One & Done:

'I found him in the late 80s walking around the lake- all bronzed out with crystal eyes.'

Robert John Guttke

Back in the early 1990's, although most offices had computers, most people still didn't have access to the Internet, especially in their homes.  Back then, actors and models couldn't just e-mail headshots and resumes when they wanted a job.  Because of his connections with Hollywood,  photographer Robert John Guttke often took questions from movie producers, especially when they need a nude male body for their film.

That's exactly what happened in 1990 when the producers of Drop Dead Fred were looking for a hot male model to do a nude scene in their film. since the movie was being filmed in Minneapolis, it made sense to contact one of the city's most famous photographers.  When Robert met Michael Welker he wasn't an actor, he wasn't a model for that matter, but a chiropractic student.  

Robert had used Michael in some of his calendars, and even had Michael join him on a few TV shows to promote the calendar.  Michael was a natural in front of the camera, and had a great butt, so when the Robert read the scene, he knew just who to suggest.  Michael actually wasn't the producers first choice, they wanted another model Robert had worked with, Chippendales model Chris Bonvino.  Bonvino, Robert shares, eventually chickened out, and Robert's first choice, Welker, was given the role as the waiter. 

'Michael said that he had fun being treated like a movie star for one day.  He also shared that he was completely nude on set and that during the scene,  Phoebe Cates just stared directly at his genitals without blinking.'

In addition to shooting Michael solo, Robert also shot the new model with his then girlfriend.  The relationship didn't work, but the images certainly did.  During the water shoot in Robert's studio apartment, Robert got so caught up with magic they created, he didn't notice the water was leaking onto the floor.  It took an angry call from the woman living under his apartment for that to be realized.  Sadly, this was Michael's only film, but thanks to Drop Dead Fred we do have his posterior saved permanently! Thanks to xyzpdq for the clip.