Billy Blanks
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Billy Blanks (b. September 1, 1955) is a fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the inventor of Tae Bo.
Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the fourth of fifteen children. As a child he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia. Blanks began his study of the martial arts at the age of fourteen. He quickly excelled, winning several local, state, and national championships. He emerged as a seven-time world Karate champion, and holds a seventh-degree black belt in tae kwon do.
In the 1980s Blanks was a member of the United States AAU karate team.[1] Blanks was "athlete of the year" in the USA Karate Hall of Fame.[2]
Blanks began his acting career in the 1980s where he starred in several action-adventure feature films.
In the late 1980s, Blanks invented the Tae Bo workout, using components of his martial arts and boxing training. The name is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing. Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted some celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. The popularity of the workout later waned, but Blanks still attracts many celebrity clients and Tae Bo videos and DVDs have continued to sell well.
Blanks is Christian and released a special line of Tae Bo workouts called the "Believer's" series that includes motivational prayers and other Christian components. He has appeared on Christian television network TBN. [3]
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Gayle Godfrey Blanks, since 1975. Their daughter, Shellie, born later that same year, is also an accomplished martial artist and is prominently featured in many of Billy's Tae Bo videos. They also have a son, Billy Jr., who has acted in a touring production of Fame.[4]
The character of Dee Jay from the street fighter series of games is modeled after him.
[edit] Selected Filmography
- BattleDome (1998) (TV series)
- Kiss the Girls (1997)
- Expect No Mercy (1996)
- Balance of Power (1996)
- Back in Action (1994)
- Showdown (1993)
- TC 2000 (1993)
- Talons of the Eagle (1992)
- Zhan long zai ye (1992)
- Timebomb (1991)
- The King of the Kickboxers (1991)
- Bloodfist (1989)
- Low Blow (1986)
