Gypsy Boots
Encyclopedia
Gypsy Boots born Robert Bootzin (and also known as Boots Bootzin), was an American
fitness pioneer, actor, and writer. He is credited with laying the foundation for the acceptance by mainstream America of "alternative" lifestyles such as yoga
and health food
. His books Barefeet and Good Things to Eat and the memoir, The Gypsy in Me, gained him a cult following.
to Russia
n-Jewish immigrants. His father, Max, was a broom
salesman. His mother, Mushka, raised Bootzin and his four siblings in a vegetarian household, while also leading the family on hikes in the hills, performing Russian folk dances and feeding the homeless with her homemade black bread
.
Bootzin's older brother, John, died of tuberculosis
as a young man; this led to Bootzin's decision to grow his hair long and pursue healthful, natural living.
By 1933, he had dropped out of high school and left home to wander California with a group of self-styled vagabonds
. In the 1940s, Bootzin, along with 10-15 other "tribesmen," lived off the land in Tahquitz Canyon
near Palm Springs
, slept in caves and trees, and bathed in waterfalls. Decades ahead of the Hippie
movement, Bootzin and his companions lived a carefree existence and were seasonal fruit pickers. The group became known as "Nature Boys".
The 1948 Nat King Cole
hit "Nature Boy
" was inspired by Bootzin and his fellow "tribesman", and composed by fellow tribesman eden ahbez
.
In 1958, Bootzin married Lois Bloemker, a conservative, academic woman from Fort Wayne, Indiana
and settled in the Hollywood area. They had three children, Daniel, Alex and Freddie (who died in 2001). The two divorced in the late 1990s.
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, located on Beverly Blvd just west of La Cienega Blvd, had an authentic "Tiki
" style to it made with leaves and bamboo.
Bootzin personally advocated never eating meat, drinking alcohol, or smoking tobacco. He was an early believer in the health properties of organic foods. 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 in Sonoma Valley
," along with his all-natural, sugar-free "Boots Bars", wheat grass, spirulina
, and kyolic garlic, as well as "honey sweet" Medjoule dates from his orchard.
His childhood vegetarian lifestyle was something Bootzin continued with his own family as his son Daniel Bootzin corroborated.
Bootzin died in Camarillo, California
, just 11 days short of his 90th birthday. He was survived by his former wife, Lois Bootzin, two of his sons Daniel and Alexander, three grandchildren, and a sister. His son Freddy died in 2001.
's network TV show You Bet Your Life
. Introduced as "Boots Bootzin," he cheerfully espoused his philosophy of clean living, exercise, and healthy eating. Even though he was over 40, he acted like a gangly, goofy, but polite teenager, causing mildly sensational reactions from the audience. When asked by Groucho to demonstrate how he sold figs, he stepped toward the edge of the stage, shouted an attention-getting sales pitch for a few seconds, and then performed a perfect pratfall (the type where one falls sideways after swinging one leg to knock the other one out from underneath). In the game portion of the show, he correctly whispered the spelling of the word "motif
" to his partner, who overruled him and miscorrected it to "motiffe". Groucho, who usually displayed little tolerance for extremists, admired Bootzin's rugged individualism and said so, on camera. He also seemed to appreciate the perfect execution of one of vaudeville's classic bits.
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
. 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 one of the originators of the popular style of blended natural fruit health drinks. He also made frequent appearances on George Putnam's Talk Back, which came at the tail end of the popular KTLA George Putnam News in Los Angeles, California.
He released a record album, Unpredictable, on Sidewalk Records
in 1968.
Gypsy loved to participate in parades, including the annual, wildly creative and non-commercial Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade
. Even in his late 80s 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.
Bootzin was an avid fan of the USC Trojans football team, where he was known for eccentric clothes and an ever-present cowbell. He also regularly attended Los Angeles Dodgers
, Lakers
and Raiders games with spirited cheers, noisemakers and streamers. At age 86, he was still able to throw an American football at least 40 yards.
In Movies, Bootzin appears sitting in the diner scene in Michael Douglas's film The Game
. Other previous movie appearances include Mondo Hollywood
, Swingin' Summer, and Confessions of Tom Harris.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fitness pioneer, actor, and writer. He is credited with laying the foundation for the acceptance by mainstream America of "alternative" lifestyles such as yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and health food
Health food
The term health food is generally used to describe foods that are considered to be beneficial to health, beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. However, the term is not precisely defined by national regulatory agencies such as the U.S...
. His books Barefeet and Good Things to Eat and the memoir, The Gypsy in Me, gained him a cult following.
Biography
Bootzin was born in San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Jewish immigrants. His father, Max, was a broom
Broom
A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....
salesman. His mother, Mushka, raised Bootzin and his four siblings in a vegetarian household, while also leading the family on hikes in the hills, performing Russian folk dances and feeding the homeless with her homemade black bread
Black Bread
Black Bread is a 2010 Catalan-language Catalan drama film written and directed by Agustí Villaronga. The screenplay is based on the homonymous novel by Emili Teixidor, with elements of two other works by him, Retrat d'un assassí d'ocells and Sic transit Gloria Swanson.The film won nine Goya...
.
Bootzin's older brother, John, died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
as a young man; this led to Bootzin's decision to grow his hair long and pursue healthful, natural living.
By 1933, he had dropped out of high school and left home to wander California with a group of self-styled vagabonds
Vagabond (person)
A vagabond is a drifter and an itinerant wanderer who roams wherever they please, following the whim of the moment. Vagabonds may lack residence, a job, and even citizenship....
. In the 1940s, Bootzin, along with 10-15 other "tribesmen," lived off the land in Tahquitz Canyon
Tahquitz
Tahquitz is a granite rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild...
near Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, slept in caves and trees, and bathed in waterfalls. Decades ahead of the Hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
movement, Bootzin and his companions lived a carefree existence and were seasonal fruit pickers. The group became known as "Nature Boys".
The 1948 Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
hit "Nature Boy
Nature Boy (song)
"Nature Boy" is a song by eden ahbez, published in 1947. The song tells a fantasy of a "strange enchanted boy... who wandered very far" only to learn that "the greatest thing... was just to love and be loved in return"...
" was inspired by Bootzin and his fellow "tribesman", and composed by fellow tribesman eden ahbez
Eden Ahbez
eden ahbez was an American songwriter and recording artist of the 1940s-1960s, whose lifestyle in California was influential on the hippie movement...
.
In 1958, Bootzin married Lois Bloemker, a conservative, academic woman from Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
and settled in the Hollywood area. They had three children, Daniel, Alex and Freddie (who died in 2001). The two divorced in the late 1990s.
His health food
Health food
The term health food is generally used to describe foods that are considered to be beneficial to health, beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. However, the term is not precisely defined by national regulatory agencies such as the U.S...
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, located on Beverly Blvd just west of La Cienega Blvd, had an authentic "Tiki
Tiki culture
Tiki kitsch culture is a 20th-century theme used in Polynesian-style restaurants and clubs originally in the United States and then, to a lesser degree, around the world...
" style to it made with leaves and bamboo.
Bootzin personally advocated never eating meat, drinking alcohol, or smoking tobacco. He was an early believer in the health properties of organic foods. 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 in Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition...
," along with his all-natural, sugar-free "Boots Bars", wheat grass, spirulina
Spirulina
Spirulina may refer to:* Spirulina , a health-food supplement* Spirulina , a cyanobacterium group* Ochthephila spirulina, species of gastropod in the Hygromiidae family...
, and kyolic garlic, as well as "honey sweet" Medjoule dates from his orchard.
His childhood vegetarian lifestyle was something Bootzin continued with his own family as his son Daniel Bootzin corroborated.
Bootzin died in Camarillo, California
Camarillo, California
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at the 2000 census. The Ventura Freeway Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at...
, just 11 days short of his 90th birthday. He was survived by his former wife, Lois Bootzin, two of his sons Daniel and Alexander, three grandchildren, and a sister. His son Freddy died in 2001.
Appearances
Bootzin received national exposure in 1955, when he appeared as a contestant on Groucho MarxGroucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's network TV show You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
. Introduced as "Boots Bootzin," he cheerfully espoused his philosophy of clean living, exercise, and healthy eating. Even though he was over 40, he acted like a gangly, goofy, but polite teenager, causing mildly sensational reactions from the audience. When asked by Groucho to demonstrate how he sold figs, he stepped toward the edge of the stage, shouted an attention-getting sales pitch for a few seconds, and then performed a perfect pratfall (the type where one falls sideways after swinging one leg to knock the other one out from underneath). In the game portion of the show, he correctly whispered the spelling of the word "motif
Motif
Motif may refer to the following:In creative work:* Motif , a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes* Motif , any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance...
" to his partner, who overruled him and miscorrected it to "motiffe". Groucho, who usually displayed little tolerance for extremists, admired Bootzin's rugged individualism and said so, on camera. He also seemed to appreciate the perfect execution of one of vaudeville's classic bits.
Bootzin made personal appearances with the Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
musical-comedy troupe, speaking about health foods. He was a regular guest on American television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
talk shows in the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, appearing 25 times on The Steve Allen Show
Steve Allen (comedian)
Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent...
. 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
Smoothie
A smoothie is a blended and sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit and in special cases can contain chocolate or peanut butter. In addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey or contain syrup and ice ingredients...
", giving credence to Gypsy Boots as one of the originators of the popular style of blended natural fruit health drinks. He also made frequent appearances on George Putnam's Talk Back, which came at the tail end of the popular KTLA George Putnam News in Los Angeles, California.
He released a record album, Unpredictable, on Sidewalk Records
Sidewalk Records
Sidewalk Records was a record label based in Hollywood, California that was started in 1963 by Mike Curb at the age of eighteen. The company was first formed as Sidewalk Productions and later became a subsidiary label of Capitol Records. Many recordings by Sidewalk Productions appeared on the...
in 1968.
Gypsy loved to participate in parades, including the annual, wildly creative and non-commercial Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade
Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade
Originating as a birthday celebration, Santa Barbara, California's Summer Solstice Parade began in 1974. This parade was created for Michael Gonzalez, a Santa Barbara resident and a mime and artist...
. Even in his late 80s 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.
Bootzin was an avid fan of the USC Trojans football team, where he was known for eccentric clothes and an ever-present cowbell. He also regularly attended Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and Raiders games with spirited cheers, noisemakers and streamers. At age 86, he was still able to throw an American football at least 40 yards.
In Movies, Bootzin appears sitting in the diner scene in Michael Douglas's film The Game
The Game (film)
The Game is a 1997 neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, and produced by Polygram. It tells the story of an investment banker who is given a mysterious gift: participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his life...
. Other previous movie appearances include Mondo Hollywood
Mondo Hollywood
Mondo Hollywood is a documentary "mondo movie" by Robert Carl Cohen, released in 1967. Filmed over the preceding two years, it was described by Variety as a "flippy, trippy psychedelic guide to Hollywood".-Description:...
, Swingin' Summer, and Confessions of Tom Harris.
External links
- Gypsy Boots personal website
- AP Obituary, San Diego Union-Tribune, August 9, 2004
- "Remembering Gypsy Boots", All Things ConsideredAll Things ConsideredAll Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, August 10, 2004