--- title: Before Zoolander: The World of Real Male Models description: As demand for male models rose in the early 1960s, one agent was on the hunt for "million-dollar faces" canonical: https://time.com/4189295/male-models/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-10T14:00:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:43.226Z og:title: What the World of Male Models Looked Like Long Before 'Zoolander' og:description: As demand for male models rose in the early 1960s, one agent was on the hunt for "million-dollar faces" og:url: https://time.com/4189295/male-models/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd02ab8d2c486811/69887a122dce0136a89e774b/160121-male-models.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: 1961 Male Models og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What the World of Male Models Looked Like Long Before 'Zoolander' twitter:description: As demand for male models rose in the early 1960s, one agent was on the hunt for "million-dollar faces" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd02ab8d2c486811/69887a122dce0136a89e774b/160121-male-models.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What the World of Male Models Looked Like Long Before _Zoolander_ > 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. Feb 10, 2016 2:00 PM UTC  Male models recruited by John Harkrider. Male models recruited by John Harkrider. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 10, 2016 2:00 PM UTC In 1961, LIFE’s Eleanor Graves profiled a man named John Harkrider, the founder, owner, talent scout and booking agent of the Harkrider male model agency. That such a profession even existed might have surprised many of the magazine’s readers, for whom Graves’ explained the phenomenon that was sweeping the world of fashion and advertising: --- > “” --- For modern readers, the top source of casual knowledge about male models is probably not a magazine like LIFE. Instead, there’s _Zoolander_—and now its sequel, _Zoolander 2_, which lands Feb. 12\. But the real life of a man like Harkrider or one of his models wasn’t exactly the glamorous fictional fashion world of the movies. The majority of the scout’s roster of nearly 2,000 had been recruited by Harkrider himself, whose daily routine involved walking up to strangers on the streets of New York City and declaring, “You’ve got a million-dollar face!” before leaving them with his business card. The agent trained his men in the art of yes. “Never say no,” he told them. “If they ask you if you can be there tomorrow afternoon in a suit of armor, say yes. I’ll get it.” And with a diverse roster of men and boys of varying ages and looks, his ability to meet clients’ needs was second to none: “On a recent morning in his New York office he received requests for: a man covered with freckles from head to toe, a teen-ager willing to swim with a shark, a man who would remove his dentures on TV, a Chinese man with a pigtail. Within half an hour the requests were filled.” He may be but a footnote in fashion history but, for the thousands whose face drew his attention, Harkrider was nothing if not the patron saint of the male model.  Male models recruited by John Harkrider. Yale Joel—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)_._  Caption from LIFE. Agent John Harkrider gives orders to a large group of his young male models before he takes them en masse to the office of prospective client. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Always scouting for models, Harkrider talks to a good-looking construction worker about a possible job. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Agent John Harkrider talking to a potential male model. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Harkrider talks to a group of construction workers. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Potential male models. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Harkrider often roamed the streets of New York followed by a posse of models. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Male models recruited by John Harkrider. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Harkrider shows off fashion photos of male models. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Harkrider and recruits look up at the camera. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Harkrider works his magic on potential models. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A male model receives instruction during a photo shoot. 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