In 1960, after the success of American body builder and actor Steve Reeves in the Italian-made films Hercules and Hercules Unchained a number of body builders from the U.S. and elsewhere flocked to Italy and Spain to appear in what would become known as “Sword and Sandal Epics.” These movies told stories of legendary muscle-men who possessed the strength of the gods and fought against oppression and tyranny while surrounded by scantily clad former Miss Italys who were generally the girlfriends of the movie producers.
One of these celluloid heroes was Rock Stevens. Rock had already made appearances on American television and in the movie Muscle Beach Party, when he was tapped to portray Hercules in Hercules and the Tyrant of Babylon. He quickly became a screen idol in Italy and with the Saturday matinee crowds all over the world. He was cast as a pirate in Giant of the Evil Island. He then played Goliath in Goliath and the Conquest of Damascus and followed that as Spartacus in Challenge of the Gladiator.
Rock Stevens was really Hoosier-born Peter Lupus. Pete was born in Indianapolis in 1932. He was an Eastsider who graduated from Tech High School in 1950 and attended the Jordan College of Fine Arts at Butler University. While still a high school student, Pete had become interested in bodybuilding. Pete wanted to add weight and strength to his 6’ 4’’ frame and he was very successful — so successful that he decided to enter competitive bodybuilding. He won the titles of Mr. Indianapolis, Mr. Indiana, Mr. Hercules, and Mr. International Health Physique.
Rock was never going to be mistaken for Charlton Heston or Kirk Douglas, but he did bring an enthusiasm and sense of humor to his acting, something the extremely wooden Steve Reeves was never able to do. The popularity of the Sword and Sandal films faded by 1965, as Clint Eastwood became an international sensation in A Fist Full of Dollars and the Spaghetti Western was born.
In 1966 Peter won the role of Willie Armitage on the very popular television action series Mission, Impossible. Peter and Greg Morris were the only two actors to sustain their roles during the show’s entire run. Peter continued to stay busy as a popular character actor and guest star on television from the 70s through the 90s. He had the regular role of Detective Norberg on the Police Squad TV series. His last acting role was as Uncle Chavy in the 1999 film Carlo’s Wake.
In April 1974, Peter was the centerfold pinup in Playgirl magazine. Playgirl reported that he was their most popular centerfold, even more so than Burt Reynolds. In 2007 Peter set the world weight-lifting endurance record of 77,560 pounds in 24 minutes and 50 seconds to celebrate his 75th birthday. He has a movie currently in production with his old friend Martin Landau called A Fighting Chance even as this is being written. Rock Stevens could probably play Spartacus or Samson or Goliath in an Italian flick again and we Hoosiers would love our own Indianapolis Hercules, Peter Lupus.