Dave Draper

David Draper (April 16, 1942 – November 30, 2021) was an American bodybuilder, actor and author.

Early life Draper was born in Secaucus, New Jersey, on April 16, 1942. His weight training began at the age of ten and was a well-formed habit by the time he was about 12, in the mid-1950s. In high school he participated in wrestling, gymnastics and swimming, but was most inspired by training with weights.

Career Bodybuilding At age 21, he won the Mr. New Jersey title. Six months later he moved to Santa Monica, California, where he worked for the Weider Barbell Company until 1969. Weider magazine coverage and advertising made Draper an icon of the California beach and muscle lifestyle. "That I was a West Coast beach boy to a world of bodybuilding fans eluded me," Draper wrote.

In California, Draper trained initially at a gym many called "The Dungeon", which he described as "a large, awful space dug out of the ground on the corner of 4th and Broadway," and later at the original Gold's Gym. He trained in the company of the world's top bodybuilders, which included Frank Zane, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Mike Katz, and Robby Robinson.

Draper was tall, and his bodybuilding competition weight was approximately .

Draper played himself in the 1967 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies titled, "Mr. Universe Muscles In", in which Granny Clampett thinks that Draper is ill with "the barbell bloat." The storyline includes Draper suggesting that Ellie May is pretty enough to be "Miss Universe", leading the Clampetts to think that he wants to marry Elly May, not understanding that "Universe" is not his last name.

He appears in the 1967 movie Don't Make Waves, co-starring opposite Sharon Tate.

He appears in The Monkees playing Bulk, in the October 16, 1967, episode "I Was a 99-lb. Weakling". He appears in Here Come the Brides in the December 19, 1969, episode, "Lorenzo Bush".

Personal life In December 1961, Draper married Kathleen "Penny" Koenemund. They had a daughter. After a reported battle with alcoholism in the late 1970s and, with rehabilitation, gaining sobriety in 1983, Draper resumed his bodybuilding career to guest-pose at bodybuilding competitions and appear at exhibitions.

Draper's marriage to Koenemund ended in divorce.

Draper continued to train with weights into his 70s, and to write, including a free weekly newsletter, emailed and published on his website until 2021. He died of congestive heart failure a condition that his widow said he suffered from for almost 40 years. 1965 IFBB Mr. America Tall Class & Overall, 1st 1966 IFBB Mr. Universe Tall Class & Overall, 1st 1967 Mr. Olympia 4th 1970 AAU Mr. World 3rd 1970 IFBB Mr. World Tall & Overall, 1st 1970 NABBA Mr. Universe Tall, 3rd

Filmography Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) as an extra Karen (1965) as Big Bad Jim in "Big Bad Jim" Lord Love a Duck (1966) as Billy Gibbons Three on a Couch (1966) as Muscle Man Walk, Don't Run (1966) as Swedish Athlete Don't Make Waves (1967) as Harry Hollard The Monkees (1967) as Bulk in "I Was a 99-Pound Weakling" The Beverly Hillbillies (1967) as himself in "Mr. Universe Muscles In" Here Come the Brides (1969) as 1st Man in "Lorenzo Bush"