Mitch Gaylord

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Mitchell Jay Gaylord (born March 10, 1961) is an American gymnast, actor, and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics.[1] He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team.

Early life and education

Gaylord was born in Van Nuys, California, the son of Fred and Linda Gaylord, and is Jewish.[2][3][4][5][6] Gaylord graduated from Grant High School.[7]

Gymnastics career

He made his first U.S. National team in gymnastics in 1980[8] and continued to retain his place on the team until 1984. He competed in the 1981 Maccabiah Games, winning five gold medals.[2][9] While attending UCLA as a history major[10] on scholarship,[11] he won the All-Around in the 1983 and 1984 USA Gymnastics National Championships, and the 1984 NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship.[12] He then qualified for the Olympic Games during the Olympic trials held from June 1–3, 1984 in Jacksonville Florida.[13] Two of the moves in his arsenal going into the Games were invented by and named for him—the Gaylord flip and the Gaylord II.[14]

1984 Olympic Games

In the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Gaylord led the gold-medal-winning U.S. men's gymnastics team, becoming the first American gymnast to score a perfect 10.00 in the Olympics. He also won the silver medal in vault, the bronze in parallel bars, and the bronze in the rings. In addition to his individual accolades, Gaylord led the US men's gymnastics team to a gold medal in the team competition for the first time in Olympic history.[15] The moment was heralded as a significant upset over the teams from China and Japan.[16] After the 1984 Olympics he and his fellow Olympic gymnasts went on a six-month promotional tour across the US, selling out arenas in about two dozen American cities. He also wrote his first book during this period, centering on using gymnastics exercises to train.[10] He was also named by President Ronald Reagan as a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in November 1985.[17]

Post-gymnastics career

Gaylord has appeared in several movies and TV shows. Most notably, he performed as a stunt double for Chris O'Donnell (as Robin) and the uncredited role of Mitch Grayson (Robin's older brother) in the 1995 movie Batman Forever, and played the lead in American Anthem (1986),[18] opposite actress Janet Jones. The latter movie, in which Gaylord played a gymnast training for the Olympics, has been noted as an inspiration to future generations of Olympic gymnasts.[19] He was also a frequent guest star on Hollywood Squares, and appeared in advertisements for Diet Coke, Nike, Inc., Vidal Sassoon, Soloflex, Levi Strauss & Co., and Texaco.[20][21]

Gaylord has also remained an ambassador for gymnastics, serving as a commentator for NBC and Fox Sports during televised gymnastics events, and developing several nationally televised fitness programs and products.[20][22][23]

Since retiring from acting, Gaylord has worked as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.[24] He has also been an advocate for child allergy awareness.[25]

Legacy and honors

In June 2007, Gaylord was named the seventh-best U.S. gymnast of all time by Yahoo Sports.[26] In 1990, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[27] He was also named to the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1995, the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.[28][29]

Personal life

Gaylord is married to Valentina Agius with whom he has two children.[30] He was previously married to model and actress Deborah Driggs, with whom he has three children.[31]

Eponymous skills

Gaylord has two named elements on the horizontal bar.[32][33]

Gymnastics elements named after Mitch Gaylord
Apparatus Name Description DifficultyTemplate:Efn Added to Code of Points
Horizontal bar Gaylord 1 "Salto fwd, tuck over the bar, also from el-grip." E, 0.5 1985
Gaylord 2 "Salto bwd. ½ t. piked over the bar." E, 0.5 1989

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Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1976 Logan's Run Cub Uncredited
1986 American Anthem Steve Tevere
1989 American Rickshaw Scott Edwards
1994 Sexual Outlaws Francis Badham
1995 Batman Forever N/A Stunts
1995 Mortal Kombat
1995 Savate
2005 Confessions of an Action Star Brother
2007 Jocking Around Himself Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Diff'rent Strokes Himself 1 episode
1991 The New Dragnet Roger Tolan 1 episode
1992 Animal Instincts Rod Tennison Video
1992 Vicki! Himself 1 episode
1994 Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater Rod Tennison 1 episode; archival footage
2008 Celebrity Circus Himself/Judge 6 episodes
2009, 2010 The J Report Himself 2 episodes

See also

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  3. ↑ The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports ... - Peter S. Horvitz - Google Books
  4. ↑ Jewish Sports Stars (2nd Revised Edition): Athletic Heroes Past and Present - David J. Goldman - Google Books
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". page 2A
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Biography: GAYLORD, Mitch. US Olympic Hall of Fame
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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