Dr. Jim Corea--Philly area legend
EatWelBWel
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
James Corea, 63, of Haddonfield, the well-known gym owner and host of local
radio talk shows about fitness, died Saturday shortly after his arrival at
Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/Cherry Hill.
"Dr. Jim" Corea, who had lived in the borough for the last 30 years, was
well-known as a nutritionist and for 10 years was a weight trainer for the
Eagles. He also had a sports-medicine practice and in 1962 opened Jim Corea's
Gym & Health Club in the Woodcrest Shopping Center in Cherry Hill. He later
moved the gym to a building near the Ellisburg Circle.
In a day when gyms were not yet common, Mr. Corea's facility became popular
with everyone from famous athletes to doctors and clergymen. Bob Clarke, Rick
MacLeish, Gary Dornhoefer, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Larry Wadkins, Steve
Zabel, Del Unser, Bob Boone and Terry Harmon were among the noted athletes who
frequented the gym.
People from as far away as Wayne would make weekly trips to the gym for a
workout and, perhaps more important, the advice of Mr. Corea.
The high profile of the gym and Mr. Corea's down-to-earth advice quickly made
him a local celebrity, then a radio talk-show guest and, in a short time, the
host of his own show.
Among his first ventures into radio was as a regular guest on Dick Clayton's
talk show on WCAU-AM as a physical training expert.
Mr. Corea was perhaps best known for his more than 20 years as a fitness and
nutrition consultant on WWDB-FM. His talk show ended in November when the
station changed its format. Mr. Corea was to begin a new talk show on WPEN-AM
this coming Saturday.
"He was truly one of a kind," said Sid Mark, who hosted the well-known Frank
Sinatra music shows on the station. "For the 25 years we worked together, I
recall him having a cold once. He was very upset we knew he had a cold."
Mr. Corea regularly called Mark during the Sundays With Sinatra shows at 1:10
p.m. "The executive phone would ring 10 minutes after 1. I didn't have to say
hello," Mark said. "He would tell me when I was playing too many ballads and
when the guys in the gym wanted to hear 'New York, New York.' "
Mr. Corea always wore shorts, even in freezing temperatures, Mark said.
"We'd ask, 'Jim, are you cold?' " Mark remembered. Mr. Corea would answer, "No,
sissies get cold." "We'd say, 'Jim, it's snowing.' "
He would reply, "So what? You have a car with snow tires."
Mr. Corea was from the beginning his own best advertisement. In interviews, he
was quick to point out that he did not smoke or drink and that he exercised
every day.
And he was always willing to show off his Mr. America-style physique.
Mr. Corea operated the gym until 1989, when he sold it. In 1995, with the gym's
future in doubt, it was purchased by Clarke, one of its early celebrity
members, who continues to operate it.
Mr. Corea was also president of Vita Labs, a Cherry Hill retail and mail-order
vitamin and food supplement company.
He was a frequent participant in celebrity athletic events that raised money
for charities, from the American Cancer Society to the Police Athletic League.
Born in Camden, Mr. Corea was a graduate of Camden Catholic High School, where
he was, not surprisingly, an athlete. He was a former Mr. Camden County.
In 1961, Mr. Corea performed in the Camden County Music Fair production of West
Side Story.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara L. Caputi Corea, and daughter Michelle L.
Funeral arrangements by Schetter Funeral Home in Cherry Hill were not complete
yesterday.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 600 S.
White Horse Pike, Audubon, N.J. 08106.
WingNut
to be 100, it was Dr. Jim ! He was a really cool guy... Can't believe
it.... Anyone know what he died of ?
RIP
Dr. James A. Corea
Louis Epstein
: This is unbelievable news ! If there was ever someone I thought would live
Cocp
too.
Rolyee James said that she thought he wouldn't have aged gracefully.God bless
him and his family. He sure was an inspiration to me to live better.
Cocp
>: it.... Anyone know what he died of ?
>:
>: RIP
I believe his cause of death was cardiac related.