California’s first health guru dead at 89

Gypsy Boots, a California fitness icon, author and health guru who paved the way for generations of beatniks, hippies and health-food junkies, has died.

He was 89. Boots, born Robert Bootzin in San Francisco, died on Sunday a week ago at a convalescent home in Camarillo after a brief illness, said his son, Daniel Bootzin.Boots defined what it meant to live close to nature decades before the nation’s current obsession with organic foods, yoga and exercise.Boots’ philosophy of clean living, exercise and healthy eating – laid out in his books ‘Barefeet and Good Things to Eat’ and ‘The Gypsy in Me’ – attracted thousands of fans worldwide and netted him 25 appearances on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ in the early 1960s.During his life, he tried a number of careers, from author to entertainer to hay baler to trendy restaurateur – but never shed his long hair and thick beard or his passion for natural foods and a near-Spartan existence.”What people have a hard time understanding is that in the early 1960s, there were no hippies and nobody had long hair, nobody had a beard,” said Daniel Bootzin.”He really was that way way before anybody had that look.” Boots and a “tribe” of fellow bohemians spent the 1940s living off the land in Tahquitz Canyon near Palm Springs, sleeping in caves and trees and bathing in waterfalls.His lifestyle was immortalised in the 1948 Nat King Cole hit ‘Nature Boy’, which was composed by fellow “tribesman” Eden Ahbez, said Gordon Kennedy, a longtime friend who wrote a book about Boots and his followers called ‘Children of the Sun’.In 1958, Boots opened the ‘Health Hut’ in Los Angeles and served organic foods to a host of A-list celebrities.Yet Boots never judged others by his own strict health standards, said his son.”He said a lot that you could eat the best food in the world, but if you’re not happy you have nothing” he said.”He was strict for himself, but he didn’t really care what other people ate.” Boots continued to promote health food and exercise, going door-to-door in the 1960s and 1970s peddling organic produce and offering fitness classes.He was often spotted running barefoot in Griffith Park; on his 50th birthday, he ran 10 miles in 120-degree heat.His appearances on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ made Boots into a national star.He would swing onto the stage on a rope, long hair flying, and persuade Allen to help him make organic juices and do exercises with him.”It was just really zany.A lot of letters came in and they just kept having him back over and over again,” said Kennedy.Boots also appeared in 1968’s ‘Mondo Hollywood’, a cult movie starring Ram Dass and Frank Zappa, and had roles in other films such as ‘Swingin’ Summer’, ‘Confessions of Tom Harris’ and ‘The Game’ with Michael Douglas.Boots is survived by his sons, Daniel and Alexander; his former wife, Lois Bootzin; three grandchildren and a sister.A third son, Freddy, died in 2001.- Nampa-APBoots, born Robert Bootzin in San Francisco, died on Sunday a week ago at a convalescent home in Camarillo after a brief illness, said his son, Daniel Bootzin.Boots defined what it meant to live close to nature decades before the nation’s current obsession with organic foods, yoga and exercise.Boots’ philosophy of clean living, exercise and healthy eating – laid out in his books ‘Barefeet and Good Things to Eat’ and ‘The Gypsy in Me’ – attracted thousands of fans worldwide and netted him 25 appearances on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ in the early 1960s.During his life, he tried a number of careers, from author to entertainer to hay baler to trendy restaurateur – but never shed his long hair and thick beard or his passion for natural foods and a near-Spartan existence.”What people have a hard time understanding is that in the early 1960s, there were no hippies and nobody had long hair, nobody had a beard,” said Daniel Bootzin.”He really was that way way before anybody had that look.” Boots and a “tribe” of fellow bohemians spent the 1940s living off the land in Tahquitz Canyon near Palm Springs, sleeping in caves and trees and bathing in waterfalls.His lifestyle was immortalised in the 1948 Nat King Cole hit ‘Nature Boy’, which was composed by fellow “tribesman” Eden Ahbez, said Gordon Kennedy, a longtime friend who wrote a book about Boots and his followers called ‘Children of the Sun’.In 1958, Boots opened the ‘Health Hut’ in Los Angeles and served organic foods to a host of A-list celebrities.Yet Boots never judged others by his own strict health standards, said his son.”He said a lot that you could eat the best food in the world, but if you’re not happy you have nothing” he said.”He was strict for himself, but he didn’t really care what other people ate.” Boots continued to promote health food and exercise, going door-to-door in the 1960s and 1970s peddling organic produce and offering fitness classes.He was often spotted running barefoot in Griffith Park; on his 50th birthday, he ran 10 miles in 120-degree heat.His appearances on ‘The Steve Allen Show’ made Boots into a national star.He would swing onto the stage on a rope, long hair flying, and persuade Allen to help him make organic juices and do exercises with him.”It was just really zany.A lot of letters came in and they just kept having him back over and over again,” said Kennedy.Boots also appeared in 1968’s ‘Mondo Hollywood’, a cult movie starring Ram Dass and Frank Zappa, and had roles in other films such as ‘Swingin’ Summer’, ‘Confessions of Tom Harris’ and ‘The Game’ with Michael Douglas.Boots is survived by his sons, Daniel and Alexander; his former wife, Lois Bootzin; three grandchildren and a sister.A third son, Freddy, died in 2001.- Nampa-AP