Fitness guru Jack LaLanne, 96, dies at Calif. home

[onehandle]

Source: AP

MORRO BAY, Calif. – Fitness guru Jack LaLanne (lah-LAYN'), who inspired television viewers to trim down and pump iron decades before exercise became a national obsession, has died at age 96. His agent, Rick Hersh, says LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California's central coast. Hersh says Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end.

LaLanne credited fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked over the next eight decades to transform others' lives, too. He said, "The only way you can hurt the body is not use it." LaLanne's workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to '70s. He maintained a youthful physique into his 80s.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110124/ap_on_sp_ot/us_obit_jack_lalanne_1

[Sanity Claws]

1. that's a good long life

RIP, Jack. Remember to get the angels in shape.

[virgogal]

2. RIP,Jack.

[deacon]

3. Amazing guy. :( n/t

[stevedeshazer]

4. That guy was a stud.

I respected him for his TV show. It was, in retrospect, ahead of its time.

96 ain't bad.

[Gregorian]

5. NO!!!! A great man.

I had been reading up on him lately. He looked so good just a couple of years ago. But this was the year he started looking old.

What a loss. A true piece of history. Him and his dog, exercising on that little black and white tube when I was a child.

We'll miss you!

[Trajan]

6. I remember switching TV channels as a child ...

and stopping to watch this V shaped man enthusiastically count out each jumping jack, sit up and push up ... LONG before fitness was cool ....

RIP old/young man ....

[freshwest]

18. Yeah, me too. He was an inspiration.

[TuxedoKat]

31. Yeah, me too

my mom and I used to exercise with him. RIP Jack.

[AnneD]

70. Those are some of my fondest memories...

Mom yeah pregnant barely able to get off the floor, let alone touching her hand to her feet, and limber me, touching my toes to my ears practically. What was his dogs name-Storm?

[AnneD]

79. Just looked it up....

The dog's name was Happy. Seems that Jack could only afford cheap programing time aka morning time slot. He taught his dog to do a few tricks to get the kids' attention, hoping the kids would want to watch the show and hoping their parents would join in. It was a simple marketing success. Kids threw fits to have them turn it on Jack LaLanne. Now that I think of it, he always did address the 'boys and girls'.

I liked his integrity. He believed what he said and he was so enthusiastic. He was way ahead of his time.

[calimary]

40. God I remember that, too. And I remembered his V-shape, also.

And he wore stirrup pants and what looked like these black ballet shoes or simple exercise shoes of some sort. He was tireless. I always wanted to try Jack LaLanne Bread, too, but my mom always bought Wonderbread.

[somone]

7. Incredible guy. R.I.P.

[mistertrickster]

8. I always liked that guy. nt

[edbermac]

9. George Burns smoked 10-15 cigars a day and live to be 100.

Figure that one out.

RIP

[Mendocino]

13. I had a cousin that smoked cigars

daily, he died at 56. Go figure.

[HughBeaumont]

57. My grandma smoked 2 packs a day since the age of 16 and died when she was 49.

She didn't even get to live her life. I was only 7 when it happened.

Of course, some good did come out of that experience. I never even tried anything smokeable after that.

[catchnrelease]

10. Always a charmer

About 4 years ago several friends and I were eating in a restaurant in Morro Bay. Jack and his wife came in, apparently they were regulars at this place, and he was greeting everyone. Stopping to chat at tables, even kissed the hand of one lady. It was really cute, even in his ninety's he was working the room. I clearly remember watching him as my mom exercised with his program, he did the workouts and his white German Shepherd wandered around the set. A good guy.

[pacalo]

11. Great story -- thanks for sharing it. :)

[Ilsa]

12. RIP, Jack! He was a great man, IMO. nt

[Faygo Kid]

14. Another Boomer icon gone.

I have memories of watching him in his black outfit on a flickering black and white TV.

Goodbye, Jack. And thanks.

[Dappleganger]

15. What a legend.

I always admired his positive attitude. RIP.

[wisteria]

16. I am sorry to hear this. He was still going strong recently. He had infomercials on for his juicer.

May he find eternal peace and rest.

[Raschel]

44. How cool though to live that long and still be in good shape and active.

They said he exercised right to the end.

I see elderly people who can barely walk up their sidewalks.

A doctor once told me that pneumonia was called a friend to the elderly because they just slip away.

[Bombero1956]

17. RIP Jack

He'll probably tell St. Peter he's out of shape. I remember watching his show when I was a kid. His dog Happy was always wandering around during his workouts. I remember the organist holding the notes when he'd ask people to inhale and exhale.

[Myshadow]

27. Bombero x 2

'He'll probably tell St. Peter he's out of shape.'


I always liked him...I think he was that way for most everybody.

RIP Jack and thank you for being here

[WheelWalker]

19. Another turning of the wheel.

[decidedlyso]

20. I saw him tow a ship with his teeth in Long Beach Harbor years

ago. He was a good guy.

[Owl]

21. A wonderful man and beautiful inspiration for a full life; RIP dearest Jack.

- Owl

[glinda]

22. Wow. RIP.

[Alexander]

23. RIP Jack LaLanne. He always looked much younger than he was.

[Skittles]

24. he was awesome

I soaked up some of his advice when I was a kid and it always stayed with me

[GReedDiamond]

25. Goodbye Jack and Safe Passage...

..to that Big Gym in The Sky (and this from an atheist).

His TV show is one of my earliest TV memories...

[valerief]

26. I loved watching that guy and his big white dog on teevee when I was a kid.

He knew how to do it right!

[MilesColtrane]

62. Happy, the German Sheperd.

On the left, along with Smiley, and Walter

[postulater]

28. Good guy. Started out as a chiropractor.

[FourScore]

29. I loved that guy. Is his wife still alive? n/t

[somone]

41. Yes:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJDMA_e-Cn_u5dKfcR6F8rZZpoNw?docId=6d9191a19531432382ce0aa42604acdb

"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...

[Systematic Chaos]

30. Pneumonia, of all things. Ain't that just a royal bitch??

I was expecting something more like just drifting away in his sleep at 112.

Sorry to see him gone. He was a great guy with a great message.

[catchnrelease]

43. Pneumonia...

When I told my husband that JL had died of pneumonia, he joked that he probably caught it while out pulling barges in the bay. RIP Jack.

[Bobbysox22]

81. ...is the Old Man's Friend.

[Lorien]

78. I think that's what he was expecting too. :-(

[silenttigersong]

32. My Grandmother

outlived him and she was nut a health fitness nut lol RIP

[Frank Cannon]

37. Did your grandmother tow ships in the San Francisco bay with her teeth?

Dude was a total boss, no matter how you look at it.

RIP, Jack. You had a long, healthy, good life.

[silenttigersong]

38. LOL

no she lost all her teeth at an early age and could not afford dentures.

[PSPS]

33. Man, talk about an icon.

This guy was literally the founder of TV exercise shows. The comments above all show how he was universally known and admired. Here's a trip down memory lane for you:

[snappyturtle]

36. Hey, thanks for the great pictures....he was an icon! nt

[ChazII]

RIP Mr. LaLanne n/t

[Ohio Joe]

34. RIP - nt

[customerserviceguy]

35. Jack, I lift a glass in salute to you tonight

But sorry, it's microbrew, not carrot juice.

[OnyxCollie]

39. Aww.

I watched his juicer infomercial the other day.

R.I.P.

[DirkGently]

69. Can't help remembering the "Juice Weasel" sketch at this moment. Go in peace, Jack.

[MrsBrady]

42. freaking pneumonia

that's really sad.

I wonder if he was sick for a while, or if it came on suddenly.

[avaistheone1]

53. He had some kind of heart surgery a year or two ago -

I think that took a lot out of him.

It's particularly rough to go through that kind of surgery in your 90s.

[emilyg]

45. RIP

[sce56]

46. I was just talking about that guy a few weeks ago or less on how he was still alive and kicking!

and how his workouts kept him alive so long! I'm getting real long in the teeth!

[The abyss]

47. A true icon of Americana

[sellitman]

48. I just knew all that exercise would eventually catch up to him.

RIP Sir!

[GETPLANING]

49. A great man

with a good heart. RIP

[underseasurveyor]

50. Bye Jack :-(

Thanks for all your good work and advice.

Gonna miss having you around.

[rpannier]

51. 96 and he was probably still in better physical condition than I am

I remember him swimming the San Francisco Bay on his birthday every year when I lived there

[avaistheone1]

54. He was probably in better physical condition than most Americans period.

[Curtis]

52. Sad news

I started using refernces to if Jack Lalane can do it, I can and if Jack can be fit this late in his life and on and on after I hada stroke this past October. Guess I need a new comparison.

RIP Jack

[KT2000]

55. your post make me realize

that generations prior to Jack LaLane probably went through life without even thinking of exercise. I think he instilled in so many people the necessity of exercise. Prior generations probably never had the guilts for not exercising either.
He can still be your inspiration - he wanted the best for everyone.

[DarthDem]

56. Aw, RIP

Fantastic guy and so inspirational.

[4dsc]

58. Claimed he never ate anything that came from a cow too

RIP.

[SpiralHawk]

61. "Bullshit. Cow manure enriched the soil that grew his veggies." - Bessie

[niceypoo]

59. This guy had a huge influence on me over the years

Seeing this headline on DU made me flinch. In my mind he would never die. I am close to tears.

RIP dude

[BumRushDaShow]

60. R.I.P. - king of the Jumping Jacks

I remember his morning exercise show as a kid and following along.

He was one of a kind.

R.I.P. and your legacy will not be forgotten!

[tclambert]

63. Fingertip pushups!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVfe-crHDs

I love that his set was a carpet, a curtain, a chair, and a sleepy white dog.

[DemReadingDU]

67. great classic video

:)

[Swagman]

64. Wow ! 96 ! Jack was obviously right

[Crowman1979]

65. I read somewhere that he beat Arnold Schwarznegger in a push-up competition back in the late 1970's.

Wish I was there to see that! R.I.P.

[dotymed]

66. R I P Jack,

I remember your show well. The original one ;(

[lonestarnot]

68. ah yes years, they kill all of us eventually.

[caveat_imperator]

75. That's why

we all have to work on making our years good ones.

[sofa king]

83. Speaking of years, I did a little math.

If LaLane exercised for two hours a day, every day, which seems to be a low estimate, from the time he was 20 to his death at 96, it means he worked out for six years of his life.

And that six years of effort paid off in spades, buying him at least two decades of healthy and functional life beyond a normal expected life span for a male.

Dude, I gotta go do some pushups.

[bikebloke]

71. We always pronouced his name Jack a Laine.

I remember my mother exercising with him on TV in black & white with rabbit ear shadows. But she was lazy and quit - I heard she went obese in later life. He must have had a subconscious influence on me, since I've been a lifetime exerciser.

[dsharp88]

72. According to Rush Limbaugh, LaLanne was a big fan of his.

Could be just Limbaugh bloviating, but maybe LaLanne was a big Republican supporter.

Still, you have to admire what LaLanne represented among fitness enthusiasts and trainers. He got Americans moving.

[AnneD]

80. And Rush...

is a legend in his own mind. :eyes:

[RedCloud]

73. Anybody want a partially used Lalanne Juicer?

I remember working out with him and using grandma's chairs when we were kids.

[dsharp88]

86. If you're serious, hell yes.

[e-mail] to email me.

[colorado_ufo]

74. Jack was genuine.

No phony, the real deal. That's why everyone loved him!

[Joey Liberal]

76. RIP JacK LaLanne

I used to watch his fitness show in black & white when I was a kid. Great dude.

[CountAllVotes]

77. oh how sad :(

I remember you very well Jack LaLanne. My mother used to watch you in the mornings, but, she failed to follow along with you and those exercises. }(

May you rest in peace and may your wife Elaine LaLanne's grief be lessened with each day that passes.

How I remember the two of you together ...



:kick: & recommend.

[Tutankhamun]

82. He was awesome. A personal hero of mine.

[DinahMoeHum]

84. "If man made it. . .don't eat it" - JLL

http://www.iatp.org/FASPF/publications.cfm?refID=79400

also quoted in the book Hope's Edge (by Frances Moore/Anna Lappe)

http://www.smallplanetinstitute.org/

[slackmaster]

85. He was already in his late 40s when I watched his show on TV as a child

He looked like a tough old man to me, as he did for the rest of his life.