Charles Gaines, author of Birmingham-based novel ‘Pumping
Iron,’ dies at 84
AL.com
By Michaela Yielding
July 21, 2026
Charles Latham Gaines III, the Birmingham author whose
book and documentary “Pumping Iron” helped launch Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
career and bring bodybuilding into the mainstream, died at age 84 on July 21,
2026.
According to alabamaauthors.org, Gaines was born January
6, 1942, to Margaret Shook Gaines and Charles Latham Gaines in Jacksonville,
Florida. When he was about 10, he and his family moved to Birmingham.
In Birmingham, Gaines attended Mountain Brook Grammar
School, Indian Springs School and Birmingham University School, one of the
institutions that later became the Altamont School, according to the American
Museum of Fly Fishing.
According to the Notable People Project, in 1960, Gaines
enrolled at Washington and Lee University but left the school to travel the
country. He later enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College, graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963. Gaines married his wife Patricia Ellisor, an
artist and the 1961 Miss Alabama, on June 20, 1963.
They were married for 63 years until his passing.
The alabamaauthors.org profile noted that Gaines and his
wife spent two years living in Ireland, where he wrote and she painted and
sculpted. In 1967, He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University
of Iowa Creative Writing Workshop.
Gaines had three children: Latham, Greta and Shelby.
Since 2003, Gaines and his wife split their time between homes in Monastery,
Nova Scotia and Argo, Alabama.
Gaines published numerous books throughout his career,
including novels “Stay Hungry,” “Dangler” and “Survival Games.”
According to Alabama Public Radio, Gaines’ first novel,
“Stay Hungry,” published in 1972, and set in Birmingham, drew on the
bodybuilding culture he explored as a teenager. Gaines later wrote the
screenplay adaptation, which became the 1976 film “Stay Hungry,” starring Jeff
Bridges, Sally Field and Schwarzenegger.
The film was shot in Birmingham and featured several
historical sites.
His non-fiction book, “Pumping Iron” and the later film
of the same name, which he wrote and narrated, are credited with introducing
competitive bodybuilding and Arnold Schwarzenegger to a wider audience,
according to The Barbell.
Gaines and George Butler used the book as the basis for
their 1977 documentary “Pumping Iron.” The film centers on the rivalry between
Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno in the competition for the
Mr. Olympia title.
According to IMDb, “Pumping Iron” became a box-office
success, helping make Schwarzenegger a household name and popularized the
bodybuilding culture, which became a fitness craze of the 1980s.
In 2023, Gaines wrote about the kidnapping of his friend,
Birmingham businessman Elton B. Stephens Jr., in 2020.
The American Museum of Fly Fishing notes that Gaines was
a lifelong bird hunter and angler who fished in more than 25 countries. He was
a founding member of the U.S. Fly Fishing Team and competed in World
Championship Fly Fishing events in New Zealand and Tasmania.
Gaines wrote scripts for two feature films, two
award-winning documentaries and a PBS adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel
“Summer.” He also wrote numerous segments for ABC’s “American Sportsman.”
Gaines was the recipient of two Emmys and two Cine Golden
Eagle Awards for his television writing, according to Alabama Authors.
According to his client profile for InkWell management,
he also wrote extensively for publications including Harper’s, GEO, Sports
Illustrated, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, Garden & Gun,
Southern Living, Men’s Journal and Esquire.
Gaines also served as a board member of the U.S. Fly
Fishing Team and a U.S. National Council member of the Atlantic Salmon
Federation.
Along with Hayes Noel and Bob Gurnsey, Gaines co-invented
the game of paintball and co-founded the company National Survival Game. He
received the Paintball Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the
Paintball Hall of Fame.
The Notable People Project wrote that he was inducted
into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame in 2018 and received the Truman Capote
Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Literary Nonfiction in 2020. In 2026, he
received the Heritage Award from the American Museum of Fly Fishing for his
contributions to the sport and to fishery conservation.
Gaines was also named a Distinguished Alumnus by both The
Altamont School, formerly Birmingham University School, and Birmingham-Southern
College, according to The American Museum of Fly Fishing. He periodically
taught as an associate professor in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at
Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.
Gaines is survived by his wife, Patricia; children,
Latham, Greta and Shelby Gaines; five grandchildren Cassidy and Ryder Haje, and
Lucy Bo, Belle and Rose Gaines; and his sister, Hansell Burke, along with her
children, Monte, Justin and Chris.
GAINES, Charles (Charles Latham Gaines III)
Born: 1/6/1942, Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.
Died: 7/21/2026, Trussville, Alabama, U.S.A.
Charles Gaines’ western – actor:
Thomasine & Bushrod - 1974 (bank customer)
