Hard by the Santa Monica Pier, on an otherwise empty section of beach, there is a plaque which reads, "The Original Location of Muscle Beach. The Birthplace of the Physical Fitness Boom of the Twentieth Century." Although somewhat hyperbolic, the statement is not far wrong. What began as a sort of playground for acrobatic adults in the years before World War II became, after the war was over and people were looking for a little overdue "R & R," a magnet for men and women who were captivated by the sun, the sand, the skin, and the sense of endless summer that resides in the mythology of Southern California. The original Muscle Beach drew, and helped to shape, the careers of many cultural icons, including Steve Reeves, Jack LaLanne, Mae West, Pudgy Stockton, Vic Tanny, Joe Weider, and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

There were, to be sure...