Billy Blanks

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title: "Billy Blanks" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1955-births", "living-people", "20th-century-christians", "21st-century-christians", "african-american-christians", "20th-century-african-american-male-actors", "american-exercise-instructors", "american-expatriates-in-japan", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-karateka", "american-male-taekwondo-practitioners", "male-actors-from-erie,-pennsylvania", "world-games-bronze-medalists-for-the-united-states", "21st-century-african-american-male-actors", "20th-century-african-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "medalists-at-the-1981-world-games"] description: "American actor, martial artist and fitness guru (b. 1955)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Blanks" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor, martial artist and fitness guru (b. 1955) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Billy Blanks
image	Billy Blanks by Gage Skidmore.jpg
caption	Blanks in 2017
birth_name	William Wayne Blanks
birth_date
birth_place	Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
occupation	Actor, martial artist, boxer, fitness personality
years_active	1981–present
spouse	{{Plainlist
* {{marriage	Gayle H. Godfrey
children	5, including Billy Jr.
module	{{Infobox martial artist
embed	yes
child	yes
martial_art
teacher
team	Atlantic World Karate (formerly)
medaltemplates
{{MedalBronze	1981 Santa Clara
::

| name = Billy Blanks | image = Billy Blanks by Gage Skidmore.jpg | caption = Blanks in 2017 | birth_name = William Wayne Blanks | birth_date = | birth_place = Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S. | occupation = Actor, martial artist, boxer, fitness personality | years_active = 1981–present | spouse = {{Plainlist|

| children = 5, including Billy Jr. | module = {{Infobox martial artist | embed = yes | child = yes | image = | image_size = | caption = | martial_art = | teacher = | team = Atlantic World Karate (formerly) | medaltemplates =

William Wayne Blanks (born September 1, 1955) is an American actor, martial artist, and fitness personality. He was a nationally ranked competitor in semi-contact and point karate during the 1980s, winning a bronze medal at the 1981 World Games, before creating the Tae Bo exercise program.

Early life and education

Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He began his study of the martial arts at the age of eleven, attending Karate and Taekwondo classes. He was born with an anomaly in his hip joints that impaired his movement. The resulting clumsiness aroused taunts from Blanks' siblings and led his instructors to believe that he would never accomplish much. Blanks found the answer to these challenges in karate. When he saw Bruce Lee on TV, he decided he wanted to be a world martial-arts champion.

Martial arts

Blanks holds black belt ranks in taekwondo (7th dan) and karate (5th dan), and a black sash in Hung Ga kung fu (under Sifu Wong Ting-fong).

During the 1980s, Blanks was a top competitor on the point competition, semi-contact, and sport karate circuits, notably against Steve Anderson. He finished in 3rd place at the World Union of Karate-do Organizations (WUKO) World Championship in the Male Kumite category in 1980. He represented the United States at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara, California, and won a bronze medal in the Men's Kumite Open (Heavyweight). He was Karate Illustrated magazine's National Champion and Rookie of the Year for 1983.

Blanks was an early member of USA Karate, the precursor to USA National Karate-do Federation, after it broke away from the Amateur Athletic Union. He also was a member of Chuck Merriman's Atlantic World Karate Team with Anderson.

Career

Blanks was hired as a bodyguard for lead actress Catherine Bach during the filming of 1988's Driving Force, which was filmed in Manila during a time of political unrest. Blanks impressed the producers and was written into the script in a supporting role. This led to Blanks' work in several martial arts films, including King of the Kickboxers and Bloodfist. Blanks also appeared in the opening scene of Tony Scott's The Last Boy Scout, where he plays a doomed pro-football player. Blanks played Ashley Judd's kickboxing instructor in *Kiss the Girls (*1997).

In the late 1980s, Blanks developed the Tae Bo workout, while running a karate studio in Quincy, Massachusetts. He used components of his martial arts and boxing training. The name is a portmanteau of tae (as in taekwondo) and bo (as in boxing). Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul, and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. He sold over 1.5 million VHS tapes in his first year, and is reported to have grossed between $80 million and $130 million in sales.

Personal life

Blanks is a Christian and released a special line of Tae Bo workouts called the "Believer's" series that includes motivational prayers and other Christian components. He has appeared on the Christian television network TBN. He attended Crenshaw Christian Center.

In 1974, Blanks married Gayle H. Godfrey, whom he met in karate class. Shortly after the marriage, he adopted Gayle's daughter, Shellie, who was born in 1973. Shellie Blanks Cimarosti, a martial artist, is prominently featured in many Tae Bo videos. Shellie has also produced her own video called Tae Bo Postnatal Power, as well as hosted her father's new infomercial Tae Bo T3 (Total Transformation Training). Gayle and Blanks also have a son, Billy Blanks Jr., who works as a fitness instructor. Blanks Jr. produced several best-selling DVDs, including Cardioke and Fat Burning Hip Hop Mix. He has also starred in a touring production of the musical Fame, and has worked as a dancer in music videos with Madonna, Quincy Jones and Paula Abdul.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Tomoko_Sato_&Billy_Blanks(33480896126).jpg" caption="Tomoko Sato (left) and Blanks in 2017"] ::

Blanks and Godfrey divorced in 2008 after 33 years of marriage. Godfrey filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

In November 2008, Blanks became the father of a new daughter, named Angelika. The mother is Tomoko Sato, whom Blanks met in 2007 when she worked as his Japanese interpreter. Blanks and Sato's marriage was formally registered in January 2009 and their wedding ceremony was held on June 20, 2009. He relocated to Japan in 2009.

Filmography

Film

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/020111-N-1523T-001_Fitness_aboard_Ship.jpg" caption="6}} in January 2002"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/US_Navy_060407-N-5686B-002_Billy_Blanks,_creator_of_Tae_Bo,_instructs_a_class_at_Commander,_Fleet_Activities_Yokosuka_Japan's_Fleet_Recreation_Center_for_active_duty_personnel_stationed_in_the_area.jpg" caption="Blanks in US Military Base in [[Yokosuka, Japan]], in April 2006"] ::

::data[format=table title="Film performances"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1986	1988	1989	1989	1990	1990	1990	1991	1991	1992	1992	1992	1993	1993	1993	1994	1995	1995	1996	1997	2007	2011	2017	2024
**
**
**
''{{sortname	Bloodfist	}}''
**
**
**
**
**	Mr. Brown
**	Billy
**	Tyler Wilson
The Master	Black Thug
Showdown	Billy Grant
TC 2000	Jason Storm
Back in Action	Billy
A Dangerous Place
Expect No Mercy	Agent Justin Vanier
Tough and Deadly	John Portland
Balance of Power	Niko
Kiss the Girls	Kickboxing Instructor
Dance Club: The Movie	Dance Club Dancer	Short film
Jack and Jill	Himself	Cameo role; Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble
The Clapper	Cameo role
The Last Kumite	Loren
::

Television

::data[format=table title="Television performances"]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1987	1989	1992	1994	1996	1997	1998	1999	1999	1999	2003
Spenser: For Hire	Man Fighting On The Street	Episode: "Heart of the Matter";
Kids Incorporated	Billy	Episode: "Karate Kids"
Street Justice	Tsiet Na Champion	Episode: "Circle of Death"
Sister, Sister	Driver	Episode: "Love Strikes"
Muppets Tonight	Dancing Muppet	Episode: "Paula Abdul"
Assault on Devil's Island	Creagan
ER	Kickboxing Instructor	Episode: "The Storm (Part I)"
Sunset Beach	Billy	Episodes: "605, 606";
The Parkers	Himself	Episode: "Taking Tae-Bo with My Beau"
Special guest star
Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Episode: "Prelude to a Kiss"
Special guest star
The Fairly OddParents	Episode: "Kung Timmy"
Special guest voice
::

Music video

::data[format=table title="Music video performances"]

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Refs.	2022
"Light Switch"	Charlie Puth	Tae Bo Instructor
::

References

References

1. (2022-11-11). "Billy Blanks".
2. (2022-04-15). "Atlantic World Karate Team".
3. "Result history of The World Games {{!}} IWGA".
4. "Steve Nasty Anderson Remembers the Decade He Spent on Top of Sport Karate - Black Belt Magazine".
5. (2022-07-30). "NASKA National Ratings 1987".
6. (September 26, 2002). "Blanks' life not letter perfect". [[CNN]].
7. Green, Penelope. (March 21, 1999). "MIRROR, MIRROR; Punching and Kicking All the Way to the Bank". The New York Times.
8. Doyle, Alicia. (November 4, 1994). "A New Exercise Kick". Los Angeles Times.
9. "On Top of the World". [[Inside Kung Fu]].
10. "Billy Blanks: From tough-town beginnings to "putting on the power"". GAIM.
11. "Billy Blanks: Get Fit the Tae Bo Way! - The 700 Club". The Christian Broadcasting Network.
12. "Results - World Championships Senior {{!}} WKF".
13. "MA-Mags - Magazines".
14. Hickey, Patrick. (Winter 2014). "Recognizing the Olympic Karate Effort of the 1980s and 1990s".
15. (2022-04-15). "Atlantic World Karate Team".
16. Beck, Marilyn. (October 17, 1988). "To Protect and Serve". Herald-Journal.
17. [https://www.tvguide.com/movies/kiss-the-girls/cast/2030120632/ Kiss the Girls - Full Cast & Crew - TV Guide]
18. Gardetta, Dave. (August 15, 1999). "Elvis Has Just Entered the Building". [[Los Angeles Times]].
19. Vitucci, Claire. (December 8, 1997). "Kick-Boxing Craze: A new form of aerobic exercise has...". [[Los Angeles Times]].
20. [http://madamenoire.com/105948/7-black-body-trainers-capitalizing-on-the-17-billion-fitness-market/ 7 Black Body Trainers Capitalizing On The $17 Billion Fitness Market]
21. Jack Dickey (2015)[https://www.si.com/edge/2016/07/05/billy-blanks-tae-bo-workout-tapes-fitness Tae Bo's creator Billy Blanks teaches to smaller audience with equal fervor] ''Sports Illustrated'', accessed December 30, 2016
22. "Billy Blanks". Trinity Broadcasting Network.
23. Cuneo, Kevin. (January 12, 2012). "Fitness runs in the family for Blanks". [[Erie Times-News]].
24. Castagna, Cary. "Dancing your way to Keeping Fit". [[Sun Media Corporation]].
25. Christian, Margena A.. (January 28, 2008). "Where is the cast of Good Times?". [[Johnson Publishing Company]].
26. Ortega, Courtney. (December 16, 2011). "Reviews: 'Fat Burning Hip Hop Mix' and 'Dance Off the Inches' workout DVDs". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
27. (December 4, 2010). "Bluff The Listener". [[National Public Radio]].
28. (April 23, 2008). "Billy Blanks' Wife Kickboxes Him to the Curb".
29. (April 16, 2009). "Billy Blanks and his Japanese wife". JapanProbe.com.

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