Bernarr Macfadden (b. August 16, 1868 in Mill Spring, Missouri, U.S., d. October 12, 1955) was an influential exponent of physical culture, a combination of bodybuilding with nutritional and health theories. He founded Physical Culture magazine in 1899, and later parlayed it into a publishing empire, including True Story, True Romances, the once-familiar movie magazine Photoplay, and a trashy tabloid newspaper, The New York Evening Graphic. He was a celebrity who was an acquaintance of Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Rudolph Valentino. At the peak of his career he owned several hotels and a major building in New York. He made an unsuccessful attempt to found a religion, "cosmotarianism," based on physical culture.

He claimed that his regimen would enable him to reach the age of 150.

Nicknamed "Body Love" Macfadden by Time, he was a flamboyant personality who inspired millions of people around the world to live healthful and vigorous lives. He was branded a "kook" and a charlatan by many, was arrested on obscenity charges, denounced by the medical establishment, and campaigned tirelessly against "pill-pushers," processed foods, and prudery.

External links

• Bernarr Macfadden, Father of Physical Culture Biographical website

1868 births | 1955 deaths | Magazine publishers (people)