America is getting a fresh look at the relationship between Robert Kardashian and his former wife, Kris Jenner, in “The People vs. O.J. Simpson,” which features David Schwimmer and Selma Blair as the star-crossed parents of Kim, Khloe and the whole Kardashian brood.
But long before Kim Kardashian’s nude selfie, her mother and stepdad — the future Caitlyn Jenner — were taking part in a different kind of exhibitionism. And author Jeffrey Toobin said it may have haunted Robert Kardashian.
In “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” Schwimmer plays Kardashian as a man who didn’t seek fame and warned his children not to chase it or overvalue it.
But Toobin’s “The Run of His Life,” the book on which “The People v. O.J. Simpson” is based, suggests that Robert Kardashian perhaps did desire recognition — and that he may have tried to share O.J. Simpson’s ghastly spotlight out of jealousy over an infomercial starring his ex-wife and Bruce Jenner.
From “The Run of His Life”:
Kardashian’s divorce from Kristen pained him, especially because she left him for Bruce Jenner, the former Olympic decathlon champion. Jenner and Kristen later married, and at the time of the murders they were starring in a frequently played infomercial for a thigh-exercising device. According to a close associate of Kardashian’s, “It bothered him that she was on TV all the time with the Thighmaster. This case was his way to step over them. This was better than infomercials.”
Too much time scouring YouTube failed to unearth the “Thighmaster” infomercial in question. But it appears possible that Toobin’s source was thinking of another infomercial for another fitness product the Jenners peddled: the Stair Climber Plus.
If the Stair Climber Plus ad was the infomercial referenced in Toobin’s book, you can see how it might drive a man to madness. Kris rocks a one-piece that is modest, by Kardashian standards, but is the peak of ’90s workout fashion. Bruce somewhat braggingly notes that Kris is “lighter, trimmer, and, might I add, very toned.”
An aside: “Breaking Bad” fans will recognize the Stair Climber Plus as strikingly similar to the depressing piece of fitness equipment Walter White uses in the first episode. Of course, Walt used a Lillian Vernon stair-stepper, as the pilot script informs us:
Perhaps if Walt had gone with the Stair Climber Plus, he would have been a happier person and lots of bad things on “Breaking Bad” could have been avoided.
The Stair Master Plus was not the only piece of workout equipment the Jenners demonstrated together: Last year, Khloe Kardashian shared an old video of the couple advertising a treadmill.
Robert Kardashian, unfortunately, can’t tell us if an infomercial prompted him to stand by his pal O.J. Simpson’s side. He stepped off this mortal coil in 2003.