Do you know who Chuck Rapoport is? Here's a link to his website and you could spend hours and hours just looking through Chuck's beautiful work, he's captured a good bit of what's great about our culture and it's there, for all to enjoy, on his website. Here's the link: http://www.rapo.com/icrgallery/gallery_frames.htm
Chuck is one of those lucky people who got to spend time with Joe Pilates. We all know that Ron, Lolita, Mary, Kathy and Romana all spent time with Joe & Clara but there are so many others who also had the privilege. In Chuck's case, spending time with Joe was even more special because Chuck got all of one day with Joe. Just one day. But what a day it was.
Chuck is the famous photographer who was sent out by Sports Illustrated to shoot a story about Joe & Clara's studio and not only did his pictures of the studio run wth the 1961 article, Chuck has also put together a collector's item of a book featuring every single picture he took that day. I bought one a few years ago and it is one of my prized possessions. I treasure it just as much as the original marketing materials that I have from Joe & Clara's studio.
Chuck is an important legacy-holder in our industry, he saw Joe toward the end of Joe's life and as a non-Pilates person he had a fresh perspective on who Joe was and how Joe operated. Chuck went through tremendous hell just to reclaim his rights to his own photographs of Joe and for that and for so many other wonderful reasons he's invaluable to our industry. Bonus: Chuck is a dear sweet soul!
If you ever ever have a chance to meet Chuck, just shut up and wait patiently in what will undoubtedly be a very long line, get out your credit card and buy that book and whatever else Chuck is selling. Chuck is great. His book is great. Joe is great. Joe is in Chuck's book. You're great!
I first met Chuck at a Pilates Style conference in New York a few years ago. He and his lovely wife were at a booth in the expo hall, signing posters and selling those beautiful photograph books. He was at the PMA conference in November down in Phoenix and I was honored that he attended my workshop at PMA. We had about 20 minutes at the end of my workshop where everyone could come up to the front of the room and take a look at my historical materials, visit, make connections and hug and kiss.
During that "cocktail hour without the cocktails," Chuck told us this Joe story.
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