Judy Mazel, 63, Diet Book Author

Judy Mazel, longtime Pacific Palisades resident and author of the 1981 best selling diet book “The Beverly Hills Diet,” has passed away October 12 of complications from peripheral vascular disease. She was 63. In May 24, 1981 ”The Beverly Hills Diet” made its debut on the New York Times bestseller list in the number-four nonfiction spot. It continued to be in the top 10 on the bestsellers list for 28 weeks through December 13, 1981. It sold over a million copies and went to a 10th printing by publisher Macmillan Press. She went on to write a number of books including ‘The New Beverly Hills Diet,’ ‘Recipes to Forever,’ ‘Slim and Fit Kids: Raising Healthy Children in a Fast-Food World.’ In addition she served as a diet consultant to people around the world helping them get in touch with their skinny selves via her ClubSlim and CyberSkinny Internet site. Born in Chicago in 1943, Mazel was the youngest of three daughters and the only fat person in a family of skinnies. She went to California as a young woman eager to become an actress. Her first role was in the 1977 comedy “Can I Do It ‘Till I Need Glasses?” where she appeared as herself. As she struggled to gain attention as an actress, she made it her mission to maintain her petite frame and proportionate weight. Availing herself of diet pills, thyroid medication, diuretics, mood changers, and cigarettes in a futile attempt to get thin, she was hospitalized and pronounced “incurably fat.” As she experimented with weight-loss techniques, she drastically reduced her weight from 180 pounds to 108 pounds and began her life’s mission to help other people keep trim. In 2004 she was an honored guest at the opening of the Palisades Branch Library as one of the Pacific Palisades authors. Mazel is survived by her sisters Carol Friduss of Chicago and Ann (husband Melvin) Manaster of La Jolla. As a long-time devotee and volunteer at the Self-Realization Lake Shrine, Mazel was honored at a memorial service at the Lake Shrine Windmill Chapel.