Ed Corney was an American professional bodybuilder. He won many prizes in his 30s, including Mr. Universe twice, and Mr. America once. He resumed competitive bodybuilding in his 60s, when he won the 60+ division of the Masters Olympia twice. He appeared in the 1977 docudramaPumping Iron, as well as the "" episode from The Streets of San Francisco broadcast that same year.
Corney took up bodybuilding at 27, and he first competed at the age of 35. He entered and won his first contest in 1967, the Mr. Fremont, held in Northern California. He wins the following year. He also won: Mr. Heart of California, Mr. Northern California and Mr. Golden West. He continued to climb the bodybuilding ladder with wins at the 1970 Iron Man, the 1971 AAU Mr. California, the 1971 IFBB Mr. USA, and the 1972 IFBB Mr. America. He also won the IFBB Mr. Universe twice: in New York City in 1971, and in Baghdad, Iraq in 1972. He also won the IFBB Mr. America in 1972, Mr. World in 1973, and Mr. World in 1974. Corney appeared in the 1977 moviePumping Iron. He was also featured on the cover of its book version, by Charles Gaines and George Butler. Corney continued to compete in the 1980s. At the time, he admitted to using steroids, but he explained that training should be the bedrock of bodybuilding. He added that he was "97 percent training and three percent steroids." In 1994, Corney won the 60+ division of the Masters Olympia. He won again in 1995, he was placed 11th overall in 1996, and he took second in the 60+ division in 1997. He also competed in 1998 in the only Masters event ever to be held at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic. Corney remained active in the sport up until his death. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004.
Corney resided in San Jose, California. In 1999, he suffered a heart attack while undergoing shoulder replacement surgery. A blood thinning medication that was given to him to treat the heart attack caused him to suffer two strokes. After a short period in a coma and some time using a wheelchair, Corney fought his way back to health. Corney had a brain aneurysm on December 25, 2018, and died on January 1, 2019, at the age of 85 in Hughson, California. Shortly after his death, former California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger tweeted, "Ed Corney was a jewel of a guy. He was one of the greatest posers bodybuilding has ever seen, and he was a fantastic training partner. He inspired me and I’ll miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his family."
Stats
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 195 lbs
Wins
1968 Mr California - AAU, 5th Mr Northern California - AAU, Winner 1969 Mr Western America - AAU, Winner 1970 Mr America - AAU, 11th Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 2nd Mr California - AAU, Did not place Iron Man, Winner 1971 Mr America - AAU, 4th Mr America - IFBB, Short, 1st Mr California - AAU, Most Muscular, 1st Mr California - AAU, Winner Mr USA - IFBB, Short, 1st Mr USA - IFBB, Overall Winner Universe - IFBB, Medium, 3rd 1972 Mr America - IFBB, Short, 1st Mr America - IFBB, Overall Winner Mr International - IFBB, Short, 1st Universe - IFBB, Medium, 1st Universe - IFBB, Overall Winner 1973 Mr World - IFBB, Medium, 1st 1974 Mr International - IFBB, Short, 1st Mr World - IFBB, Short, 1st 1975 1975 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd Universe - Pro - IFBB, 2nd World Pro Championships - IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd 1976 1976 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 3rd 1977 1977 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 2nd 1977 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, Overall, 3rd 1978 Night of Champions - IFBB, 4th 1978 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 4th 1978 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, Overall, 7th 1979 Canada Pro Cup - IFBB, Did not place Florida Pro Invitational - IFBB, 7th Grand Prix Pennsylvania - IFBB, Did not place Night of Champions - IFBB, 8th 1979 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, LightWeight, 9th Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 8th Universe - Pro - IFBB, 5th World Pro Championships - IFBB, 5th 1980 Grand Prix Miami - IFBB, 6th Grand Prix Pennsylvania - IFBB, 6th Night of Champions - IFBB, 4th 1980 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 11th Pittsburgh Pro Invitational - IFBB, 6th Universe - Pro - IFBB, Did not place World Pro Championships - IFBB, Did not place 1981 1981 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 13th 1983 1983 Mr. Olympia - IFBB, 14th 1989 Super Bowl of Bodybuilding - PBA, 4th 1994 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 1st Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 10th 1995 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 1st Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 11th 1996 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, 11th 1997 Olympia - Masters - IFBB, Masters 60+, 2nd 1998 Arnold Classic - IFBB, Masters, 10th 2004 IFBB Hall Of Fame
