Costume
The superhero only had his mask, cape, belt—with the letter "CB" engraved on the buckle—and tight pants then. Originally, he was shirtless. The look was inspired by circus strongmen.
When he made his first cinema appearance in 1965, Bob Soler—the first to play the part—donned a yellow shirt with Captain Barbell's initials on his chest.
Richard Gutierrez' Captain Barbell suit in the 2006 TV series was designed by Filipino artist Reno Maniquis and was made by Miles Teves, a renowned Filipino-American costume maker in Hollywood. A while back Maniquis was tasked by Mars Ravelo Marvelous Characters, Inc. to re-design and do some illustrations for their character, Captain Barbell. Teves is credited for the Batman, Spiderman, Superman and Robocop costumes. He was commissioned by Zaldy and Gina Ravelo of Mars Ravelo Marvelous Characters, Inc. to design the new look to make it CB’s official costume. It was Dominic Zapata who suggested to the producers to have the costume made by Teves. Captain Barbell's updated suit is a far cry from the "Superman" inspired spandex tight fitting suit in shades of yellow, blue and red. The muscular costume is more inspired by the Batman's bulky costume, minus the mask and in shades of yellow for the suit, gold for CB logo and other embellishments, and red for the cape. The suit has a built-in cooling mechanism, so Richard is very comfortable inside it, to the point where he apparently lounges around the set wearing it, even between takes. The suit reportedly costs $50,000 excluding the charges for repairs in case of damages, making it the most expensive costume ever made for a single character in a Philippine movie or TV series, for that matter. GMA Network was so secretive about how the Captain Barbell costume looked that on the first taping day, Richard was made to put on a robe on top of the suit. It was only when he had to face the camera as Captain Barbell that everyone on the cast and crew had a chance to see the costume for the very first time.
Read more about this topic: Captain Barbell
Famous quotes containing the word costume:
“His hair has the long jesuschrist look. He is wearing the costume clothes. But most of all, he now has a very tolerant and therefore withering attitude toward all those who are still struggling in the old activist political ways ... while he, with the help of psychedelic chemicals, is exploring the infinite regions of human consciousness.”
—Tom Wolfe (b. 1931)
“My neighbors tell me of their adventures with famous gentlemen and ladies, what notabilities they met at the dinner-table; but I am no more interested in such things than in the contents of the Daily Times. The interest and the conversation are about costume and manners chiefly; but a goose is a goose still, dress it as you will.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Sleep takes off the costume of circumstance, arms us with terrible freedom, so that every will rushes to a deed.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)