Chicago chiropractor hopes Ebert's fighting spirit rubs off on him for 'Gladiators'
January 25, 2008
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
One of the next competitors on NBC's "American Gladiators" will be a Chicago chiropractor who's been helping Roger Ebert recuperate with physical training.
"He's in great shape," Dr. Mark Baker says of the Sun-Times film critic, who has had several recent cancer surgeries. "He's a fighter. When we work out in our sessions, I have to stop him sometimes and say, 'OK, we've had enough.' "
On Monday night's show, Baker dodges fire and battles gladiators with big Nerf weapons. For Baker -- a fan of the original "Gladiators" -- it was a dream come true to don the throwback tights.
"I really thought they were gonna catch up to the times, but they went back to the Spandex. And this is super tight Spandex," Baker says. "So you can see everything, and you're feeling like you're totally compressed."
I make a joke to Baker, 35, that most men would want to wear a sock inside the shorts as, um, stuffing.
"Especially once you hit that cold water," he says. "That's exactly what you're thinking: 'S---, I forgot my sock. Oh, what are they gonna say back at home?' "
Baker's wife, Mary Ann, is keeping his ego grounded.
"She used to do the dishes, and now I'm doing them," he says and laughs. "I came home and said, 'I'm a superstar now! How does it feel to be with a superstar?' And definitely, right then is when it stopped, and I started doing the dishes."
This isn't Baker's first splash in TV. After grad school, the Hammond native flew to Ireland to practice his profession and was discovered on a street by TV producers. They signed him up to briefly co-star in a "Big Brother"-ish show in Spain. He didn't do anything to embarrass himself on "The Villa," which is now playing on Fox Reality.
"Some girl was trying to sneak into my bed, and I'm kicking her out. I wanted to make for good TV for Mom to watch."
Baker moved to Chicago a few years ago and now runs his own place, Elite Health Care. A year and a half ago, he started labor-intensive recovery with Ebert.
"Roger was in a wheelchair when I first met him," Baker says. "We've got him almost running on a treadmill now.
"He's great. One of the first times that I met him, I asked him if he was capable of doing something. And he wrote back, 'You're the boss. Whatever you think I can do.' "
It was September when Baker tried out for "Gladiators" at the Windy City Fieldhouse, where other men chickened out once they heard they would have to do 20 or 30 pullups. Baker did 27.
A few months later, he was flown to L.A., where the retro show set gave him '80s flashbacks: "I was thinking Frankie Goes to Hollywood would come on."
There was a time when Baker ran for the Army's marathon team. But performing bizarro stunts on TV is way different, with all the cameras and "someone famous like Hulk Hogan or Laila Ali barking at you."
His main goal was not to look like a fool.
"It doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you aren't in a highlight video 10 years down the road, where you're the 'agony of defeat' -- if you get smashed just right and you're the only guy to go unconscious."
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic
One of the next competitors on NBC's "American Gladiators" will be a Chicago chiropractor who's been helping Roger Ebert recuperate with physical training.
"He's in great shape," Dr. Mark Baker says of the Sun-Times film critic, who has had several recent cancer surgeries. "He's a fighter. When we work out in our sessions, I have to stop him sometimes and say, 'OK, we've had enough.' "
On Monday night's show, Baker dodges fire and battles gladiators with big Nerf weapons. For Baker -- a fan of the original "Gladiators" -- it was a dream come true to don the throwback tights.
"I really thought they were gonna catch up to the times, but they went back to the Spandex. And this is super tight Spandex," Baker says. "So you can see everything, and you're feeling like you're totally compressed."
I make a joke to Baker, 35, that most men would want to wear a sock inside the shorts as, um, stuffing.
"Especially once you hit that cold water," he says. "That's exactly what you're thinking: 'S---, I forgot my sock. Oh, what are they gonna say back at home?' "
Baker's wife, Mary Ann, is keeping his ego grounded.
"She used to do the dishes, and now I'm doing them," he says and laughs. "I came home and said, 'I'm a superstar now! How does it feel to be with a superstar?' And definitely, right then is when it stopped, and I started doing the dishes."
This isn't Baker's first splash in TV. After grad school, the Hammond native flew to Ireland to practice his profession and was discovered on a street by TV producers. They signed him up to briefly co-star in a "Big Brother"-ish show in Spain. He didn't do anything to embarrass himself on "The Villa," which is now playing on Fox Reality.
"Some girl was trying to sneak into my bed, and I'm kicking her out. I wanted to make for good TV for Mom to watch."
Baker moved to Chicago a few years ago and now runs his own place, Elite Health Care. A year and a half ago, he started labor-intensive recovery with Ebert.
"Roger was in a wheelchair when I first met him," Baker says. "We've got him almost running on a treadmill now.
"He's great. One of the first times that I met him, I asked him if he was capable of doing something. And he wrote back, 'You're the boss. Whatever you think I can do.' "
It was September when Baker tried out for "Gladiators" at the Windy City Fieldhouse, where other men chickened out once they heard they would have to do 20 or 30 pullups. Baker did 27.
A few months later, he was flown to L.A., where the retro show set gave him '80s flashbacks: "I was thinking Frankie Goes to Hollywood would come on."
There was a time when Baker ran for the Army's marathon team. But performing bizarro stunts on TV is way different, with all the cameras and "someone famous like Hulk Hogan or Laila Ali barking at you."
His main goal was not to look like a fool.
"It doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you aren't in a highlight video 10 years down the road, where you're the 'agony of defeat' -- if you get smashed just right and you're the only guy to go unconscious."
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