= Bernarr_Macfadden =

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= Bernarr_Macfadden =
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Introduction
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Bernarr Macfadden (born Bernard Adolphus McFadden, August 16, 1868 -
October 12, 1955) was an American proponent of physical culture, a
combination of bodybuilding with nutritional and health theories. He
founded the long-running magazine publishing company Macfadden
Publications.

Early life
============
Born in Mill Spring, Missouri, 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 last 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. He claimed that hard work and wholesome food on the farm
turned him into a strong and fit boy. When he was 13, however, he
moved to St. Louis 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 with a
lead weight in his clothes, and he became a vegetarian. He claimed to
quickly regain his previous health.

Publishing and writings
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In 1899, Macfadden founded 'Physical Culture' (1899-1951?), an
American magazine on bodybuilding, health, and fitness, and was editor
up to the August 1912 issue.

In May 1919, readers letters to 'Physical Culture' magazine which
told their personal stories resulted in a new magazine, 'True Story',
and, later, 'True Detective', 'True Story', 'True Romance (magazine)'.

Aided by long-time Supervising Editor Fulton Oursler, Macfadden
eventually grew a publishing empire, including 'Liberty', 'Dream
World', 'Ghost Stories', the once-familiar movie magazine 'Photoplay',
and the tabloid newspaper, 'The New York Evening 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 magazines, 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).

Health advocacy
=================
Macfadden popularized the practice of fasting 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 to rejuvenate their body. He
claimed that through fasting "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". 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. 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.

He was particularly opposed to the consumption of white bread, which
he called the "staff of death".

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. The home of John Warne Herbert Jr. in Helmetta, New Jersey
was designated as "Physical Culture City’s Health Home No.1."

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.

Harvard Theatre Collection - Bernarr Macfadden TCS 1.2400.jpg|
Bernarr Macfadden 1923.jpg|In 1923

Other enterprises
===================
At the peak of his career, Macfadden owned several hotels and a major
building in Dansville, New York. He also opened a restaurant in New
York City in 1902 called Physical Culture, which was one of the city's
first vegetarian venues. Physical Culture vegetarian restaurants were
established in other cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago. By 1911,
there were twenty such restaurants. Macfadden was a proponent of raw
foodism and a follower of Sylvester Graham's philosophies.

His Macfadden Foundation established two boarding schools for young
boys and girls in Westchester County, New York: the Macfadden School
in Briarcliff Manor (Scarborough), originally for ages 4 - 12, and the
Tarrytown School in Tarrytown. 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 and corporal
punishment. The Macfadden School operated from 1936 to 1950, and the
Tarrytown School operated from 1943 to 1954.

Brochure for Macfadden Tarrytown School - For Parents.jpg|Page from
Tarrytown School Brochure

Boys in dress uniform, 1948 or 1949.jpg|Boys in dress uniform, 1948 or
1949, Macfadden's Tarrytown School

grad2.jpg|Graduation exercises, June 1953, Macfadden's Tarrytown
School

The Macfadden Foundation also operated Castle Heights Military Academy
in Lebanon, Tennessee. The foundation began in 1931 when he gave $50
million to it.

Personal life
===============
Macfadden was married four times and had eight children. His son Jack
appeared on Groucho Marx's show 'You Bet Your Life' (December 31,
1953) and talked about his father, who was then 84 years old.

He met his third wife, Mary Williamson Macfadden, in England when she
won a contest "for the most perfect specimen of England womanhood,"
sponsored by Macfadden; she was a champion British swimmer. The couple
had eight children: Helen, Byrne, Byrnece, Beulah, Beverly, Brewster,
Berwyn, and Braunda. Bernarr and Mary separated in 1932, and they
divorced in 1946.

Macfadden had ambitions for political office. He sought election as
Mayor of New York City, US Senator from Florida, and even US
president.

Two of Macfadden's children died for lack of medical care, as
Macfadden viewed all doctors as quacks. When one of his daughters died
of a heart condition, he remarked, "It's better she's gone; she only
would have disgraced me."

Death and legacy
==================
Macfadden died aged 87 in 1955 after refusing medical treatment for a
digestive disorder. He is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx,
New York City. Upon his death, Edward Longstreet Bodin became the
president of the Bernarr Macfadden Foundation.

Critical reception
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Macfadden has drawn criticism for suggesting in his books that readers
not consult any professional physician. Macfadden supported unorthodox
ideas that are widely derided as quackery, such as grape therapy
supposedly healing cancer.

Morris Fishbein wrote that "In his campaign, Bernarr Macfadden aligned
himself with the border-line cultists that oppose scientific medicine
and devote themselves to the promotion of some single conception of
disease causation, prevention, and treatment."

Some of Macfadden's publications also drew criticism for their erotic
and sexual content. He was targeted by the Society for the Suppression
of Vice for producing "pornographic" posters to promote one of his
Physical Culture Exhibitions.

Macfadden's legacy after his death has largely been tarnished by
details of his private life. James Whorton, PhD, notes that the
glamorous and eccentric character of Macfadden's life has led to a
predilection for "the amusing tale or shocking incident" in describing
it. Whorton argued that this distracts from Macfadden's real beliefs
and significance, causing research to be directed "to the outer
person, to actions rather than motives."

Partial bibliography
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Macfadden wrote over 100 books. This is a partial list of titles:

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See also
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* Bates method

Further reading
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* Adams, Mark. 'Mr. America: How Muscular Millionaire Bernarr
Macfadden Transformed the Nation Through Sex, Salad, and the Ultimate
Starvation Diet.' NY: HarperCollins, 2009.
* Deutsch, Ronald M. 'The Nuts Among the Berries.' New York:
Ballantine Books, rev. ed. 1967.
* Endres, Kathleen L.
[http://blogs.elon.edu/mhm/files/2017/03/mhmjour13-2.pdf "The Feminism
of Bernarr Macfadden: Physical Culture Magazine and the Empowerment of
Women"]. 'Media History Monographs'. Vol. 13, No. 2 (2011) Elon
University
* Ernst, Robert. 'Weakness Is a Crime: The Life of Bernarr Macfadden.'
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991.
* Fishbein, Morris. 'The Medical Follies: An Analysis of the Foibles
of Some Healing Cults, including Osteopathy, Homeopathy, Chiropractic,
and the Electronic Reactions of Abrams, with Essays on the
Anti-Vivisectionists, Health Legislation, Physical Culture, Birth
Control, and Rejuvenation.' NY: Boni & Liveright, 1925.
* Fitzpatrick, Shanon.
'[https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674268012 True
Story: How a Pulp Empire Remade Mass Media]'. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2022.
* Hunt, William R. 'Body Love: The Amazing Career of Bernarr
Macfadden.' Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University
Popular Press, 1989.
* Oursler, Fulton. 'The True Story of Bernarr Macfadden.' NY: Lewis
Copeland Company, 1929.
* Stuart, John,
[https://archive.org/details/360519StuartMacfaddenfromporntopolitics
"Bernarr Macfadden: From Pornography to Politics,"] 'The New Masses,'
May 19, 1936, pp. 8-11.
* Warner, Chas W. (1934).
[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015063162377&view=1up&seq=91
'Bernarr Macfadden']. In 'Quacks'. Jackson, Mississippi.
* Wood, Clement. 'Bernarr Macfadden: A Study in Success.' NY: Lewis
Copeland Company, 1929.

External links
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* [http://www.bernarrmacfadden.com/ BernarrMacfadden.com]
*
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*
[https://books.google.com/books?id=enJ_Z9yujL4C&dq=Emile+Gauvreau&pg=PA99
My Last Million Readers by Emile Gauvreau]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060909025410/http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Macfadden/macfadden-intro.htm
Bernarr Macfadden, the Father of Physical Culture]
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19208 Project Gutenberg: 'Vitality
Supreme' (1915) by Bernarr Macfadden]
*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200222000306/http://www.magazineart.org:80/main.php/v/healthandfitness/physicalculture
Online archive] of the covers of 'Physical Culture' magazine
* [http://www.milk-diet.com/classics/macfadden/macfaddenmain.html "The
Milk Diet: How to Use the Milk Diet Scientifically at Home"] (1923) by
Bernarr Macfadden
* [https://archives.starkcenter.org/omeka/cou-pc Ottley Coulter
Collection] provides digital access to 'Physical Culture' published
from 1899 to 1910.
* [http://dmr.bsu.edu/cdm4/collection.php?CISOROOT=/PhyCul The
Physical Culture Magazine collection] provides electronic access to
editions of 'Physical Culture' from 1910 to 1948.

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=========
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernarr_Macfadden