Content area
Full Text
Donahue Wildman, the founder of Bally Total Fitness and a popular fitness personality for five decades, died on Sept. 17, according to a Facebook announcement by his family. He was 85.
Wildman died at his home in Malibu, California, after an extended battle with brain cancer, Club Insider reported.
Wildman grew up in Los Angeles and played football as a teenager, according to an April 2008 Esquire profile. He joined the United States Army in 1950 and served as a combat medic in the Korean War. After returning home, Wildman married and began working in health club pioneer Victor Tanny's Tanny Health Center in Burbank, California.
Wildman advanced in Tanny's company before branching off to found the Health and Tennis Corporation of America, which became one of the most popular...