Bernarr Macfadden
Encyclopedia
Bernarr Macfadden was an influential American proponent of physical culture
, a combination of bodybuilding
with nutritional and health theories. He also founded the long-running magazine
publishing
company Macfadden Publications
.
, Bernarr Macfadden changed his first and last names to give them a greater appearance of strength. He thought "Bernarr" sounded like the roar of a lion, and that "Macfadden" was a more masculine spelling of his name.
As a young child, Macfadden was weak and sickly. After being orphaned by the time he was 11, he was placed with a farmer and began working on the farm. The hard work and wholesome food on the farm turned him into a strong and fit boy for his time. When he was 13, however, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri
and took a desk job. Quickly his health reverted again and by 16 he described himself as a "physical wreck". He started exercising again with dumbbells, walking up to six miles a day and became a vegetarian. He quickly regained his previous health.
, Macfadden eventually grew a publishing empire, including Liberty, True Detective
, True Story
, True Romances, Dream World, Ghost Stories, the once-familiar movie magazine Photoplay
, and the tabloid newspaper, The New York Graphic
. Macfadden's magazines included SPORT
, a preeminent sports magazine prior to Time, Inc.'s Sports Illustrated
.
Ghost Stories was a nod in the direction of the rapidly growing field of pulp magazine
s, though it was a large-size magazine that preserved Macfadden's confessional style for most of its stories. In 1928, Macfadden made more overt moves into the pulps with, for example, Red Blooded Stories (1928-29), Flying Stories (1928-29), and Tales of Danger and Daring (1929). These were all unsuccessful. In 1929, Macfadden underwrote Harold Hersey
's pulp chain, the Good Story Magazine Company. Macfadden titles like Ghost Stories and Flying Stories continued as Good Story publications. Other intended Macfadden pulps, like Thrills of the Jungle (1929) and Love and War Stories (1930), originated as Good Story magazines. In 1931, Macfadden purchased the assets of the Mackinnon-Fly magazine publishers, which gave him the pioneering sci-fi pulp Amazing Stories
, and several other titles; they were published under the Teck Publications imprint. This apparently made Good Story expendable and financial support was withdrawn almost immediately. The Teck titles lasted under Macfadden control until being sold in the late '30s, after which Macfadden was absent from the pulp field.
Macfadden also contributed to many articles and books including The Virile Powers of Superb Manhood (1900), MacFadden's Encyclopedia of Physical Culture (1911–1912), Fasting for Health (1923), and The Milk Diet (1923).
that previously had been associated with illnesses such as anorexia nervosa
. He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. Many of his subjects would fast for a week in order to rejuvenate their body. He claimed that “a person could exercise unqualified control over virtually all types of disease while revealing a degree of strength and stamina such as would put others to shame” through fasting. He saw fasting as an instrument with which to prove a man's superiority over other men.
Macfadden had photographs of himself taken before and after fasts to demonstrate their positive effects on the body. For example, one photograph showed Macfadden lifting a 100 pound dumbbell over his head immediately after a seven day fast. He also promoted fasting by appealing to racial prejudices, suggesting that fasting was a practice of self-denial that only civilized white men would choose to embrace. Macfadden acknowledged the difficulties of fasting and did not support it as an ascetic practice but rather because he believed its ultimate benefits outweighed its costs.
Macfadden established many “healthatoriums” in the eastern and midwestern states. These institutions offered educational programs such as “The Physical Culture Training School”. Although he gained his reputation for physical culture and fitness, he gained much notoriety for his views on sexual behavior. He viewed intercourse as a healthy activity and not solely a procreative one. This was a different attitude than most physicians had at the time. He also attempted to found a "Physical Culture City" in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
, which folded after a few years and became the vacation-cabin neighborhood, and, later, suburban development of Outcalt.
Nicknamed “Body Love Macfadden” by Time—a moniker he detested. He was branded a “kook” and a charlatan by many, arrested on obscenity charges, and denounced by the medical establishment. Throughout his life, he campaigned tirelessly against “pill-pushers,” processed foods and prudery.
Macfadden 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.
Macfadden's Macfadden Foundation established two boarding schools for young boys and girls in Westchester County, New York, the Macfadden School in Briarcliff Manor (Scarborough) and the Tarrytown School in Tarrytown
. The Macfadden School took the younger children, with some being as young as 3. On March 7, 1943, the advertisement in The New York Times Magazine
for the Tarrytown School read: "To Meet the Needs of a Nation at War." The boys at the Tarrytown School wore uniforms and were subject to military type discipline. The Macfadden School operated from 1939 to 1950, the Tarrytown School from 1943 to 1954.
He was an acquaintance of Shirley Temple
, Clark Gable
, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Will Rogers
, and Rudolph Valentino
.
in 1955 in Jersey City, New Jersey
, after refusing medical treatment. Upon his death, Edward Longstreet Bodin
became the president of the Bernarr Macfadden Foundation.
After his death, his fourth wife Johnnie Lee Macfadden claimed that there was still money that was buried at various locations across the country. She said that Bernarr told her that he buried the money in steel cartridge boxes, and it amounted to millions. Several people have reported that they saw Macfadden leave one of his hotels carrying a bag and a shovel, thereafter returning with only the shovel. Most attempts to locate the buried treasure have failed. People close to Macfadden have said that the rumors of buried money were false, although in 1960 a steel cartridge box was found buried on Long Island on some property that was once owned by Macfadden; it contained approximately $89,000.
Physical culture
Physical culture is a term applied to health and strength training regimens, particularly those that originated during the 19th century. During the mid-late 20th century, the term "physical culture" became largely outmoded in most English-speaking countries, being replaced by terms such as...
, a combination of bodybuilding
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...
with nutritional and health theories. He also founded the long-running magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company Macfadden Publications
Macfadden Publications
Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century.-Macfadden Publications:...
.
Early life
Born Bernard Adolphus McFadden in Mill Spring, MissouriMill Spring, Missouri
Mill Spring is a village in Wayne County, Missouri, United States, along the Black River. The population was 219 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mill Spring is located at ....
, Bernarr Macfadden changed his first and last names to give them a greater appearance of strength. He thought "Bernarr" sounded like the roar of a lion, and that "Macfadden" was a more masculine spelling of his name.
As a young child, Macfadden was weak and sickly. After being orphaned by the time he was 11, he was placed with a farmer and began working on the farm. The hard work and wholesome food on the farm turned him into a strong and fit boy for his time. When he was 13, however, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and took a desk job. Quickly his health reverted again and by 16 he described himself as a "physical wreck". He started exercising again with dumbbells, walking up to six miles a day and became a vegetarian. He quickly regained his previous health.
Publishing and writings
Macfadden founded Physical Culture magazine in 1899, and was editor up to the August 1912 issue. Aided by long-time Supervising Editor Fulton OurslerFulton Oursler
Charles Fulton Oursler was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an notable author of mysteries and detective fiction.-Life:...
, Macfadden eventually grew a publishing empire, including Liberty, True Detective
True Detective
True Detective has been the name of several different magazines.The first was an American true crime magazine featuring articles about crime and criminals, created by publisher Bernarr Macfadden in 1924; it's considered the first true crime magazine. Although generally lurid, True Detective did...
, True Story
True Story (magazine)
True Story was an American magazine published by Dorchester Publishing. It was the first of the confessions magazines genre, having launched in 1919...
, True Romances, Dream World, Ghost Stories, the once-familiar movie magazine Photoplay
Photoplay
Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
, and the tabloid newspaper, The New York Graphic
New York Graphic
The New York Evening Graphic was a tabloid newspaper published from 1924 to 1932 by Bernarr "Bodylove" Macfadden...
. Macfadden's magazines included SPORT
Sport (magazine)
Sport is a free French and London-based weekly sports magazine. It specialises in football, rugby, and tennis, together with handball in France and cricket in London...
, a preeminent sports magazine prior to Time, Inc.'s Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.
Ghost Stories was a nod in the direction of the rapidly growing field of pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s, though it was a large-size magazine that preserved Macfadden's confessional style for most of its stories. In 1928, Macfadden made more overt moves into the pulps with, for example, Red Blooded Stories (1928-29), Flying Stories (1928-29), and Tales of Danger and Daring (1929). These were all unsuccessful. In 1929, Macfadden underwrote Harold Hersey
Harold Hersey
Harold Brainerd Hersey was a pulp editor and publisher, and published several volumes of poetry. His pulp industry observations were published in hardback as Pulpwood Editor .-Early life:...
's pulp chain, the Good Story Magazine Company. Macfadden titles like Ghost Stories and Flying Stories continued as Good Story publications. Other intended Macfadden pulps, like Thrills of the Jungle (1929) and Love and War Stories (1930), originated as Good Story magazines. In 1931, Macfadden purchased the assets of the Mackinnon-Fly magazine publishers, which gave him the pioneering sci-fi pulp Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, and several other titles; they were published under the Teck Publications imprint. This apparently made Good Story expendable and financial support was withdrawn almost immediately. The Teck titles lasted under Macfadden control until being sold in the late '30s, after which Macfadden was absent from the pulp field.
Macfadden also contributed to many articles and books including The Virile Powers of Superb Manhood (1900), MacFadden's Encyclopedia of Physical Culture (1911–1912), Fasting for Health (1923), and The Milk Diet (1923).
Health advocacy
Macfadden popularized the practice of fastingFasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
that previously had been associated with illnesses such as anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
. He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. Many of his subjects would fast for a week in order to rejuvenate their body. He claimed that “a person could exercise unqualified control over virtually all types of disease while revealing a degree of strength and stamina such as would put others to shame” through fasting. He saw fasting as an instrument with which to prove a man's superiority over other men.
Macfadden had photographs of himself taken before and after fasts to demonstrate their positive effects on the body. For example, one photograph showed Macfadden lifting a 100 pound dumbbell over his head immediately after a seven day fast. He also promoted fasting by appealing to racial prejudices, suggesting that fasting was a practice of self-denial that only civilized white men would choose to embrace. Macfadden acknowledged the difficulties of fasting and did not support it as an ascetic practice but rather because he believed its ultimate benefits outweighed its costs.
Macfadden established many “healthatoriums” in the eastern and midwestern states. These institutions offered educational programs such as “The Physical Culture Training School”. Although he gained his reputation for physical culture and fitness, he gained much notoriety for his views on sexual behavior. He viewed intercourse as a healthy activity and not solely a procreative one. This was a different attitude than most physicians had at the time. He also attempted to found a "Physical Culture City" in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township is a Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,999. Monroe was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1838, from portions of South Amboy Township, based on the...
, which folded after a few years and became the vacation-cabin neighborhood, and, later, suburban development of Outcalt.
Nicknamed “Body Love Macfadden” by Time—a moniker he detested. He was branded a “kook” and a charlatan by many, arrested on obscenity charges, and denounced by the medical establishment. Throughout his life, he campaigned tirelessly against “pill-pushers,” processed foods and prudery.
Macfadden 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.
Macfadden's Macfadden Foundation established two boarding schools for young boys and girls in Westchester County, New York, the Macfadden School in Briarcliff Manor (Scarborough) and the Tarrytown School in Tarrytown
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
. The Macfadden School took the younger children, with some being as young as 3. On March 7, 1943, the advertisement in The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
for the Tarrytown School read: "To Meet the Needs of a Nation at War." The boys at the Tarrytown School wore uniforms and were subject to military type discipline. The Macfadden School operated from 1939 to 1950, the Tarrytown School from 1943 to 1954.
Other Enterprises
At the peak of his career, he owned several hotels and a major building in New York.Personal life
Macfadden was married four times and had eight children, seven of whose names began with the letter "B".He was an acquaintance of Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
, Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
, and Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
.
Death
Macfadden died of a urinary tract infectionUrinary tract infection
A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine. The main causal agent is Escherichia coli...
in 1955 in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, after refusing medical treatment. Upon his death, Edward Longstreet Bodin
Edward Longstreet Bodin
Edwart Longstreet Bodin was a mystery writer and founded the "Spiritual Party" as a platform for a run for President of the United States in the 1952 presidential election. He claimed in his book Scare Me! to be a descendent of Jean Bodin. He was a literary agent and mentor to L...
became the president of the Bernarr Macfadden Foundation.
After his death, his fourth wife Johnnie Lee Macfadden claimed that there was still money that was buried at various locations across the country. She said that Bernarr told her that he buried the money in steel cartridge boxes, and it amounted to millions. Several people have reported that they saw Macfadden leave one of his hotels carrying a bag and a shovel, thereafter returning with only the shovel. Most attempts to locate the buried treasure have failed. People close to Macfadden have said that the rumors of buried money were false, although in 1960 a steel cartridge box was found buried on Long Island on some property that was once owned by Macfadden; it contained approximately $89,000.
Partial bibliography
During his lifetime, Macfadden wrote over 100 books. This is a partial list of titles:- Physical Training (1900)
- Fasting, Hydropathy, and Exercise (1900)
- Virile Powers of Superb Manhood (1900)
- Power and Beauty of Superb Womanhood (1901)
- Strength from Eating (1901)
- Strong Eyes (1901)
- Natural Cure for Rupture (1902)
- Vaccination Superstition (1902)
- Marriage: a Lifelong Honeymoon (1903)
- Building of Vital Power (1904)
- Creative and Sexual Science (1904)
- Health, Beauty, and Sexuality (1904)
- How Success Is Won (1904)
- A Perfect Beauty (1904)
- Physical Culture for Babies (1904)
- Strenuous Lover (1904)
- Muscular Power and Beauty (1906)
- Macfadden Prosecution- A Curious Story of Wrong and Oppression (1908)
- Vitality Supreme (1915)
- Brain Energy (1916)
- Manhood and Marriage (1916)
- Womanhood and Marriage (1918)
- Strengthening the Eyes (1918)
- Making Old Bodies Young (1919)
- Truth About Tobacco (1921)
- The Miracle of Milk (1923)
- Fasting for Health (1923)
- Constipation: Its Cause, Effect, and Treatment (1924)
- How To Raise a Strong Baby (1924)
- Physical Culture Cook Book (1924)
- Walking Cure, Pep and Power from Walking - How to Cure Disease (1924)
- Hair Culture (1924)
- Diabetes: Its Cause, Nature and Treatment (1925)
- Headaches: How Caused and How Cured (1925)
- Strengthening the Spine (1925)
- Tooth Troubles (1925)
- Asthma and Hay Fever (1926)
- Colds, Coughs, and Catarrh (1926)
- Foot Troubles (1926)
- Predetermine Your Baby's Sex (1926)
- Rheumatism, Its Cause, Nature and Treatment (1926)
- Skin Troubles (1927)
- Digestive Troubles (1928)
- Talks to a Young Man about Sex (1928)
- Tuberculosis (1929)
- Home Health Manual (1930)
- After 40 - What? (1935)
- Practical Birth Control (1935)
- Woman's Sex Life (1935)
- How to Gain Weight (1936)
- How to Reduce Weight (1936)
- Be Married and like It (1937)
- Macfadden's Encyclopedia of Physical Culture (several editions)
Further reading
- Weakness Is a Crime: The Life of Bernarr Macfadden by Robert Ernst. Syracuse University Press, 1991. ISBN 081562512X; ISBN 978-0815625124.
- Mr. America: How Muscular Millionaire Bernarr Macfadden Transformed the Nation Through Sex, Salad, and the Ultimate Starvation Diet by Mark Adams. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 9780060594756; ISBN 0060594756.
- Bernarr Macfadden: A Study in Success, by Clement Wood. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2003. ISBN 0766143422; ISBN 978-0766143425.
- Deutsch, Ronald M. The Nuts Among the Berries. New York, Ballantine Books, rev. ed. 1967
External links
- BernarrMacfadden.com
- My Last Million Readers by Emile Gauvreau
- Bernarr Macfadden, the Father of Physical Culture
- Project Gutenberg: Vitality Supreme (1915) by Bernarr Macfadden
- Online archive of the covers of Physical Culture magazine
- "The Milk Diet: How to Use the Milk Diet Scientifically at Home" (1923) by Bernarr Macfadden
- "Strong Circulation: How a weight-lifting and diet fanatic built a publishing empire a century ago" from The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
(March 20, 2009) - The Physical Culture Magazine collection provides electronic access to editions of Physical Culture from 1918 to 1948.