Armand Tanny

Armand Tanny (1919 to 2009) was an American Muscle Beach bodybuilder who won national titles in 1949 and 1950, placing first in both the 1949 Professional Mr. America and the 1950 Mr. USA contests. He was a weightlifter before turning to bodybuilding, and the younger brother of the fitness entrepreneur Vic Tanny. After the University of Rochester he moved to Los Angeles and transferred to UCLA, served in the Coast Guard in World War II until an injury discharge and finished a degree in physical therapy. As one of a group of bodybuilders in Mae West's nightclub act, he organized a strike when West tried to cut their pay. He advocated a raw food diet of tuna, beef, lobster, nuts, fruit and vegetables and spent much of his career writing about fitness for bodybuilding magazines.