Bruce Bellas was an influential photographer of the physique of nude males. Bellas was best-known by his pseudonym, Bruce of Los Angeles.

Bellas was born in 1909 in Nebraska. He began his career as  a chemistry teacher in Nebraska.

As a hobby, Bellas began to explore photography. He traveled the Midwest on weekends, taking photographs for a postcard company.

Bellas also picked up young men along the way – he took photos of them in motel rooms.

With his chemistry background, he developed and printed these pictures himself in the motel bathrooms.

Over time, he began to identify clients that were keen to buy his photos of young guys.

In 1947, Bellas moved to Los Angeles where he continued to pursue his passion for photography, often focusing on the physique poses of bodybuilders.

He launched his own magazine, The Male Figure, in 1956.

The Cunningham brothers were some of the most popular models used by Bellas in his photography. The Cunningham brothers were three handsome, clean-cut, athletic, and well-hung models. Bellas frequently travelled with the Cunningham brothers – taking photos of them at locations such as rodeos and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Bellas died while on vacation in Canada in 1974. He was with Scotty Cunningham at the time. Bellas left his house and his estate to Scotty Cunningham.

Bellas’s style of photography is seen as a major influence on the work of photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, and Bruce Weber.

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