Billy Blanks
| Billy Blanks | |
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 Billy Blanks, April 2006 |
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| Born | September 1, 1955 Erie, Pennsylvania |
Billy Wayne Blanks (born September 1, 1955) is an American fitness guru, martial artist, actor, and the inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program.[1][2][3][4]
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Career [edit]
Blanks began his study of the martial arts at the age of eleven and practices Karate and Taekwondo.[1][5][6] He was born with an anomaly in his hip joints that impaired his movement, and a clumsiness that earned him the taunts of his siblings and caused his coaches to believe he’d never accomplish much. Billy found the answer to these challenges in karate. When he saw Bruce Lee on TV, he decided he wanted to be a world martial-arts champion. The discipline of the program began to transform his body.[7]
Blanks began his acting career in the 1980s where he starred in several unsuccessful action-adventure feature films. He was hired to act as a bodyguard for lead actress Catherine Bach during the filming of Driving Force, due to the political unrest present in Manila at the time; he impressed the producers so much, they wrote him into the script.[8]
In the late 1980s, Blanks invented the Tae Bo workout, while running a karate studio in Quincy, Massachusetts. He used components of his martial arts and boxing training.[9] The name is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing.[10] Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted some celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. The popularity of the workout later waned, but Blanks still attracts many celebrity clients and Tae Bo videos and DVDs have continued to sell well.
Personal life [edit]
Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the fourth of fifteen children. As a child he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia. Blanks is a Christian and released a special line of Tae Bo workouts called the "Believer's" series that includes motivational prayers and other Christian components. He has appeared on Christian television network TBN.[11]
He married Gayle H. Godfrey, whom he met in karate class. Gayle's daughter, Shellie, born on June 28, 1974, was adopted shortly after they married. Shellie Blanks Cimarosti, now an accomplished martial artist, is prominently featured in almost all of Billy's Tae Bo videos and has recently produced her own video (Tae Bo Postnatal Power),[12] as well as hosted her father's new infomercial Tae Bo T3 (Total Transformation Training). Gayle and Billy also have a son, Billy Blanks Jr. who works as a dancer, singer and fitness instructor, having produced several best-selling DVDs,[13] including "Cardioke" & "Fat Burning Hip Hop Mix", has starred in a touring production of Fame and has worked as a dancer in music videos with Madonna, Quincy Jones and Paula Abdul.[14][13][15][16][17]
Billy and Gayle were divorced in 2008 after 33 years of marriage. According to the Petition for Legal Separation filed by his wife Gayle on April 22, 2008 in Los Angeles Superior Court, she and Billy had been separated since September 25, 2007. The reason given in the petition for the separation is "irreconcilable differences."[18][19]
In November 2008, Blanks became the father of a new daughter named Angelika. The mother was his Japanese interpreter Tomoko whom he had known since 2007.[20] Billy and Tomoko's marriage was formally registered in January 2009 and their wedding ceremony was held on June 20, 2009. He has also adopted his new wife's two daughters, Marriett and Erika Peterson.
Film [edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Jack & Jill | Himself | |
| 2007 | Dance Club: The Movie | Dance Club Dancer | (short) |
| 1997 | Kiss the Girls | Kickboxing Instructor | |
| Assault on Devil's Island | Creagan | ||
| 1996 | Balance of Power | Niko | aka Hidden Tiger |
| 1995 | Expect no Mercy | Justin Vanier | |
| Tough and Deadly | John Portland | ||
| 1994 | Back in Action | Billy | |
| 1993 | Showdown | Billy Grant | |
| TC 2000 | Jason Storm | ||
| 1992 | Zhan long zai ye | Billy | |
| Talons of the Eagle | Tyler Wilson | ||
| The Master | Black Thug | (uncredited) | |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | Billy Cole | |
| Timebomb | Mr. Brown | ||
| The King of the Kickboxers | Khan | ||
| 1990 | China O'Brien II | Baskin's Fighter #1 | (uncredited) |
| Lionheart | African Legionnaire | ||
| 1989 | Tango & Cash | Prison Thug | (uncredited) |
| Bloodfist | Black Rose | ||
| 1988 | Driving Force | Pool | |
| 1986 | Low Blow | Guard |
Television [edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Fairly OddParents | Himself | Episode: Kung Timmy |
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Blanks' life not letter perfect". CNN. September 26, 2002. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ Green, Penelope (March 21, 1999). "MIRROR, MIRROR; Punching and Kicking All the Way to the Bank". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Doyle, Alicia (November 4, 1994). "A New Exercise Kick". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "On Top of the World". Inside Kung Fu. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ About The Creator of Tae Bo - Billy Blanks[dead link]
- ^ "Billy Blanks: From tough-town beginnings to "putting on the power"". GAIM. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ Billy Blanks: Get Fit the Tae Bo Way! - The 700 Club
- ^ Marilyn Beck (1988-10-17). "To Protect and Serve". Herald-Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ Gardetta, Dave (August 15, 1999). "Elvis Has Just Entered the Building". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ Vitucci, Claire (December 8, 1997). "Kick-Boxing Craze: A new form of aerobic exercise has...". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ TBN - Trinity Broadcasting Network
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ a b Cuneo, Kevin (12 January 2012). "Fitness runs in the family for Blanks". Erie Times-News (Erie, Pennsylvania, USA). Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Castagna, Cary. "Dancing your way to Keeping Fit". 24 Hours (Ontario, Canada: Sun Media Corporation). Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Christian, Margena A. (28 January 2008). Where is the cast of Good Times?. Jet Magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 34. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Ortega, Courtney (16 December 2011). "Reviews: 'Fat Burning Hip Hop Mix' and 'Dance Off the Inches' workout DVDs". Star-Telegram (Texas, USA). Retrieved 19 January 2012. Text " Health " ignored (help); Text " Dallas-..." ignored (help)
- ^ "Bluff The Listener". NPR. USA. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Petition for Legal Separation filed by Gayle H Blanks Petition for Legal Separation, April 22, 2008
- ^ Billy's Wife Files for Divorce
- ^ Billy Blanks and his Japanese wife Japan Probe, April 16, 2009
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Billy Blanks |
- Official website
- Billy Blanks at the Internet Movie Database
- Billy Blanks at AllRovi
- Jewel, Dan (15 December 1997). "Karate Kid: Refining Tae Kwon Do, Billy Blanks Delivers a Punch to the Stars". People Magazine.
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