Ed Corney (November 9, 1933 – January 1, 2019) 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 o ...

. He won many prizes in his 30s, including Mr. Universe twice (in 1971 and 1972), and Mr. America once (in 1972). He resumed competitive bodybuilding in his 60s, when he won the 60+ division of the Masters Olympia twice. He appeared in the 1977

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

Pumping Iron ''Pumping Iron'' is a 1977 American docudrama about the world of professional bodybuilding, with a focus on the 1975 IFBB Mr. Universe and 1975 Mr. Olympia competitions. Directed by George Butler and Robert Fiore and edited by Geof Bartz and Lar ...

'', as well as the " Dead Lift" episode from ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the ...

'' broadcast that same year (in which Arnold Schwarzenegger played one of his first prominent roles).

Early life

Corney was born on November 9, 1933, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii. He graduated from

Saint Louis School Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the Roman ...

in 1952, and he served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. He subsequently moved to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, where he became "a full-time bar owner and bouncer."

Bodybuilding career

Corney took up bodybuilding at 27, and he first competed at the age of 35. He entered and won his first contest in 1967, the Mr. Fremont, held in the Bay Area. He wins the following year. He also won: Mr. Heart of California, Mr. Northern California and Mr. Golden West. He continued to climb the bodybuilding ladder with wins at the 1970 Iron Man, the 1971 AAU Mr. California, the 1971 IFBB Mr. USA, and the 1972 IFBB Mr. America. He also won the IFBB Mr. Universe twice: in New York City in 1971, and in Baghdad, Iraq in 1972. He also won the IFBB Mr. America in 1972, Mr. World in 1973, and Mr. World in 1974. Corney appeared in the 1977 movie ''

''. He was also featured on the cover of its book version, '' Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding'' by Charles Gaines and George Butler. Corney continued to compete in the 1980s. At the time, he admitted to using steroids, but he explained that training should be the bedrock of bodybuilding. He added that he was "97 percent training and three percent steroids." In 1994, Corney won the 60+ division of the Masters Olympia. He won again in 1995, he was placed 11th overall in 1996, and he took second in the 60+ division in 1997. He also competed in 1998 in the only Masters event ever to be held at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic. Corney remained active in the sport up until his death. He was inducted into the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 *Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek *Lee Haney *Rachel McLi ...

in 2004.

Personal life and death

Corney resided in

. In 1999, he suffered a heart attack while undergoing shoulder replacement surgery. A blood thinning medication that was given to him to treat the heart attack caused him to suffer two strokes. After a short period in a coma and some time using a wheelchair, Corney fought his way back to health. Corney had a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

on December 25, 2018, and died on January 1, 2019, at the age of 85 in

Hughson, California Hughson is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,481 at the 2020 census, up from 6,640 at the 2010 census. History of farming Hughson is surrounded ...

. Shortly after his death, former California Governor

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'' ...

tweeted, "Ed Corney was a jewel of a guy. He was one of the greatest posers bodybuilding has ever seen, and he was a fantastic training partner. He inspired me and I’ll miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his family."

Stats

* Height: 5' 7" * Weight: 195 lbs

Wins

1968 Mr California - AAU, 5th
Mr Northern California - AAU, Winner 1969 Mr Western America - AAU, Winner 1970 Mr America - AAU, 11th
Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd
Mr California - AAU, Did not place
Iron Man, Winner 1971 Mr America - AAU, 4th
Mr America - IFBB, Short, 1st
Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st
Mr California - AAU, Winner
Mr USA - IFBB, Short, 1st
Mr USA - IFBB, Overall Winner
Universe - IFBB, Medium, 3rd 1972 Mr America - IFBB, Short, 1st
Mr America - IFBB, Overall Winner
Mr International - IFBB, Short, 1st
Universe - IFBB, Medium, 1st
Universe - IFBB, Overall Winner 1973 Mr World - IFBB, Medium, 1st 1974 Mr International - IFBB, Short, 1st
Mr World - IFBB, Short, 1st 1975

1975 Mr. Olympia The 1975 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held November 4–11, 1975 in Pretoria, South Africa. It was the 11th Mr. Olympia competition and the feature event of the 1975 IFBB International Congress. The ev ...

- IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd
Universe - Pro - IFBB, 2nd
World Pro Championships - IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd 1976 1976 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 3rd 1977 1977 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd
1977 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, Overall, 3rd 1978 Night of Champions - IFBB, 4th
1978 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 4th
1978 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, Overall, 7th 1979 Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, Did not place
Florida Pro Invitational - IFBB, 7th
Grand Prix Pennsylvania - IFBB, Did not place
Night of Champions - IFBB, 8th

1979 Mr. Olympia The 1979 Mr. Olympia contest was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held October 6, 1979 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus, Ohio. Results The total prize money awarded was $50,000. Ov ...

- IFBB, LightWeight, 9th
Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 8th
Universe - Pro - IFBB, 5th
World Pro Championships - IFBB, 5th 1980 Grand Prix Miami - IFBB, 6th
Grand Prix Pennsylvania - IFBB, 6th
Night of Champions - IFBB, 4th

1980 Mr. Olympia The 1980 Mr. Olympia contest was an International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held on October 4, 1980, at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The event was one of the most debated competitions ...

- IFBB, 11th
Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 6th
Universe - Pro - IFBB, Did not place
World Pro Championships - IFBB, Did not place 1981 1981 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 13th 1983

1983 Mr. Olympia The 1983 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held on September 24, 1983, at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany. Results Total prize money awarded was $50,000. Notable events *Samir Bannout Samir Bannout ( ...

- IFBB, 14th 1989 Super Bowl of Bodybuilding - PBA, 4th 1994 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 1st
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 10th 1995 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 1st
Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 11th 1996 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 11th 1997 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 2nd 1998 Arnold Classic - IFBB, Masters, 10th 2004 IFBB Hall Of Fame

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corney, Ed 1933 births 2019 deaths Businesspeople from San Jose, California American bodybuilders Sportspeople from Honolulu Military personnel from Hawaii People associated with physical culture Professional bodybuilders United States Coast Guard enlisted Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Place of death missing 20th-century American businesspeople