Walking shoe pioneer Bruce Katz dies at 75

A third-generation shoemaker, he built Rockport with his father and, before selling it to Reebok, campaigned to make walking a fitness movement.

Bruce Katz, who with his father founded the Rockport Shoe Company in 1971 and established walking shoes as a dynamic footwear category, has died on June 26 in Greenbrae, Calif. He was 75 years old.

His brother, Roger, said he died in hospital of complications from a fall at his Mill Valley home.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Katz developed a comfortable, casual shoe that became the foundation of Rockport's business. The company pioneered the use of features such as removable padded orthotics – or insoles, as they are also known – to provide internal comfort and structure.

"Bruce was the first person in the age of leather-soled shoes who had the foresight to understand the concept of making shoes for walking and comfort," said Robert Goldberg, president of the Manhattan retailer Harry's Shoes, in a phone interview. "From that inspiration, the whole rubber-soled shoe business really grew. 'If you were a foot, it'd make you drool.' /p>

Mr. Katz backed his walking shoes with a campaign designed to turn walking into a fitness movement. He sponsored a year-long walk, from 1984 to 1985, across the United States by a chemical engineer, Robert Sw eetgall, who wore Rockport's new Pro Walker shoe over 11,000 miles to demonstrate the cardiovascular benefits of walking. He funded scientific research on walking; distributed flyers, books and films; and has promoted events with the American Lung Association and other organizations.

"We want to be to the walk what Jane Fonda was to the aerobics," Mr. Katz told the Boston Globe in 1984. "It takes someone, regardless of motivation, to make it happen."

The campaign has drew attention to Rockport, a rapidly growing private company which in 1985 had sales of approximately $65 million. The following year, when Rockport's sales were expected to exceed $100 million, Reebok acquired it for $118.5 million.

Mr. Katz then fulfilled a longtime dream by supervising the construction of a 143-foot sailing yacht, called Juliet, which he sailed around the world. He has also invested in online businesses and software like The Well online community, which he bought in 1994, and Republic of Tea, a retailer.

Then, after 27 years away from the shoe industry, he returned, founding the Samuel Hubbard Shoe Company, which he named after his grandfather and the company he founded in the 1930s. . "Credit...C. Heyworth

Bruce Richard Katz was born February 17, 1947, in Newton, Mass. His father, Saul, was recruited by his grandfather to work at the Hubbard Shoe Company and eventually took him over. His mother, Dorothy (Golden) Katz, was a social worker who later oversaw human resources at Hubbard.

Bruce graduated from Cornell University in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in engineering physics.At that time, the Hubbard Shoe Compa...