Dan Lurie was a bodybuilding and physical fitness pioneer who also became a television personality in the early years of the medium.

 Although he was born with a heart murmur, and some doctors thought he might lived past age five, Lurie finished second in the 1942 Amateur Athletic Union Mr. America contest, when he was 19. He went on to win the title of America’s Most Muscular Man four times by 1949.

 In the ’50s, Lurie appeared as the Strongman in the circus-themed TV series Big Top, one of CBS’s first color programs. On the show, he performed weight lifting stunts and promoted dairy products made by the show’s sponsor, Sealtest. He also appeared in the sci-fi adventure series Captain Video as the Mighty Rewop.

 In addition, he founded the World Body Building Guild, a promotional organization that staged competitions and gave awards to celebrities.

 Lurie died November 6, 2013, in Roslyn, New York. He was 90.