Does that name make you think of the wonderful, terrible villain slinking into town in the movie Shane, the scary cowboy teaching Billy Crystal life lessons in City Slickers, or the flamboyant fellow doing one-armed push-ups at the Oscars? Whatever the image, there are many sides to this movie star and actor's actor that might surprise you. In addition to being a loving family man, Jack Palance is a rancher, farmer, poet, writer and painter.

"Never get bored" is a theme for Jack Palance. Obviously, in the past several years we've all seen that this man really knows how to take care of himself physically. In fact, he's turned down several requests to produce exercise videos to share his secrets. As he says, "It's so simple! All I do is a 20-minute workout and a long walk almost every day." His workout consists of floor exercises, stretching and simply moving. "It's important just to keep moving so that you exercise every joint -- the shoulder, elbow, wrist -- everything. If you just keep moving, you don't get bored." His daily 20-minute workout is followed by a long, brisk walk, often around his Kern County cattle ranch.

Though he raises cattle, Palance rarely if ever eats red meat, preferring a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and "lots of juices." In fact, when questioned about the cattle, he replied, "I'm actually starting right now to grow ostriches! They are quite tasty if prepared properly and significantly lower in fat and cholesterol than turkey or chicken."

Palance divides his time between the ranch and his busy Pennsylvania farm, located only five miles from his birthplace in the rolling Poconos.

What does this remarkably busy man do to relax? You can bet he doesn't just sit around! Palance, a journalism major in college, is a writer of poetry and fiction, as well as a serious painter, working primarily in oils. He says he paints "landscapes and lots of figures. If you only painted one thing, landscape after landscape, you'd get bored!" (Do you see the theme?)

Here is a man who is really living the balanced lifestyle that brings well-being. He keeps physically fit, is happily involved in a surprising variety of enterprises, pursues his interests and, need we say it, never gets bored. His word of wisdom for everyone, especially those approaching midlife with some concern, is: "Get started on being physically fit. It is never too soon or too late. It's simple, and when you do it, you just feel so much better, so much less tired, so much more energetic." It's pretty clear, Jack Palance is a role model for that!