EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hustler of Muscle Beach was on the CBS Late Movie on September 19 and October 10, 1986.

Jonathan Kaplan started with movies like Night Call Nurses and The Student Teachers before eventually making The Accused. Along the way, he made a few TV movies like this one, written by Tim Maschler and David Smilow.

Nick Demec (Richard Hatch) is a con artist who decides to get in on the bodybuilding scene on Muscle Beach, taking the mentally challenged bodybuilder Todd Nash (Tim Kimber, who now co-owns Gold’s Gym) as his client. Call girl Jenny O’Rourke (Kay Lenz) sees right through him, but somehow he decides to become a way better person than he was when this movie started.

Bobby Van from Make Me Laugh is the MC, Franco Columbo and Frank Zane play themselves, Paul Bartel and James Hong appear and an alternate title — Shaping Up — which is better than the one they went with. Ah, the magical days of 1980 when Pumping Iron inspired so many TV movies!

You can watch this — with original commericals — on YouTube.