Robert Bootzin
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Robert Bootzin (August 19, 1914 - August 8, 2004) was an American fitness pioneer. He is credited with laying the foundation for the acceptance by mainstream America of "alternative" lifestyles such as yoga and organic food. Professionally he used the names Boots Bootzin and Gypsy Boots.
Born in San Francisco as the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Bootzin had "dropped out" as early as 1933. He, along with 10-15 other "tribesmen," lived off the land, slept in caves and trees, and bathed in waterfalls. Locals knew Bootzin as a "nature boy"; in fact, the 1948 Nat King Cole hit "Nature Boy" was inspired by Bootzin. The song was composed by fellow "tribesman" Eden Ahbez.
Bootzin received national exposure in the 1950s when he appeared as a contestant on Groucho Marx's network TV show You Bet Your Life. The show often featured people with unusual occupations or achievements, and Bootzin's colorful lifestyle made him a lively interview subject. Introduced as "Boots Bootzin," he cheerfully and guilelessly espoused his philosophy of clean living, exercise, and healthy eating. Groucho, who usually displayed little tolerance for extremists of any kind, admired Bootzin's rugged individualism and said so, on camera. The Marx-Bootzin interview has been issued on DVD in a collection of You Bet Your Life episodes.
Bootzin shrewdly capitalized on his celebrity, and his books Barefeet and Good Things to Eat and the autobiographical The Gypsy in Me gained him a cult following. His health food store "Health Hut" was one of the first of its kind in the world (if not the first), and was patronized by dozens of Hollywood celebrities in the early 1960s. The original Health Hut had an authentic "Tiki" style to it made with leaves and bamboo. It has been said many of the cast members of Gilligan's Island had met there and the "Tiki" theme is said to have been part of the inspiration before the TV show began.[citation needed]
Bootzin made personal appearances with the Spike Jones musical-comedy troupe, speaking about health foods. He was a regular guest on American television talk shows in the 1960s, appearing 25 times on The Steve Allen Show, reaching 30 million viewers and increasing his national fame. On the Allen show he would often play up his role as a health advocate by swinging from a vine on stage as a "Nature Boy", and persuade Steve to drink one of "Gypsy Boots"-concocted fruit health drinks. He referred to this drink as a "smoothie", giving credence to Gypsy Boots as the originator of the popular style of blended natural fruit health drinks.
Bootzin personally advocated never eating meat, drinking alcohol, or smoking tobacco. He was an early believer in the health properties of organic foodstuffs. One of these organic foods was garlic -- and he later became a spokesperson for the "Kyolic" variety. He also did work for a Sonoma cheese factory. He would often have a garlic spiced cheese "Sonoma Jack" at his booth at health festivals and fairs from the "Valley of the Moon," along with his all-natural, sugar-free "Boots Bars", wheat grass, spirulina and kyolic, as well as "honey sweet" Medjoule dates from his orchard.
Gypsy loved to participate in parades, including the annual, wildly creative and non-commercial Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade. Even in his late 80's he would energetically dance, make music, and holler all the way up the parade route for a couple of miles. He would show up for weekly farmers' markets in his wildly-painted van promoting kyolic garlic, and would always be a showman with the gift of gab and giving out free garlic samples. But he had a pensive side, quite proud of his son in the more conservative world of classical music.
He released a record album, Unpredictable on Sidewalk Records in 1968.
Bootzin was an avid fan of the USC Trojans football team and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He regularly attended the games of both teams and was well known by other fans for his spirited cheers, noisemakers and streamers. At age 86, he was still able to throw an American football at least 40 yards.
He appears sitting in the diner scene in Michael Douglas's "The Game (film)"
He died in Camarillo, California, just 11 days short of his 90th birthday.
