Slim Goodbody still educating children

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Burstein grew up on New York’s Long Island, studied drama in college and aspired to a career in acting. He took on his persona as a health educator by pure happenstance.

In the summer of 1973 he took a job playing music for disadvantaged children aboard a boat in New York called The Floating Hospital, never imagining it might become the springboard for a career.

“I thought of it as a stepping stone, something I would do for a year or two,” said Burstein, who had been performing in restaurants on Long Island, singing original material and songs by the Weavers and Peter, Paul and Mary.

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Children aboard the boat were so delighted by the songs Burstein wrote about health that he decided to create a character to lend impact to the message. Slim Goodbody was born.

Slim Goodbody has tweaked his appearance and his routine to keep in tune with the times. He swapped his afro for a mullet, which he in turn abandoned in favor of a more conventional hair style. And he has added rap to his repertoire.

He has worked his way through about a dozen of his custom-designed body suits, which cost about $4,000 each. There have been a few changes along the way, both in background color and with added detail, such as a diaphragm and bronchial tubes.

One of Burstein’s biggest lifestyle changes came seven years ago when he and his wife Chrissy moved from their Greenwich Village apartment to a lakeside home in Lincolnville, in Maine’s midcoast region where they regularly vacationed. The development of the Internet made it possible for him to leave New York without sacrificing his career.

The couple have two sons: Devin, 27, a lawyer in New York, and Luke, 6, who is thinking about going on tour with his dad during breaks from school.

Burstein can envision a duo of “Slim Goodbody and Kid Fit,” saying “It would drive kids wild. They’d absolutely love it.”

His success with his alter ego forced Burstein to set aside his dream of becoming a Shakespearean actor, but he has no regrets. And he has no plans to retire.

“I’m in good shape. I love the work I do,” Burstein said. “As long as I keep evolving, keep changing and growing, I won’t stop.”

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