine Peary & Mabel Radar Lifetime Achievement Award *2004 Arnold Schwarzenegger Lifetime Achievement Award *2006 PDI Night of Champions Lifetime Achievement AwardPearl, Bill and Shott, Kim (2003). ''Beyond the Universe-The Bill Pearl Story''. Bill Pearl Enterprises. p. 8. *2010 National Fitness Hall of Fame Inductee & NFHOF "Lifetime Achievement Award" Recipient

Books

*''Beyond the Universe'' – The Bill Pearl Story *''Getting Back in Shape'': 32 Workout Programs for Lifelong Fitness *''Getting in Shape'': 32 Workout Programs for Lifelong Fitness *''Getting Stronger'': Weight Training for Men and Women (Revised Edition) *''Getting Stronger'': Weight Training for Men and Women *''Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Sports'' *''Keys to the INNER Universe''

Videos

*"Pearls of Wisdom – Bill Pearl a Bodybuilding Legend" (DVD, 150 minutes) *"Bill Pearl & Dave Draper Seminar" (DVD, 75 minutes)

References

External links

Official website

''Pearls of Wisdom'' video clip
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearl, Bill 1930 births 2022 deaths American bodybuilders American vegetarianism activists Devotees of Sri Chinmoy Military personnel from Oregon People associated with physical culture People from Phoenix, Oregon People from Prineville, Oregon Professional bodybuilders Strength training writers