Eugene Sandow
| Eugen Sandow | |
|---|---|
_-_Eugen_Sandow_(1867-1925).jpg) |
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| Born |
Friedrich Wilhelm Müller April 2, 1867 Königsberg, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | October 14, 1925 (aged 58) Kensington, London, England |
| Resting place | Putney Vale Cemetery |
| Other names | Eugene Sandow |
| Spouse(s) | Blanche Brooks (m. 1896; his death 1925) |
| Children | 2 |
Eugen Sandow (German pronunciation: [ˌɔʏ̯ɡeːn ˈzandoː]; born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller; April 2, 1867 – October 14, 1925) was a pioneering German bodybuilder, now known as the "father of modern bodybuilding".
Sandow was born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia) on April 2, 1867 to a German father and a Russian mother. Although his parents were born Jewish, the family were Lutherans and wanted him to become a Lutheran minister. He left Prussia in 1885 to avoid military service and traveled throughout Europe, becoming a circus athlete and adopting Eugen Sandow as his stage name.
In Brussels he visited the gym of a fellow strongman, Ludwig Durlacher, better known under his stage name "Professor Attila". Durlacher recognized Sandow's potential, mentored him, and in 1889 encouraged him to travel to London and take part in a strongmen competition. Sandow handily beat the reigning champion and won instant fame and recognition for his strength. This launched him on his career as an athletic superstar. Soon he was receiving requests from all over Britain for performances. For the next four years, Sandow refined his technique and crafted it into popular entertainment with posing and incredible feats of strength.
Florenz Ziegfeld wanted to display Sandow at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, but Ziegfeld knew that Maurice Grau had Sandow under a contract. Grau wanted $1,000 a week. Ziegfeld could not guarantee that much but agreed to pay 10 percent of the gross receipts.
Ziegfeld found that the audience was more fascinated by Sandow's bulging muscles than by the amount of weight he was lifting, so Ziegfeld had Sandow move in poses which he dubbed "muscle display performances"... and the legendary strongman added these displays in addition to performing his feats of strength with barbells. He added chain-around-the-chest breaking and other colorful displays to Sandow's routine, and Sandow quickly became Ziegfeld's first star.
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