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 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. 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 in
Warm Springs, Georgia, 1931 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. 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. 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. Upon his death,
Edward Longstreet Bodin became the president of the Bernarr Macfadden Foundation. == Critical reception ==