Fitness Guru Jack LaLanne Dies at 96

By PopEater / Wire Services Posted Jan 23rd 2011 11:00PM

Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died on Sunday. He was 96.

LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California's central coast, said his longtime agent Rick Hersh.

LaLanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.

"I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for," Elaine LaLanne, Lalanne's wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.

Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack Lalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image, his publicist Ariel Hankin said at the time.

LaLanne (pronounced lah-LAYN') credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform the lives of others.

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use it," LaLanne said. "Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it's never too late."

His workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to the '70s. LaLanne and his dog Happy encouraged kids to wake their mothers and drag them in front of the television set. He developed exercises that used no special equipment, just a chair and a towel.

He also founded a chain of fitness studios that bore his name. In recent years, he touted the value of raw fruits and vegetables as he helped market a machine called Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer.

When he turned 43 in 1957, he performed more than 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes on the 'You Asked For It' television show. At 60, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco -- handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat. Ten years later, he performed a similar feat in Long Beach harbor.

He maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that "I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image."

"I never think of my age, never," LaLanne said in 1990. "I could be 20 or 100. I never think about it, I'm just me. Look at Bob Hope, George Burns. They're more productive than they've ever been in their whole lives right now."

Fellow bodybuilder and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger credited LaLanne with taking exercise out of the gymnasium and into living rooms.

"He laid the groundwork for others to have exercise programs, and now it has bloomed from that black and white program into a very colorful enterprise," Schwarzenegger said in 1990.

In 1936 in his native Oakland, LaLanne opened a health studio that included weight-training for women and athletes. Those were revolutionary notions at the time, because of the theory that weight training made an athlete slow, and "muscle bound" and made a woman look masculine.

"You have to understand that it was absolutely forbidden in those days for athletes to use weights," he once said. "It just wasn't done. We had athletes who used to sneak into the studio to work out.

"It was the same with women. Back then, women weren't supposed to use weights. I guess I was a pioneer," LaLanne said.

The son of poor French immigrants, he was born in 1914 and grew up to become a sugar addict, he said.

The turning point occurred one night when he heard a lecture by pioneering nutritionist Paul Bragg, who advocated the benefits of brown rice, whole wheat and a vegetarian diet.

"He got me so enthused," LaLanne said. "After the lecture I went to his dressing room and spent an hour and a half with him. He said, 'Jack, you're a walking garbage can.'"

Soon after, LaLanne constructed a makeshift gym in his back yard. "I had all these firemen and police working out there and I kind of used them as guinea pigs," he said.

He said his own daily routine usually consisted of two hours of weightlifting and an hour in the swimming pool.

"It's a lifestyle, it's something you do the rest of your life," LaLanne said. "How long are you going to keep breathing? How long do you keep eating? You just do it."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne.

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Comments

(242)

Monday 24 January

By craig

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good bless you jack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keep on working out in the afterlife !!
just please don't drop any weights on our heads !!!!!!

By Triton

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As a small gay boy I would watch and drool over Mr Lalanne He was a hot man for a very long time!

By Jack Keshner

You will be greatly missed.You made me what i am today.

By Mitch

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Died at home??? Something's not right here... who let's their pneumonia get that bad without going to the hospital? It seems at least possible that had he gone to the doctor, he might be alive. Sometimes lack of medical fear means more than being in shape.

By roberta241

RIP You are a legend to fitness. When I was younger, home from school I watched Jack's fitness program he was very good.
I have also watched the infomercials for the juicer even during that time he was still energenic. You will never be forgotten.

By jane brown

A wonderful inspiration and example to everyone to get up and move, to eat healthy and live long. A true health and fitness icon.

By YellowRose3218

I remember Jack way back when I was a small child.
He was the man to watch on tv when it came to working out.
RIP Jack.

By Diane

We're the lucky ones, who truly remember him.
Rest In Peace, Mr. Jack LaLanne.
We'll always remember you!

Tuesday 25 January

By AJLynch

Dying will "ruin" his image??? I don't think so. As one who, admittedly hasn't lived by his standard, I believe he was a shining success. He loved his life and his mission. "Image"?? He will remain an icon in his field to all. Thank you, Mr. LaLanne! Condolences to his family and friends.

By Laura

Just goes to show,, no matter how much you exercise..your still going to die.. It is how much you enjoy life that counts.. I hope he enjoyed his life.. I think he did.. 96 is as much as anyone should expect..!!

By Michele

I think his wife confirmed that for us. She said "I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for." A happy woman makes a happy man. Elaine LaLanne, what a great name! I'm sad for her...God Bless You Elaine and RIP Jack.

By R .

Drink, smoke, snort coke, whatever...when it's your time to go, it's your time to go no matter what!

However, the difference is Lalanne lived his life with few if any ailments and supposedly hadn't been sick for his entire adult life. And when you do wrong by your body, you run the risk of being an unhealthy mess and in lots of pain before you pray for deaths sweet release. This guy felt good, lived a moral life and died in physical and spiritual peace!

By Jerry

Ah yes..The Chris Farley / John Candy / John Belushi philosophy.

By A fan

He was a great man , RIP
i am from Eastern Europe - Romania, He inspired the entire world

By SILVANUS SUTHERLAND

may he rest in peace i've watched and learn alot about juicing my condolences to his family may god bless them we all have to die ,his advice about dieting and exercising is very important...

By MotorCityMama

I loved Happy, LaLanne's white German Shepherd. What a loss.

By dee

I remember my parents used to watch his show when I was very young. Wow, what a legend. If everyone had his energy and attitude. Great man. RIP Jack.

By Sam

Rest in Peace. This man was a pioneer of his time. He was years ahead of his time by 40 years. I remember every day my mother would get a chair and in the kitchen she would do exercises with him on the television. I can even remember the exercises she would do. He made fitness, even back than, fashionable and doable. Thank you.

By charlene

"... before diet and exercise became a national obsession." If only this were true. Mr. LaLanne was less than 1% of the population. Americans with heart disease, including children, are diagnosed younger and younger every year. If exercise could replace sitting and eating garbage as a national obsession, we would all benefit. Kudos to Jack for dedicating his life to trying to set an example.

By friendlymensch

Jack started it all and appeared to be a good and decent man, not only living a healthy lifestyle, but an honorable one as well. He set a good example for all of us and in my tradition may his memory be a source of inspiration to us all.

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