Bruce Jenner has been in the public eye since he won a gold medal for decathlon in the 1976 Olympics. Since then, he has worn a multitude of hats – from author and professional speaker to sports commentator and charity supporter. From time to time, Jenner also ventured into the world of acting and television appearances, although these have usually been met with a less overwhelming response than his other accomplishments.Born on Oct. 28, 1949 in Mount Kisco, NY, Jenner quickly developed into a superior athlete in almost every sport he attempted – from football and basketball to track and field and water skiing. He attended Graceland College in Iowa on a track scholarship, where his coach, javelin-throwing champion L.D. Weldon, convinced Bruce to train for the Olympic decathlon.
His training paid off at the 1976 Olympics, where he broke the world’s record by scoring 8,634 points in the decathlon – a stunning feat which helped him earn the title “World’s Greatest Athlete.” Jenner’s win propelled him into worldwide attention, and he shrewdly seized upon the opportunities by signing numerous corporate sponsor relationships. The most notable of these was with Wheaties, which put him on its cereal boxes for seven years (he returned to box fronts for its 75th anniversary).
Jenner also lent his support and image to numerous charitable and sports-related organizations, including The Special Olympics and The National Dyslexia Research Foundation. The latter held special importance for Jenner, as he suffered from dyslexia. Among his numerous awards were the Sullivan Award for outstanding performance as an amateur athlete, and membership in both the Olympic Hall of Fame and Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Jenner also became an in-demand sports and news commentator on ABC, NBC, and Fox Sports, covering everything from track and field, surfing, and motocross to the Olympics. Jenner also served as a special correspondent to ABC’s “Good Morning America” (1975- ) for seven years.
Acting seemed like a natural direction for Jenner’s abundant talent, but his efforts in this area did not yield memorable results. His feature film debut was in Nancy Walker’s bizarre musical “Can’t Stop the Music” (1980), which saw Jenner awkwardly singing and dancing alongside camp icons the Village People. He fared slightly better in the TV movie “Grambling’s White Tiger” (NBC, 1981), a biopic about the first white player on an all-black football team which he produced for his own company, Jenner Productions. From there, Jenner appeared mainly on episodic television, including a season-long stint on NBC’s “CHiPs” (1977-1983), as well as CBS’s “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996). He seemed more at ease as the host of various sports-related programs, including ABC’s “Battle of the Network Stars” (1978) and “The Star Games” (1985), or playing himself in cameos on programs like ABC’s “The Fall Guy” (1981-1986). He has also appeared as himself in several features, including “The Big Tease” (1999), and the comedy “A Man Called Sarge” (1990). His last acting performance to date was in the 1992 direct-to-video movie “Original Intent.”
Jenner continued to appear on television screens in a variety of formats. He appeared in numerous exercise and sports videos (several with his wife, Kris), hosted a health show titled “Healthy Lifestyles,” and shot numerous infomercials. He has also competed in a number of network game shows and reality programs for his favorite charities, including “The Weakest Link” (NBC, 2001), the garish “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” (ABC, 2003, and most recently, “Skating with Celebrities” (Fox, 2006). The latter show proved that, although his legacy as a sports great was well assured, his brief time on the ice before being booted off, proved this super-athlete was not “super” at all sports – certainly none that involved graceful elegance.
