Kenny Waller (born March 20, 1942) is an American former

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 ...

featured in the 1977 movie ''

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 L ...

'', which starred

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'' ...

. Waller also won the 1975 International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) Mr. Universe contest in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He was known for his curly red hair, freckles and his graceful, confident posing style.

Early life

Ken Waller was born on March 20, 1942. He is originally from

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

. He attended

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

(class of 1965), where he was a member of the undefeated 1963 Tangerine Bowl football team. A photograph of Waller still hangs in the WKU football team's locker room. Ken could often be found at the 13th St. Barber Shop near WKU where his buddies, Howard Poindexter, Fred Turner, and Slick Thurman cut hair. He went on to play professional football in Canada, after serving in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and teaching high school in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Bodybuilding career

Waller, at six feet tall and 230 pounds, was one of the most frequent winning amateur bodybuilders of the 1970s. His most notable win was depicted in the film ''

'', at the Mr. Universe contest of 1975. In a controversial contest, he edged out Roger Walker of Australia, Paul Grant of Wales and his fellow Pumping Iron co-star,

Mike Katz Michael Katz (born November 14, 1944) is a former American IFBB professional bodybuilder and former professional football player with the New York Jets, most famous for his appearance with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1977 bodybuilding docum ...

, of the US, to take the first place. He went on to compete at the professional level the following year in the 1976

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 ...

contest, where he again defeated

to win first place in the heavyweight (over 200 pound) division. He continued to place in the 1977, 1980 and 1981 Mr. Olympias, taking second place in the tall category and fifth overall in 1977. Unlike Frank Zane or lighter competitors, Waller was not known for an aesthetic physique, rather, like fellow competitors,

and

Lou Ferrigno Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documenta ...

, he relied on size to gain the attention from judges, which at the time, was only beginning to gain popularity.

Appearance in ''Pumping Iron''

Waller was briefly featured in the photo-essay book of the same name by George Butler and Charles Gaines, but gained much more notoriety from the film documentary of 1977. In it, Waller is portrayed in a somewhat negative light as the antagonist and chief competition of

, whose storyline was featured much more prominently in the film. Waller is shown as a devious and cunning character who tries to undermine Mike Katz's concentration by hiding his lucky T-shirt, and discussing his plan to do so with fellow bodybuilders

Roger Callard Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

and Robby Robinson in one of the film's most memorable and infamous scenes. In reality, the "T-shirt incident" was staged to add drama to the film, and the scene where Waller confides his scheme was filmed ''after'' the Mr. Universe contest actually took place. Waller can actually be seen wearing two different shirts in different camera angles in that scene, making it obvious that it was set up. Waller and Katz were, in fact, friends – as Waller recounted in ''Raw Iron – The Making of Pumping Iron'' – but his reputation as a "villain" remained. "I would go to contests and get booed, after that!" said Waller in a later interview.

Other film appearances

Waller had an uncredited, but prominent, cameo in the film

Stay Hungry ''Stay Hungry'' is a 1976 American comedy-drama film by director Bob Rafelson from a screenplay by Charles Gaines (adapted from his 1972 novel of the same name). The story centers on a younscionfrom Birmingham, Alabama, played by Jeff Bridges, ...

as "Dougie Stewart", the rival of bodybuilder Joe Santo (

.) This film was written by Charles Gaines, co-author of ''

''. He also appeared in the

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

''Kill The Golden Goose in 1979'', "Flex" and in "King of the Beach", an episode of The ''Incredible Hulk'', in 1981.

Contest placings

References

External links

Bodybuilding Pro Website. Biography & Contest History of Ken Waller
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Ken American bodybuilders People from Jeffersonville, Indiana 1942 births Living people Western Kentucky University alumni