--- title: The Bachelor: Who the Reality Star Might Have Been in 1959 description: "Actor-artist-athlete" Gardner McKay was the 1950s model of the type of Renaissance man who populates shows like "The Bachelor" canonical: https://time.com/4168183/the-bachelor-50-years-ago/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-26T12:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:40.222Z og:title: This Is What 'The Bachelor' Might Have Looked Like 50 Years Ago og:description: "Actor-artist-athlete" Gardner McKay was the 1950s model of the type of Renaissance man who populates shows like "The Bachelor" og:url: https://time.com/4168183/the-bachelor-50-years-ago/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1d38b9bd4113bcc/698877985f570f5e4ab1f09e/160105-gardner-mckay-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1810 og:image:height: 1018 og:image:alt: Gardner McKay og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is What 'The Bachelor' Might Have Looked Like 50 Years Ago twitter:description: "Actor-artist-athlete" Gardner McKay was the 1950s model of the type of Renaissance man who populates shows like "The Bachelor" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1d38b9bd4113bcc/698877985f570f5e4ab1f09e/160105-gardner-mckay-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is What _The Bachelor_ Might Have Looked Like 50 Years Ago > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 26, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  McKay filming a scene from "Adventures in Paradise." McKay filming a scene from "Adventures in Paradise."Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 26, 2016 12:00 PM UTC The ABC reality show _The Bachelor_ was not around in 1959, but it’s an idea at least that old to put a good-looking, multi-talented, ideal-seeming man on TV. While this season’s bachelor Ben Higgins studied business, enjoys line-dancing and once volunteered in Peru, that year’s Renaissance man was 27-year-old “actor-artist-athlete” Gardner McKay, who was also a sailor and schooner captain, a basketball star, equestrian and diver, a fisherman, model, sculptor and photographer. “This is the face that will—well, let’s say, probably will—launch a million sighs and burn its romantic image into the hearts of hordes of American females,” LIFE declared about that year’s “new Apollo for the ladies.” McKay, who was preparing for a starring role on the TV show that would make him famous, _Adventures in Paradise_, was by LIFE’s account the paragon of American good looks: --- > “” --- Later in life, after _Adventures in Paradise_ went off the air, McKay would bask in a return to relative anonymity and turn his attention to writing plays, assisting an agronomist in the Amazon and traveling the Egyptian desert on camelback. But, though he was a reluctant star, McKay did end up launching at least one sigh—the one that truly counted. Though he admitted to having been afraid to settle down in his younger years, he later wrote in an [essay](http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Dec/13/il/hawaii912130314.html) that when he met an Irish artist named Madeleine Madigan in his late 40s, “I pulled over to the side of the road and got out.” They were married for two decades, until his death at 69 in 2001.  July 6, 1959 cover of LIFE magazine. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Actor, athlete and artist Gardner McKay. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Gardner McKay gets fitted for a costume. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay filming a scene from "Adventures in Paradise." Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actor, athlete, artist, Gardner McKay. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay posing with costar Linda Lawson. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay poses for LIFE's Allan Grant. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay on set. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Planning TV clothes he demands "what a guy who's gone native wears," not yachting garb. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Taking pictures on assignement from model agency, McKay poses Nancy Harmon on park swing. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay pages through a book, in the company of smartly dressed women. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actor, athlete and artist Gardner McKay. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  In addition to acting, McKay worked as a freelance photographer. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. As athlete, McKay plays basketball for 20th Century's Red Foxes against Ozzie Nelson's team. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay works on a sculpture. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. As bachelor, he visits Actress Susan Plechette's apartment. They talked about acting and drank tea. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Frolicking with Susan Plechette, McKay, who dropped in unannounced to visit, spends spare hour. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay goes for a drive with a four-legged friend. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actor, athlete, artist, Gardner McKay. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Owns a Chevrolet because he does not want to be identified with what he calls Hollywood's "Thunderbird Pilots" or the "Cadillac set." Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  McKay plays on the beach with his dog Pussy Cat. 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