Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tread Mill Inventor Dies

From the LA Daily News: William Staub, who took the treadmill - that ubiquitous piece of exercise equipment that is loved and loathed by millions - into homes and gyms, has died. He was 96 and had been spied on a treadmill as recently as two months ago.
He died Thursday at his home in Clifton, N.J., his son Gerald said.
Staub, a mechanical engineer, built and marketed his first treadmill in the late 1960s - 40 steel rollers covered by an orange belt, a gray cover over the motor, and orange dials to determine time and speed. Staub envisioned it as a tool for people who wanted to run or walk outside but didn't because of inclement weather, less-than-ideal circumstances or creative excuses, his son said.
At the time, the treadmill was almost exclusively used by doctors, said Dr. Kenneth Cooper, a health and fitness pioneer who used the machine to perform stress tests. William Staub, who didn't exercise at the time, read Cooper's 1968 book "Aerobics," which espoused the health benefits of exercise.
"Dr. Cooper said if you ran a mile in 8 minutes and did it four to five times a week, you would always be in a good fitness category," Gerald Staub said. "He said even I - no excuses - I can afford 8 minutes. That's what excited him about it."  http://www.dailynews.com/health/ci_21150296/developer-loved-and-loathed-home-treadmill-dies-at
Also dying yesterday, besides Sherman Hensley, was Chad Everett of Medical Center, a 1970's TV show.
Chad Everett, the blue-eyed star of the 1970s TV series “Medical Center” who went on to appear in such films and TV shows as “Mulholland Drive” and “Melrose Place,” has died. He was 75.
Everett’s daughter, Katherine Thorp, said he died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a year-and-a-half-long battle with lung cancer.
 Everett played sensitive surgeon Joe Gannon for seven seasons on “Medical Center.” The role earned him Golden Globe nominations in 1971 and 1973.
With a career spanning more than 40 years, Everett guest starred on such TV series as “The Love Boat,” ‘’Murder, She Wrote” and “Without a Trace.” Everett most recently appeared on the TV shows “Castle” and “Supernatural,” where he appeared as an older version of Jensen Ackles’ character Dean Winchester.
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/chad-everett-actor-who-appeared-on-medical-center-and-mulholland-drive-dies-at-75/2012/07/24/gJQAnXth7W_story.html

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