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Pat Milo Physique photographs

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: Coll2014-123

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of Pat Milo physique photographic prints.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1955-1969

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biographical Note

Pat Milo (James Patrick) was born in 1911 into a large, Irish Catholic family. At a young age, he was forced to leave school to help care for his family. On the side, Milo indulged his interest in young men by dabbling in amateur photography. When his father found some of his photographs, he was thrown out of the house and forced to venture out on his own.

He eventually found work as a short-order cook where he met Lyle Frisby. In the early 1950s the two opened a photography studio. The studio quickly failed. Undeterred, Frisby contacted Bruce Bellas (Bruce of Los Angeles), a photographer whose work he admired and wanted to emulate, for advice. Bellas advised him to move to Los Angeles. Frisby moved to Los Angeles, with Milo following a year later. Together, they again opened a storefront studio, Lyle Studio on Naud Street, just blocks from Los Angeles’ Chinatown, circa 1953. Frisby handled the photography and Milo handled the daily business. The store fronted as a commercial photography venture, but Frisby’s primary business was photographing athletic male models for the physique magazines. His earliest known advertisement appears in Physique Pictorial in December 1953. Frisby and Milo sold nude photographs of physique models through mail order, as well as in person at the Naud Street storefront. It was here, circa 1956 or 1957, that Frisby was arrested for obscenity. While Frisby was incarcerated, Milo began taking extension classes at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to improve his photography skills. He met Hollywood photographer George Hurrell at UCLA and developed a similar photographic technique. Frisby experienced a rapid decline in his health during his year-long incarceration, and soon after his release he died.

Milo opened a studio of his own on Vermont Street in Los Angeles, and he began photographing male models under the Milo brand. His photographs began appearing in physique magazines in 1959. He continued selling nude photographs using Lyle Frisby’s mailing list and new clients brought in through advertisements. Over the next decade, he shots dozens of models, garnering respect from many of the models for his atypical “hands-off” approach during their modeling sessions. Although Milo photographed many models, he is perhaps best-known for his photographs of competitive bodybuilder Larry Scott.

Extent

4.8 Linear Feet (19 binder boxes) : 2349 photographic prints

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Physique photographic prints produced Lyle Frisby and Pat Milo. Milo sold photosets through the mail and his images appeared in physique magazines, circa 1955-1969.

Immediate Source of Acquistion

Photographs aggregated from collections and donations to the archives.

Related Materials

Milo of Los Angeles, Studios and Distributors Marketing Materials Collection, Coll2012-170, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Henry Benison, Brad Bradley, Steve Fritch, Robert Graves, David Hensley, Christian Morales, and Michael C. Oliveira, November 2014. Names followed by the comment "questionable," suggest availble sources, but unverified sources. Names followed by the comment "doubtful," suggest no availble source for identification.

Title
Finding Aid to the Pat Milo Physique Photographs
Status
Completed
Author
Michael C. Oliveira
Date
(c) 2014
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Repository Details

Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository

Contact:
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Los Angeles California 90007 United States
(213) 821-2771