Ken Waller - Appearance in Pumping Iron

Appearance in Pumping Iron

Waller was briefly featured in the photo-essay book of the same name by George Butler and Charles Gaines, but gained much more notoriety from the film documentary of 1977. In it, Waller is portrayed in a somewhat negative light as the antagonist and chief competition of Mike Katz, whose storyline was featured much more prominently in the film. Waller is shown as a devious and cunning character who tries to undermine Mike Katz's concentration by hiding his lucky T-shirt, and discussing his plan to do so with fellow bodybuilders Roger Callard and Robby Robinson in one of the film's most memorable and infamous scenes. In reality, the "T-shirt incident" was staged to add drama to the film, and the scene where Waller confides his scheme was filmed after the Mr. Universe contest actually took place. Waller can actually be seen wearing two different shirts in different camera angles in that scene, making it obvious that it was set up.Template:Own-research Waller and Katz were, in fact, friends - as Waller recounted in Raw Iron - The Making of Pumping Iron - but his reputation as a "villain" remained. "I would go to contests and get booed, after that!" said Waller in a later interview.