Playback

Snapshots from our history courtesy of the Playboy Archives

Heritage May 28, 2020


CALIFORNIA, 1975
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A young Arnold Schwarzenegger grips a snifter of California brandy as model and actor Joyce Mandel grips him. Photographer Mario Casilli captured the pair for *It’s a Naive Little California Brandy,* an article by food writer Emanuel Greenberg about the growing popularity of the Golden State’s version of the French spirit. An accomplished bodybuilder but not yet the cultural heavyweight he is today, in 1975 the future governor of California was already a five-time Mr. Olympia winner. Two years after his PLAYBOY shoot, he spoke candidly about sex and bodybuilding with the magazine’s sister publication *Oui* while promoting the documentary *Pumping Iron.* “We had girls backstage giving head, then all of us went out and I won,” he said. “It didn’t bother me at all; in fact, I went out there feeling like King Kong.” Check out Greenberg’s take on delicious California brandies, including classic cocktail recipes, at [Playboy.com](https://www.playboy.com/magazine)—where you can also read the January 1988 *Playboy Interview* with Schwarzenegger.

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