The biceps is the symbol of physical strength. Out of more than 600 muscles in the human body, the biceps is the most highly admired of all. For some people, a well-developed biceps virtually defines a person's entire body development. Luke Halpin is a lifelong athlete whose abilities in swimming and other sports adds much credibility to his TV role of Sandy Ricks. So given Luke's considerable physical prowess, it is entirely appropriate to ask: What kind of biceps does Luke Halpin have? Luke Halpin's biceps is like the rest of his arm muscles: lean, highly defined, and well-toned. And like the rest of his arm muscles, Luke's biceps are plenty strong to handle all the swimming and stunt work in Flipper. Even in the first feature Flipper, Luke's biceps displayed impressive definition. An important characteristic of Luke's biceps is its long length. This detail can be seen even in Luke's earliest days in the Flipper franchise. This long shape gives his biceps an especially high peak when the muscle is flexed. Luke's biceps exhibits a distinctive football-like shape that stands out quite clearly from the larger triceps muscle behind it. Even when relaxed, Luke's biceps show an impressive bulge that curves outward out of his upper arm. In earlier pictures, even the connecting tendon is very visible. Size is an important characteristic of well-developed biceps. Luke's biceps muscles don't seem very big at all, especially when his arm is extended and relaxed. But the moment his arm is flexed, his biceps takes on a large bulging shape that is surprisingly massive. Luke Halpin makes it easy for fans to check out his biceps - by spending a *lot* of time without a shirt. But even when he does wear a shirt, it is a t-shirt with high-cut short sleeves. As a result, Luke Halpin provides plenty of opportunities to see and examine his impressive biceps. (Be sure to check out the biceps animation: Ep 44 - Shark Hunt - Luke flexing his arms) Flipper (1963) Fans got their first look at Luke's biceps in the very first feature film, Flipper (1963). Luke was barely into his teens at the time. But even at that age, his biceps showed a level of development that was worthy of note. In the below scene where Sandy is fetching his rifle, we get a remarkable look at his left biceps. Even in this fuzzy picture, we can see that his biceps is clearly showing signs of separation and definition:
We get a much better view when Sandy is outside preparing his skiff. In this impressive closeup, we not only see the definition of the muscle but also its vascularity and solid density:
Now let us observe Luke's right biceps. Luke's right biceps is not quite as tensed, yet displays impressive muscle tone as well as low fat content:
Let us see this same muscle from the inside. This set of pictures shows a considerably tighter level of flexion. The definition and separation are remarkable; even the attaching tendon is visible:
During the rescue scene, Sandy is seen preparing his rifle. The full shape of his bulging left biceps is apparent. Later, Sandy is tugging on the harpoon line. Both biceps are tensed, one in flexed position, the other in extended position. Note the long shape of the muscle, particularly in the left arm:
Flipper's New Adventure (1964) Luke's left biceps displays an impressive bulge in this scene from the second feature film:
And later when Sandy reaches the island:
Luke's right biceps is every bit as impressive. Look at these underwater shots from later in the film:
Season 1 We start with Ep 1 - 300 Feet Below. As Sandy prepares to send Flipper out of the helicopter, we are given an eye-opening glimpse of his right biceps:
We go next to Ep 2 - Red Hot Car. In this early scene, the camera lingers on Luke Halpin's highly toned arm muscles. Luke's biceps is a major contributor to his upper arms:
The muscle tone and increased muscle mass in Luke's left biceps is evident from this scene at the dock:
As Sandy prepares to dive, we can see the separation and bulging shape in his right biceps:
Ep 3 - S.O.S. Dolphin was actually the first episode filmed in Season 1. In it, Luke appears noticeably younger than he does in later episdoes of the same season. But age does not deter Luke who is seen in little more than his cutoffs in several scenes. In one scene, Luke is squatting down on the dock while calling Flipper with the air horn. Luke's left biceps bulges with surprising hardness:
In Ep 5 - City Boy, Luke performs several underwater scenes. In this scene, Sandy is exploring with Mike. As Luke bends his arm, his left biceps swells into a massive peak:
Later, Sandy examines a metal bar. The weight of the bar causes tension in both biceps. The left biceps is highly defined and very dense in appearance. The right biceps is less distinct due to lighting, but a close look reveals it is as big and dense as the left:
The separation of Luke's biceps from his other upper arm muscles can be seen in this graphic from Ep 11 - Second Time Around:  In Ep 14 - Danger, Sandy is getting ready to go fishing. As he is handling a rope, his arm bends, causing his biceps to flex and fill up his shirt sleeve:
In Ep 15 - Misanthrope, Luke pounds the floor with his fist, and we get an opportunity to examine the different shapes that his biceps takes as it goes through various stages of flexion.
Later Luke pounds a door with his fist. Note the muscle mass in his biceps:
In Ep 16 - Flipper's Bank Account, we get a fascinating look at Luke's right biceps in several scenes. While Porter is dealing with some troublemakers, Sandy joins him at the dock. Luke is dressed down to only his cutoffs and simple canvas shoes. His arms are relaxed:
Sandy checks out a newspaper that Porter was reading, and the camera zooms in for a closeup. The newspaper is only a light load. Yet when Luke takes it up, his highly toned right biceps takes on a partial flexion which is quite noticeable:
Later, Sandy searches for two stranded treasure hunters. Once again, Luke chose to do his scene without shirt. While his right biceps is not flexed here, its significant muscle tone adds much to his muscular arm:
For the final scene, Luke dons a t-shirt for the first time. Sandy is sitting on the ground as the camera watches from a distance:
But during Sandy's dialogue, the camera turns toward Luke with this closeup:
A closer view of Luke's right arm will reveal an amazing sight:
Luke is merely lifting up a pair of water skis in the scene. Yet, his right biceps has nevertheless gathered up into an amazing amount of flexion. The short length of the sleeve exposes almost the entire biceps. Note the clear visibility of the tendon directly below the muscle. The muscle bulges out of Luke's arm with a football-like shape. Here are closeups of the entire scene:
Ep 19 - Love and Sandy features this underwater shot of Luke's highly defined left biceps:
In Ep 23 - Teamwork, Luke's right biceps is particularly impressive. Note the highly defined shape and size of the muscle:
In Ep 29 - The Call of the Dolphin, Luke's left biceps is visibly flexed in this scene:
Later, Sandy searches for Flipper underwater. In this scene, we can see the distinct form of his left biceps:
Season 2 Luke displays a fine shape in his biceps in this underwater scene from Ep 33 - Dolphin In Pursuit:
Ep 35 - Coral Fever contains many interesting views of Luke Halpin's biceps. The distinctive curve of Luke's biceps is very evident in the muscular shape of his upper arm.
Ep 37 - The Ditching is the beginning of a two-part episode. The first part contains a scene of Flipper towing Sandy on his paddleboard. In pictures 1 and 2, Luke's left biceps is very tightly flexed and highly peaked. In pictures 3 and 4, we see a tightly flexed right biceps; note the separation of the biceps from the other upper arm muscles:
Ep 40 - Dolphin Patrol begins with some early footage of Luke. Luke is much younger in this scene, yet his biceps is already displaying a highly defined peak:
Ep 40 also has some impressive underwater shots of Luke. In a very quick instance, the left biceps can be seen flexed:
In Ep 44 - Shark Hunt, Luke got to reel in live full-grown sharks onto a seaquarium vessel. The camera closeups revealed highly flexed biceps:
Luke's excellent muscle tone can also be seen earlier in this same episode, when we get some closeups of Luke wearing the same shirt but with a more relaxed arm:
Ep 45 - Flipper the Detective includes some lateral views of Luke's left biceps as he mounts his paddleboard:
In Ep 50 - Shark Cage, we get to see Luke's right biceps in several different settings. In this early scene between Bud and Sandy, Luke's right biceps is relaxed but showing its considerable size:
Later, in a scene with Porter Ricks, a close look at Luke's right arm will reveal his flexed biceps:
The next scene showing Luke's flexed right biceps is not quite so dark and difficult to see. In this next scene, Sandy is carrying down an air tank to Bud who is trapped inside an underwater shark cage. Luke's right biceps is flexed into a high peak. Note the long oval shape and the biceps tendon just above the bend in the elbow:
Once underwater, Sandy attempts to lift the shark cage and free Bud. Note the separation between the left biceps and the other muscles in his arm:
Ep 53 - Gift Dolphin features an eye-opening scene as Sandy helps a young boy with a knee injury. Note the impressive mass of his right biceps:
This same impressive size is seen again in the next episode, Ep 54 - The Raccoon who Came to Dinner, where Luke's biceps does its part to fill up his shirt sleeves:
Ep 58 - Deep Waters features some very dramatic views of Luke Halpin's left biceps. Here we get to examine all aspects of his biceps, including size, shape, peak, definition, separation, and hardness:
Season 3 In Season 3, Luke's biceps take on a more rugged, more sharply defined look without any loss of density or muscle mass. In Ep 68, A Whale Ahoy, we note the muscular shape and sharp separation that are characteristic of Luke's biceps:
In Ep 69, Explosion, Luke is removing his diving gear, and revealing the impressive bulging shape of his right biceps:
In Ep 70, Executive Bud, Luke plays a secondary role. But there's nothing secondary about his biceps, seen here in amazing form:
In Ep 72, Flipper's Island, Sandy is opening the gun smugglers' crate. Note the sharp separation of his left biceps here:
In this scene of Sandy helping the young smuggler, we see Luke Halpin's inner biceps in highly peaked form:
This next example is from Ep 78 - Dolphins Don't Sleep. Luke's right biceps bulges out into a high peak while displaying excellent separation:
In Ep 82 - Decision For Bud, Sandy's strong arms are a welcome sight to an injured diver:
In this scene from Ep 85 - Devil Ray, Sandy helps Porter with some diving gear. Luke's muscular upper arm features a good view of his hard biceps:
Later, Sandy talks to Porter about the manta ray. Luke uses a cross-arm stance. His biceps mass is considerable:
Luke's biceps mass is also featured in this scene from Ep 86 - Cap'n Flint. Even when relaxed, the mass of his biceps is still able to fill up his shirt sleeves:
Fans wondering what Luke's biceps looked like completely uncovered got their wish in the next and final episode, the two part Ep 87/88 - Flipper's New Friends. Luke provides a fitting close to the series by performing the final scene in only cutoffs and canvas shoes. Wearing no shirt, Luke gives his viewers one last look at the incredible definition and muscle mass of his biceps:
In Fifteen Magazine, dated Nov 1967, there was this black & white publicity photo:
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