Reg Park, the future Italian epic star, was born in 1928 as Roy Park, but his name was soon changed to Reginald Park, Jr., in honor of his father, Reginald Park Sr., a well-known gymnasium proprietor in Leeds and owner of the Reg Park Barbell Company.
Reg Park, Jr. began his athletic career by playing reserve team football for Leeds United, but he eventually turned his attention to bodybuilding in 1946. He finished as the runner-up in the Mr. Universe competition in 1950, and then went on to win the title three times, in 1951, 1958, and 1965.
In 1952, Park married Mareon Isaacs, a South African-born woman, in Johannesburg, and the couple moved to South Africa permanently. There, Park operated a chain of fitness studios.
In 1960, Park was invited to Rome to star in two back-to-back Hercules movies, "Hercules and the Captive Women" (1961) and "Hercules in the Haunted World" (1961). These films were directed by acclaimed directors Vittorio Cottafavi and Mario Bava, and Park's performances in them earned him a cult following in the Italian epic genre.
Park's friend and protégé, Arnold Schwarzenegger, considered him to be the best of the "peplum" heroes. After the success of the Hercules films, Park went on to star in three more sword-and-sandals movies, including "Maciste in King Solomon's Mines" (1964),which was filmed on location in South Africa.
Park's career as an actor and bodybuilder spanned several decades, and he remains a beloved figure in the world of Italian epics.
