Dick Bacon
{{Short description|Male nudist from Wisconsin}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dick Bacon
| image = File:Dick Bacon.jpeg
| image_caption = Dick Bacon
| image_size = 175px
| birth_name = Richard Bacon
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|09|09}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|08|18|1932|09|09}}
| birth_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
| occupation = Brewery worker
| years_active = 1962–2000
| education = High School
| spouse = Connie (Divorced)
| parents =
| family = {{plainlist|
- Brother Howard Bacon
- Sister Mary Rose Ried}}
| children =
| website =
}}
Dick Bacon (September 9, 1932 – August 18, 2000) was a nudist or naturist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who was known for outdoor tanning every day of the year. He worked at Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He sun tanned year-round at Milwaukee's Bradford Beach on Lake Michigan.{{cite web |last1=HENZL |first1=ANN-ELISE |title=Remembering Dick Bacon, Milwaukee's Man With The Tan |url=https://www.wuwm.com/post/remembering-dick-bacon-milwaukees-man-tan#stream/0 |website=WUWM |date=June 26, 2018 |accessdate=15 April 2019}} Bacon also frequented a nude beach in Milwaukee called Paradise Beach.
Tanning
Bacon could be seen tanning at Bradford Beach from the 1960s through the 1990s,{{cite web |last1=PRIGGE |first1=MATTHEW J. |title=Dick Bacon Abides! |url=https://shepherdexpress.com/arts-and-entertainment/ae-feature/dick-bacon-abides/ |website=Shepherdexpress |date=June 9, 2015 |publisher=Shepherd Express |accessdate=15 April 2019}} including in freezing weather. If the beach was covered in snow, Bacon would have a path cleared to his tanning spot.{{cite news |title=Where There's a will, There's a Way |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jan-30-1981-2811971/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=Janesville Gazette |date=30 January 1981}}
Bacon said that he only wanted to work enough to support himself. He claimed to be planning for retirement from the time he was a child.
In addition to tanning at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, Bacon also tanned at the nude beach in Milwaukee, Paradise Beach which closed in 1993.{{cite web |last1=MILLER |first1=ANNA |title=WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO MILWAUKEE'S NUDE BEACH? |url=https://www.milwaukeemag.com/what-ever-happened-milwaukees-nude-beach/ |website=Milwaukeemag |date=July 26, 2017 |publisher=Milwaukee Magazine |accessdate=15 April 2019}} Newspapers called him a crusader for nude beaches. Bacon claimed that he fell in love with nudity while modeling for artists at the University of Wisconsin.{{cite news |title=Bathers bare news across nation |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-aug-05-1978-2812089/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |agency=UPI New York |publisher=Arlington Heights Daily Herald Suburban Chicago |date=5 August 1978}}
When Bacon died, the Madison, Wisconsin State Journal deemed him a "Beach Legend".{{cite news |title=Beach Legend Dick Bacon Dies |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-aug-20-2000-2812007/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |publisher=Madison Wisconsin State Journal |date=20 August 2020}}
Arrests
- In 1977, he was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior for bathing in the nude at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee on New Year's Day.
- In 1979 he and three other men were arrested for nudity on Paradise Beach.{{cite news |title=No Nudes Good News for Some |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jul-23-1979-2812030/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |publisher=Brownsville Herald |date=23 July 1979}}
- In 1991, Bacon was arrested for appearing nude just north of Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.
- In 1993, he was cited for indecent exposure in the vicinity of Paradise Beach in Milwaukee.{{cite news |last1=Sargent |first1=Nick |last2=Helbig |first2=Bob |title=Milwaukee loses a lakefront icon Dick Bacon, whose nude tanning knew no season |publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=19 August 2000}}
Awards
1973 in Indiana, Bacon won the Mr. Nude America contest. One of the judges of the contest was a novelist, Erskine Caldwell.{{cite news |title=Miss, Mr. Nude Winners Named |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-aug-07-1973-2812056/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |agency=UPI |publisher=Madison, Madison Wisconsin State Journal |date=7 August 1973}} The prize for winning the contest was $500.{{cite news |last1=Messerschmidt |first1=Al |title=Seeking Fame in Naked City |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-aug-06-1974-2812069/ |access-date=12 November 2021 |publisher=Wheeling Herald |date=6 August 1974}} Bacon was very proud to be a nudist and he owned a white van emblazoned with his nickname, “The Nude Dude.” He won three nude modeling contests during the mid-1970's.
Death
Bacon died in his South Side (Milwaukee) home on August 18, 2000, at age 67, from a heart attack.{{cite web |last1=Tanzilo |first1=Bobby |title=We'll miss Dick Bacon in the sun |url=https://onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/dickbacon.html |website=On Milwaukee |date=August 21, 2000 |accessdate=15 April 2019}} Bacon was survived by his three siblings: Howard Bacon II, and Mary Rose Reid and Roger Bacon.{{cite web |title=Howard "Howie" Bacon II |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/jsonline/obituary.aspx?n=howard-bacon-howie&pid=187416136&fhid=19729 |website=legacy |publisher=Legacy.com |accessdate=16 April 2019}}
See also
References
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{{Nudity}}
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Category:Social nudity advocates