James A. Corea

James A. Corea (September 25, 1937 - March 3, 2001) , Ph.D., Dr. Science, ND, RPT was a radio personality and specialist in nutrition, rehabilitation, and sports medicine. He founded Vita-Labs a brand of health food supplement. He died of a heart attack at age 63. He was married to Barbara L Caputi in about 1963 and had a daughter Michelle L. Corea

Early life

He was born in Camden, NJ, and was a graduate of Camden Catholic High School. He spent his early years as an Olympic powerlifter and entering bodybuilding competitions. He was a former Mr. Camden County, a body building title. He was in the United States Marine Corps and later served in the United States Army Reserve.

He founded a supplement company (Vita-Labs) of Cherry Hill, NJ in 1958. His exclusive supplement line of products are still available by contacting 1(800)848-2522. In the ’60s, Corea was a strength coach for the Philadelphia Eagles for a decade. In 1958, he opened the Jim Corea Gym and Athletic Club in Cherry Hill, NJ. It was the first of its kind, a full-service gym which was frequented by many local sport legends in the area. He also operated a gym and physical rehabilitation facility, conducted police academy fitness training and hosted a top-rated radio show on Philly’s WWDB. Dr. Jim's show ran on WWDB for over 20 years, and he was a Philadelphia radio icon during his career. In addition, he was a professor at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and one of the most popular naturopathic physicians in the Northeast.

He lost his radio slot in November 2000, along with all the talk presenters, when the station changed its format from Talk to Music. He had been offered a new radio job, which he was due to start in 2001.

Dr James A Corea, "James A" for short, had a set of idiosyncrasies. He’d never drunk alcohol in his life, not even a glass of champagne at his wedding. He was proud of his “wheels,” wearing shorts every day of the year, even in sub-zero weather. He never took vacations, rose at 4:30 every morning and lifted for several hours, then ran a few miles. He always ate “like a champ” and supplemented with a vast array of vitamins and natural supplements.

Controversy about his death

As a notable fitness expert, who advocated and lived the "perfect" diet and exercise regime, it was considered in the press to be a difficult message that he would die of heart disease at the relatively young age of 63. He had consulted a cardiologist who told him his left coronary artery (dubbed the "widowmaker" in medical lexicon) was almost completely blocked and that he should have surgery immediately. Corea demurred, wanting to think about it (which is what happens with many people). He suffered a fatal heart attack that night. His death was compared to that of runner Jim Fixx. However, like Fixx, his family had a history of heart disease, and it is possible that his lifestyle added many years to his life.

External links

• WWDB Archive

Persondata
Name	Corea, James A.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1938
Place of birth
Date of death	March 3, 2001
Place of death