ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) - Bill Cunningham doesn’t take himself too seriously and that’s made all the difference in his immensely successful 84 years of life.
“I think the whole idea is not to take life too seriously, the minute you start taking yourself serious and you think you’re really at the top of the mountain, you start sliding back,” Cunningham said. “It’s total nonsense.”
Mr. Universe winner, Guinness World Record holder, bodybuilding champion and singer, Cunningham has experienced plenty of prosperity through his hard work and relaxed attitude.
Even still, being loose and relaxed has always been a part of the Bill Cunningham brand and he says he’ll bring that to this year’s event.
That exact demeanor has made him who he is today and it all began across an ocean thousand of miles away in Ireland.
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The Irishman
Anything Cunningham made he gave back to his mother to help feed the family and during this time he learned exactly what it means to keep your head down and work hard.
After five long years, Cunningham decided he needed a change of scenery and immigrated to Canada in 1956 at 21 years old with virtually nothing to his name.
25 jobs and five years later, he still felt he hadn’t quite fulfilled his purpose and so he moved to California and worked at the Beverly Hills Health Club for seven years while doing stunt work for famous actors like Frankie Avalon.
Cunningham acknowledged that this was one of the first times in his life he was able to make what he considered to be a relatively substantial amount of money.
He says he made around $99 for his stunt work which “was a lot of money way back then”.
Cunningham began to rub shoulders with celebrities a lot more often between his job at the health club and his budding alternate career as a bodybuilder.
Though he began bodybuilding as far back as his time in Ireland, Cunningham finally began to make waves on the muscle scene in California.
“My bodybuilding career began in Ireland but I remember my first show in Los Angeles and there was 10 guys on stage and I finished ninth so I figured that I wasn’t going to let that happen again,” Cunningham said. “Self-praise is no recommendation but I ended up winning three universe titles.”
It was in his 20s and 30s in California that bodybuilding became not only a hobby, but a way of life.
It was around this time that Cunningham started winning bodybuilding titles and parlayed that into his day job, as a stuntman and trainer for the stars.
He worked with famous names such as Kurt Russell, Steve McQueen and Mission Impossible star Peter Lupus while racking up the awards, winning Mr. Ireland three times, Mr. USA twice, Mr. Muscle Beach and hundreds of other accolades during his time.
“I won everything I should have won,” Cunningham said. “In my first Mr. Universe win I was 49 and I was up against a lot of great guys.”
Not only did Cunningham win Mr. Muscle Beach, but he was also one of the bodies that helped make the 1964 classic Muscle Beach Party movie such a success.
With movies, championships and a successful career, Cunningham says he owes a lot of his prosperity to the grind of what it takes to become great.
“Body sculpting is probably one of the greatest things that I know that will bring you back to good health,” Cunningham said. “It works everything. Everything you need is in that little dumbbell, it’s all there.”
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CUNNINGHAM’S GOT TALENT
After six decades as a bodybuilder, a combination of shoulder injuries and age has since temporarily forced him out of consistent competition.
Still, Cunningham - much like during the rest of his life - has been able to pivot to another passion of his in singing.
Cunningham says singing has been a passion of his since his teenage years so his chance in Dixie’s Got Talent is something he was excited for but not too stressed about.
“I just go as if I’m going down there just to sing and that’s all I’ll do is sing and hopefully I can do it with some merit,” Cunningham said.
Taking on 19 of the most gifted acts in Southern Utah, Cunningham was not able to win but says a lot of the fun came just from trying out and seeing the young talent on display as the oldest person in the competition.
“I’ve looked and seen a lot of the kids when I went down there and there are a lot of good kids,” Cunningham said. “I see some of the young lads coming up and it’s good to know that it’s all for a good cause.”
Cunningham, now a St. George resident, says he will continue to sing and advises the younger generation who are striving to be great at what they do to have fun and enjoy the years they have.
“The whole idea is to enjoy yourself and within enjoying yourself, find enjoyment within yourself that can help someone else get the enjoyment that you feel,” Cunningham said. “It’ll always come back to you and it’ll come back in a good way.”
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