Chris Dickerson

HENRI CHRISTOPHE DICKERSON, also known as CHRIS DICKERSON, died on Thursday, December 23,

2021, at the age of 82, at Holy Cross Hospital. Chris was born on August 25,

1939, in Montgomery, Alabama to Mahala Ashley Dickerson, as the youngest of triplets with brothers Alfred and John. Chris graduated high school at Olney Friends School in

1957. He studied music and was an accomplished opera singer in addition to his professional career in bodybuilding and personal training.

During the 1960s, Chris did much physique modeling, and his nude work for photographer Jim French in the

1970s is today considered some of the best in this field. Chris was one of the world’s most titled bodybuilders, his career spanning more than thirty years. He was known for his heavily muscled, symmetrical physique and for his graceful skills on the posing dais. Chris was the first African American to win AAU Mr. America in 1970, won Mr. Universe in 1974, was the first openly gay winner of the IFBB Mr. Olympia contest in 1982, and was one of only two to win titles in both Mr. Olympia and Masters’ Olympia competitions in

1994. Chris was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in

2000. He lived in south Florida for more than 20 years where he continued to train and conduct seminars. After visiting the Joe and Betty Weider Museum at the Stark Center for Physical Culture, University of Texas at Austin in 2011, Chris decided to donate his personal bodybuilding materials to this Center dedicated to preserving the history of strength and bodybuilding. Many of Chris’s bodybuilding awards and trophies are on display at the Weider Museum.

Chris’s mother and both of his brothers predeceased Chris. Chris was a member of the Calvary Chapel Church in Fort Lauderdale. His interment will be private, and he will be laid to rest at a family plot in Alaska. In lieu of cards or flowers donations in Chris’s honor can be made to the Weider Museum. To donate in Chris’s memory and support the Stark Center (a tax-exempt organization that is part of the University

of Texas at Austin) go to www.starkcenter.org and at the top of the page click “Donate.” That link will take you to the donations page and on the right side you will see the Stark Center’s name to donate.

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