Roy Stanley Hilligenn (November 15, 1922 – August 3, 2008) was an American bodybuilder who was awarded the title of Mr. South Africa for four years, as well as

AAU Mr. America The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. A ...

in 1951. Famous for his strength,

vegetarianism 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 may ...

, and smile, Hilligenn mixed

bodybuilding 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

weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Traini ...

in his fitness programs. He appeared on famous

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

covers such as ''

Strength & Health ''Strength & Health'' was a bodybuilding/fitness/Olympic weightlifting magazine, one of the earliest magazines devoted to fitness and bodybuilding. Until the late 1960s, it was the most popular weightlifting magazine in the United States. It was p ...

'' and ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' during his bodybuilding career. Standing at only 5'6"(167.64cm), Hilligenn was the shortest person to ever win the Mr. America title.

Childhood

Roy Hilligenn, whose name was commonly misspelled as Hilligen in publications, was born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and won a trophy for being a beautiful baby when he was only six months old.Kirchner, M. (1951). http://www.musclememory.com/showArticle.php?im11038 ''Roy Hilligenn "Mr. America" 1951.'' IronMan, Volume 11, Number 3. Soon after his birth, his family moved to

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 ...

, where he grew up. When Hilligenn was 4-years-old, his father died, and soon after, his mother placed him and his four siblings in an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

. He lived at the orphanage until the age of 15, after which he went to school to become an electrician. He had little interest in sports until the age of 17, when he fell four floors while working as an electrician. The injury included broken fingers, ribs, and wrist, all on his left side. After recovering, he began to weight train, weighing in at only 85 pounds, using a homemade set of weights given to him by a friend.Ripped Enterprises (2000). http://www.cbass.com/Hilligenn.htm ''Roy Hilligenn, a Marvel - Then & Now.'' Clarence and Carol Bass. Three years after his injury, Hilligenn began competing in novice weightlifting meets.

Training and competitions

Hilligenn won his 1st place title in a novice weightlifting meet in 1943. He was in the 148-pound

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

and performed a 160

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a famil ...

, 160 snatch, and 240

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

. He went on to win the Mr. South Africa title in 1943, 1944, 1946, and 1976 (at the age of 54). In 1951 Hilligenn began training for the Mr. America competition under Ed Yarick in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, who had worked with former Mr. Americas (including

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagon ...

in 1947 and

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 ...

in 1949). The Yarick Gym included both bodybuilding training and weight-lifting, and Hilligenn spent two months training with Yarick as well as living in Yarick's home and with his wife Alice. During the months before the Mr. America competition, Hilligenn was training six days a week, with three days dedicated to bodybuilding and three days dedicated to Olympic lifts, and often including two training sessions a day. With the help of Yarick's training, he went on to win the 1951 Mr. America competition. In the 1950s, while Hilligenn was winning the most titles, his body weight fluctuated between 175 and 185 pounds.

List of competitions

Personal records while training

Photos of Hilligenn performing a 500 lb one-arm deadlift.

Sexual battery convictions

Hilligenn who had worked as a masseur at his Hernando County clinic was convicted of sexually assaulting two of his female clients. He was also hired as a personal trainer for a St. Petersburg family and was accused of fondling a 21-year old female member of the family. Between 1987–1989, Hilligenn served two years in prison on two accounts of sexual battery and three accounts of assault. In 1991, Hilligenn was convicted of sexual battery and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in 1999."Florida Prison (DOC) Arrest Records for Inmate Roy Hilligenn"
Publicpolicerecord.com. Retrieved 19 Obituary 2021.

Personal life

Hilligenn was a vegetarian, claiming not to have eaten meat. He stated that "I believe being a vegetarian all my life is a secret to yyouthful countenance and longevity and perfect health." Hilligenn married Marilyn Hilligenn in the early 1960s. He died on August 3, 2008, at the age of 85. He developed a blood clot after he fell and hit his head. After undergoing surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, he went into a coma and never came out of it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilligenn, Roy 1922 births 2008 deaths American bodybuilders American expatriates in South Africa American sportsmen American vegetarianism activists People associated with physical culture People convicted of battery Professional bodybuilders