Eugen Sandow

Eugen Sandow

Birth : 1867-04-02, Königsberg, Kingdom of Prussia

Death : 1925-10-14

History

Eugen Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller) was a German bodybuilder and showman from Prussia. Born in Königsberg, Sandow became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy. After a spell in the circus, Sandow studied under strongman Ludwig Durlacher in the late 1880s. On Durlacher's recommendation, he began entering strongman competitions, performing in matches against leading figures in the sport such as Charles Sampson, Frank Bienkowski, and Henry McCann. In 1901 he organised what is believed to be the world's first major body building competition. Set in London's Royal Albert Hall, Sandow judged the event alongside author Arthur Conan Doyle and athlete/sculptor Charles Lawes-Wittewronge.

Profile

Eugen Sandow

Movies

Glorious Technicolor
Self (archive footage)
The history of color photography in motion pictures, in particular the Technicolor company's work.
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
(archive footage)
The careers of D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin are chronicled culminating in the formation of United Artists and 1919.
100 Years at the Movies
Commemorates the centennial of American movies with a montage of clips and music scores from the most important movies of the century.
Sandow
Himself
Strong-man Eugene Sandow flexes his muscles and strikes a few poses in front of a black background. This was a short film shot by William K.L. Dickson and produced in Thomas Edison's Black Maria studio.
Ringkämpfer
Two men in white leotards and tights, and black slips over it, wrestle on a theatre stage.
Wintergartenprogramm
Wrestler
On 1 November 1895, the brothers Max and Emil Skladanowsky presented their pioneer film work and legendary Bioscop program in Berlin′s Wintergarten Theater. With live musical accompaniment, the compilation program included short film sequences with famous artists of the time: Italienischer Bauerntanz, Komisches Reck, Der Jongleur, Das boxende Känguruh, Kamarinskaja, Die Serpentintänzerin, Akrobatisches Potpourri, Ringkampf, and Apotheose, with the Skladanowsky brothers bowing to their audience.
Souvenir Strip of the Edison Kinetoscope
Himself
Eugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.