March 1988. Two well-known figures wrap up a half-day of voice work in a Universal Studios post-production studio. It has been a long day finalizing an even longer project.
Danny Devito (as Vincent Benedict): "Money talks and bullshit walks!"
Arnold Schwarzenegger (as Julius Benedict): "How can bullshit walk?"
Technician (over speaker): Okay, got it! Thanks, guys. That's a wrap.
Pulling off his headphones, the shorter of the two men seems concerned, "Speaking of money, do you think we are doing the right thing on this...?"
"Danny, trust me on ziss. I believe in da movie. Ivan Reitman is a great producer. Just the visual of us as twins vill sell it. They've planned a holiday release, ve vill have to wait a year und ve vill make far more on da gross than ve vould ever haff made up front."
"Easy for you to say. Things are slow. If my manager makes me host another episode of Saturday Night Live, I'm going to stick my head in an oven."
"Trust me, Danny. You need to diversify. I just got back from da Pro Mr. World in Columbus. A veekend's vork und I came home with two trashbags filled with cash. Next year ve vill be changing its name to THE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER CLASSIC. You build your name und let it make zee money for you."
"Fitness IS a big deal these days. You definitely give me something to think about."
After talking to his wife Rhea and making a call to a very enthusiastic Wayne Demilia, Danny was ready to invest the pro sanctioning fee, look into convention centers and begin his very first foray into professional bodybuilding promotion. Not wanting to step on the feet of his movie collaborator, Devito knew he needed a new angle for his contest. Well, since Arnold was considered the role model for what a tall bodybuilder should look like, THE DANNY DEVITO INVITATIONAL would be determine the top short man to ever earn an IFBB pro card!
When problems with sponsorship delayed the event (supplement companies were skeptical about the success of the show, even with Tony Danza and Marilu Henner signed on as MCs) the contest was shelved. Once 1989 rolled around, "Twins" was a huge hit and Devito's profit from the gross and the massive career upturn to follow made him forget about his contest's near inclusion into the IFBB contest schedule.
From there, the rights to the event were lost in a card game, passed from a development partner and finally sold on eBay for an undisclosed two-digit sum. Fortunately for everyone at RxMuscle, we have obtained those rights and with (absolutely no connection to Mr. Devito), we present the Danny Devito Invitational!
In its evolved form (and to eliminate the IFBB sanction fee), the DDI will take the form of an online poll, including the very best short bodybuilders of all time. These are men with amazing physiques that may not have gotten the credit they deserve when lined up with the over six-footers. For the purpose of this event, we are going to consider anyone 5'6" or shorter and possessing of a memorable champion-level physique to be a possible contender.
Here is my list of prospective contenders. Let me know whom I forgot as well as which names on the list you don't feel belong. On some I had to guess the height. On others, I had no clue:
