Jack LaLanne
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Francois Henri LaLanne (; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011) was an American fitness and nutrition guru and
motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...
. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "
junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from sugar and/or fat, and possibly also sodium, but with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value. It is also known as ...
junkie" until he was aged 15. He also had behavioral problems, but "turned his life around" after listening to a public lecture about the benefits of good nutrition by health food pioneer
Paul Bragg Paul Chappuis Bragg (February 6, 1895 – December 7, 1976) was an American alternative health food advocate and fitness enthusiast. Bragg's mentor was Bernarr Macfadden. He wrote on subjects such as Detoxification (alternative medicine), die ...
. During his career, he came to believe that the country's overall health depended on the health of its population, and referred to
physical culture Physical culture, also known as Body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...
and nutrition as "the salvation of America." Decades before health and fitness began being promoted by celebrities like Jane Fonda and
Richard Simmons Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is an American fitness personality and public figure, known for his eccentric, flamboyant, and energetic personality. He has promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his ''Swe ...
, LaLanne was already widely recognized for publicly preaching the health benefits of regular exercise and a good diet. He published numerous books on fitness and hosted the fitness television program ''
The Jack LaLanne Show ''The Jack LaLanne Show'' was an American exercise television show hosted by Jack LaLanne that ran from 1951 to 1985. Background Beginning in 1951, the program was broadcast locally on KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licen ...
'' from 1951 to 1985. As early as 1936, at the age of 21, he opened one of the nation's first fitness gyms in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, which became a prototype for dozens of similar gyms bearing his name. One of his 1950s television exercise programs was aimed toward women, whom he also encouraged to join his health clubs. He invented a number of exercise machines, including the pulley and
leg extension The leg extension is a resistance weight training exercise that targets the quadriceps muscle (m. quadriceps femoris) in the legs. The exercise is done using a machine called the Leg Extension Machine. There are various manufacturers of these mach ...
devices and the
Smith machine The Smith machine is a weight machine used for weight training. It consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Some Smith machines have the barbell counterbalanced. The machine can be us ...
. Besides producing his own series of videos, he coached the elderly and disabled not to forgo exercise, believing it would enable them to enhance their strength. LaLanne also gained recognition for his success as a
bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...
, as well as for his prodigious feats of strength.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
once exclaimed "That Jack LaLanne's an animal!" after a 54-year-old LaLanne beat then 21-year-old Schwarzenegger in an informal contest. On the occasion of LaLanne's death, Schwarzenegger credited LaLanne for being "an apostle for fitness" by inspiring "billions all over the world to live healthier lives,""Schwarzenegger calls LaLanne 'most energetic man in the room
, KSBY.com, 24 January 2011
and, as
governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
, had earlier placed him on his Governor's Council on Physical Fitness. Steve Reeves credited LaLanne as his inspiration to build his muscular physique while keeping a slim waist. LaLanne was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
.


Early life

LaLanne was born in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, the son of Jennie (''née'' Garaig; 1882–1973) and Jean/John LaLanne (1881–1939), French immigrants from
Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; oc, Auloron e Senta Maria; eu, Oloroe-Donamaria) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), southwestern France. History The town was founded by the ...
. Both entered the U.S. in the 1880s as young children at the
Port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...
. LaLanne had two older brothers, Ervil, who died in childhood (1906–1911), and Norman (1908–2005), who nicknamed him "Jack." He grew up in
Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
and later moved with his family to
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
circa 1928. In 1939, his father died at the age of 58 in a San Francisco hospital, which LaLanne attributed to "coronary thrombosis and
cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...
of the liver." In his book ''The Jack LaLanne Way to Vibrant Health'', LaLanne wrote that as a boy he was addicted to sugar and junk food. He had violent episodes directed against himself and others, describing himself as "a miserable kid ... it was like hell." Besides having a bad temper, LaLanne also suffered from headaches and
bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...
, and temporarily dropped out of high school at the age of 14. The following year, aged 15, he heard
health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A health ...
pioneer
Paul Bragg Paul Chappuis Bragg (February 6, 1895 – December 7, 1976) was an American alternative health food advocate and fitness enthusiast. Bragg's mentor was Bernarr Macfadden. He wrote on subjects such as Detoxification (alternative medicine), die ...
give a talk on health and nutrition, focusing on the "evils of meat and sugar."''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'' vol. 3, St. James Press (2000) pp. 81-83 Bragg's message had a powerful influence on LaLanne, who then changed his life and started focusing on his diet and exercise. In his own words, he was "born again," and besides his new focus on nutrition, he began working out daily (although while serving during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as a Pharmacist Mate First Class at the Sun Valley Naval Convalescent Hospital, LaLanne stated that he started in bodybuilding at "age 13"). Describing his change of diet, LaLanne stated, "I had to take my lunch alone to the football field to eat so no one would see me eat my raw veggies, whole bread, raisins and nuts. You don't know the crap I went through.""Jack La LanneA Berkeley (not Oakland) Original"
''Berkeley Daily Planet'', 25 January 2011
Writer Hal Reynolds, who interviewed LaLanne in 2008, notes that he became an avid swimmer and trained with weights; he described his introduction to weight lifting thus: LaLanne went back to school, where he made the high school football team, and later went on to college in San Francisco where he earned a
Doctor of Chiropractic Chiropractic education trains students in chiropractic. The entry criteria, structure, teaching methodology and nature of chiropractic programs offered at chiropractic schools vary considerably around the world. Students are trained in academic ar ...
degree. He studied Henry Gray's ''Anatomy of the Human Body'' and concentrated on
bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
and
weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...
.


Fitness career


Health clubs

In 1936, he opened the nation's first health and fitness club in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, where he offered supervised weight and exercise training and gave nutritional advice. His primary goal was to encourage and motivate his clients to improve their overall health. Doctors, however, advised their patients to stay away from his health club, a business totally unheard of at the time, and warned their patients that "LaLanne was an exercise 'nut,' whose programs would make them 'muscle-bound' and cause severe medical problems." LaLanne recalls the initial reaction of doctors to his promotion of weight-lifting: LaLanne designed the first leg extension machines, pulley machines using cables, and the weight selectors that are now standard in the fitness industry. He invented the original model of what became the
Smith machine The Smith machine is a weight machine used for weight training. It consists of a barbell that is fixed within steel rails allowing only vertical or near-vertical movement. Some Smith machines have the barbell counterbalanced. The machine can be us ...
. LaLanne encouraged women to lift weights (though at the time it was thought this would make women look masculine and unattractive). By the 1980s, Jack LaLanne's European Health Spas numbered more than 200. He eventually licensed all his health clubs to the Bally company, now known as
Bally Total Fitness Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation was an American fitness club chain. At its 2007 peak, prior to the filing of the first of two Chapter 11 bankruptcies, Bally operated nearly 440 facilities located in 29 U.S. states, Mexico, Canada, South K ...
. Though not associated with any gym, LaLanne continued to lift weights until his death. LaLanne's gym ownership led to a brief
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
career in 1938. Wrestlers were among the few athletes who embraced weight training, and they frequented his health club. LaLanne wrestled in the
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
for only a few months. He was well respected enough that he was booked to wrestle to a draw against some big name opponents rather than lose, despite his lack of experience. According to Ad Santel's grandson David Ad Santel, LaLanne wanted to be a champion from the start, but did not have the wrestling skills to do so. LaLanne was also friendly with such performers as
Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...
and Strangler Lewis.


Books, television and other media

LaLanne presented fitness and exercise advice on television for 34 years. ''
The Jack LaLanne Show ''The Jack LaLanne Show'' was an American exercise television show hosted by Jack LaLanne that ran from 1951 to 1985. Background Beginning in 1951, the program was broadcast locally on KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licen ...
'' was the longest-running television exercise program. According to the SF Chronicle TV program archives, it first began on 28 September 1953 as a 15-minute local morning program (sandwiched between the morning news and a cooking show) on San Francisco's
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
television station,
KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...
, with LaLanne paying for the airtime himself as a way to promote his gym and related health products. LaLanne also met his wife Elaine while she was working for the local station. In 1959, the show was picked up for nationwide syndication, and continued until 1985. The show was noted for its minimalist set, where LaLanne inspired his viewers to use basic home objects, such as a chair, to perform their exercises along with him. Wearing his standard jumpsuit, he urged his audience "with the enthusiasm of an evangelist," to get off their couch and copy his basic movements, a manner considered the forerunner of today's fitness videos. In 1959, LaLanne recorded ''Glamour Stretcher Time'', a workout album that provided
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
-based instruction for exercising with an elastic cord called the Glamour Stretcher. As a daytime show, much of LaLanne's audience were stay-at-home mothers. Wife Elaine LaLanne was part of the show to demonstrate the exercises, as well as the fact that doing them would not ruin their figures or musculature. LaLanne also included his dog Happy as a way to attract children to the show. Later in the run, another dog named Walter was used, with LaLanne claiming "Walter" stood for "We All Love To Exercise Regularly." LaLanne published several books and
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
s on fitness and nutrition, appeared in movies, and recorded a song with
Connie Haines Connie Haines (born Yvonne Marie Antoinette Jasme; January 20, 1921 – September 22, 2008) was an American singer and actress. Her 200 recordings were frequently up-tempo big band songs with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras, and Fra ...
. He marketed
exercise equipment Exercise equipment is any apparatus or device used during physical activity to enhance the strength or conditioning effects of that exercise by providing either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance, or to otherwise enhance the experience or ...
, a range of
vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...
supplements, and two models of electric
juicer A juicer, also known as a juice extractor, is a tool used to extract juice from fruits, herbs, leafy greens and other types of vegetables in a process called juicing. It crushes, grinds, and/or squeezes the juice out of the Juice vesicles, pulp. ...
s. These include the "Juice Tiger," as seen on ''Amazing Discoveries'' with Mike Levey, and "Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer." It was on the show that LaLanne introduced the phrase "That's the power of the juice!" However, in March 1996, 70,000 Juice Tiger juicers, 9% of its models, were recalled after 14 injury incidents were reported.U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC, National Media Corporation Announced Juice Tiger Recall Program
The Power Juicer is still sold in five models. LaLanne celebrated his 95th birthday with the release of a new book titled, ''Live Young Forever''. In the book, he discussed how he maintained his health and activeness well into his advanced age.


Personal health routine


Diet

LaLanne blamed overly
processed food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...
s for many health problems. For most of his life, Jack was mostly
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...
while including fish in his evening meal. In his later years, he appeared to advocate a mostly meatless diet that included fish, and took vitamin supplements. He ate two meals a day and avoided snacks. His breakfast, after working out for two hours, consisted of hard-boiled egg whites, a cup of broth, oatmeal with
soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...
, and seasonal fruit. For dinner, he and his wife typically ate raw vegetables, egg whites, and fish. He did not drink coffee.


Exercise

When exercising, LaLanne worked out repetitively with weights until he experienced "muscle fatigue" in whatever muscle groups he was exercising, or when it became impossible for him to go on with a particular routine; this is most often referred to as "
training to failure In weight training, training to failure is repeating an exercise (such as the bench press) to the point of momentary muscular failure, i.e. the point where the neuromuscular system can no longer produce adequate force to overcome a specific workl ...
." LaLanne moved from exercise to exercise without stopping. To contradict critics who thought this would leave him tightly musclebound and uncoordinated, LaLanne liked to demonstrate one-handed balancing. His home contained two gyms and a pool that he used daily. He continued with his two-hour workouts into his 90s, which also included walking. He stated, "If I died, people would say 'Oh look, Jack LaLanne died. He didn't practice what he preached.'" When asked about sex, LaLanne had a standard joke, saying that despite their advanced age, he and his wife still made love almost every night: "Almost on Monday, almost on Tuesday, almost on Wednesday..." He added, "I know so many people in their 80s who have Alzheimer's or are in a wheelchair or whatever. And I say to myself 'I don't want to live like that. I don't want to be a burden on my family. I need to live life. And I'd hate dying—it would ruin my image.'" LaLanne summed up his philosophy about good nutrition and exercise:


Views on food additives and drugs

LaLanne often stressed that artificial food additives, drugs, and processed foods contributed to making people mentally and physically ill. As a result, he writes, many people turn to alcohol and drugs to deal with symptoms of ailments, noting that "a stream of aches and pains seems to encompass us as we get older."LaLanne, Jack. ''Revitalize Your Life: Improve Your Looks, Your Health & Your Sex Life'', Hastings House (2003) He refers to the human bloodstream as a "River of Life," which is "polluted" by "junk foods" loaded with "preservatives, salt, sugar, and artificial flavorings." Relying on evidence from The President's Council on Physical Fitness, he also agreed that "many of our aches and pains come from lack of physical activity." As an immediate remedy for symptoms such as constipation, insomnia, tiredness, anxiety, shortness of breath, or high blood pressure, LaLanne states that people will resort to various drugs: "We look for crutches such as sleeping pills, pep pills, alcohol, cigarettes, and so on."


Family

LaLanne was married to his second wife, Elaine Doyle LaLanne, for over five decades. They had three children: a daughter named Yvonne LaLanne from his first marriage, a son named Dan Doyle from Elaine's first marriage, and a son named Jon LaLanne together. Yvonne is a chiropractor in California; Dan and Jon are involved in the family business, BeFit Enterprises, which they and their mother and sister plan to continue. Another daughter from Elaine's first marriage, Janet Doyle, died in a car accident at age 21 in 1974.


Death

LaLanne died of
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...
due to
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
at his home on January 23, 2011. He was 96. According to his family, he had been sick for a week, but refused to see a doctor. They added that he had been performing his daily workout routine the day before his death. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Hollywood Hills, California The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...
.


LaLanne's feats

''(As reported on Jack LaLanne's website)'' These accounts are not necessarily entirely accurate descriptions of what LaLanne actually did. See the 1974 Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf swim (below) for an illustration of the difference between the website account and objective reporting of the same event. * 1954 (age 40)Swam the entire length of the
Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, under water, with of air tanks and other equipment strapped to his body; a world record."A Fitting Life for Jack LaLanne"
''Orange Coast Magazine'', August 1986
* 1955 (age 41)Swam from
Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed. When interviewed afterwards, he was quoted as saying that the worst thing about the ordeal was being handcuffed, which significantly reduced his ability to do a
jumping jack __NOTOC__ A jumping jack, also known as a star jump and called a side-straddle hop in the US military, is a physical jumping exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical stru ...
. * 1956 (age 42)Set what was claimed as a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on ''
You Asked For It ''You Asked for It'' is a human interest television show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled ''The Art Baker Show'', the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of the series were see ...
'', a television program hosted by Art Baker. * 1957 (age 43)Swam the
Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...
channel while towing a
cabin cruiser A cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft. A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many ...
. The swift ocean currents turned this one-mile (1.6 km) swim into a swimming distance of . * 1958 (age 44)Maneuvered a
paddleboard Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneel ...
nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The trip took 9.5 hours. * 1959 (age 45)Did 1,000
push-ups The push-up (sometimes called a press-up in British English) is a common calisthenics exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterio ...
and 1,000
chin-up A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands, gripping a bar or other implement at a distance typically wider than shoulder-width, and pulled up. As this happens, ...
s in 1 hour, 22 minutes, to promote ''
The Jack LaLanne Show ''The Jack LaLanne Show'' was an American exercise television show hosted by Jack LaLanne that ran from 1951 to 1985. Background Beginning in 1951, the program was broadcast locally on KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licen ...
'' going nationwide. LaLanne said this was the most difficult of his stunts, but only because the skin on his hands started ripping off during the chin-ups. He felt he couldn't stop, because it would be seen as a public failure. * 1974 (age 60)For the second time, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf. Again, he was handcuffed, but this time he was also shackled and towed a boat, according to his obituary in Los Angeles Times in 2011 and his website. However, according to an account of this event published the day after it occurred in the Los Angeles Times, written by Philip Hager, a Times staff writer, LaLanne was neither handcuffed nor shackled if each of those terms has the conventional meaning of "tightly binding the wrists or ankles together with a pair of metal fasteners." Hager says that LaLanne "had his hands and feet bound with cords that allowed minimal freedom." But "minimal" clearly did not mean "no" freedom, since elsewhere in the article Hager describes LaLanne's method of propulsion through the water as "half-breast-stroke, half-dog paddle" which is how you swim with your hands tied. * 1975 (age 61)Repeating his performance of 21 years earlier, he again swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater and handcuffed, but this time he was shackled and towed a boat. * 1976 (age 62)To commemorate the "Spirit of '76,"
United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...
, he swam one mile (1.6 km) in
Long Beach Harbor The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land wit ...
. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he towed 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people. * 1979 (age 65)Towed 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with of
Louisiana Pacific Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, commonly known as "LP", is an American building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board (OSB) panels. ...
wood pulp. * 1980 (age 66)Towed 10 boats in
North Miami, Florida North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami camp ...
. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile (1.6 km) in less than one hour. * 1984 (age 70)He towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the '' Queen Mary'', 1 mile.


Awards and honors

On June 10, 2005, then governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
launched the ''California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport''. In his address, Schwarzenegger paid special tribute to LaLanne, who he credited with demonstrating the benefits of fitness and a healthy lifestyle for 75 years."Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Announces California Council on Physical Fitness and Sports"
'Lauphing Place'', 14 June 2005
In 2008, he inducted LaLanne into the California Hall of Fame and personally gave him an inscribed plaque at a special ceremony. In 2007, LaLanne was awarded The President's Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given to "individuals whose careers have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, or sports nationwide." Winners are chosen based on the "individual's career, the estimated number of lives the individual has touched through his or her work, the legacy of the individual's work, and additional awards or honors received over the course of his or her career." Other honors * 1963: Founding member of President's Council on Physical Fitness under President Kennedy * President's Council of Physical Fitness Silver Anniversary Award * Governor's Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award ''Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy'', Andrews McMeel Publishing (2008) p. xxxi * The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans * American Academy of Achievement * American Cancer Society * American Heart Association * American Medical Association * WBBG Pioneer of Fitness Hall of Fame * APFC Pioneer of Fitness Hall of Fame * Patriarch Society of Chiropractors * NFLAHealthy American Fitness Award * Received an Award from the Oscar Heidenstam Foundation Hall of Fame * Received National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Gold Circle Award commemorating over 50 years in the Television Industry * IHRSA Person of the Year Award * Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Historical Society * Interglobal's International Infomercial Award * The Freddie, Medical Media Public Service Award * Freedom Forum Al Neuharth Free Spirit Honoree * Lifetime Achievement Award from Club Industry * 1992 (age 78): The Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award * 1994 (age 80): The State of California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award * 1996 (age 82): The
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
Fitness Award * 1999 (age 85): The Spirit of
Muscle Beach Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor we ...
Award * 2002 (age 88): A star on the
Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
Walk of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
. At his induction ceremony, LaLanne did pushups on the top of his star. * 2005 (age 91): The
Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...
Award from the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
Historical Society; the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award; the Interglobal's International Infomercial Award; the Freddie Award; the Medical Media Public Service Award; Free Spirit honoree at
Al Neuharth Allen Harold "Al" Neuharth (March 22, 1924 – April 19, 2013) was an American businessman, author, and columnist born in Eureka, South Dakota. He was the founder of ''USA Today'', The Freedom Forum, and its Newseum. Early life Al Neuharth was bo ...
's Freedom Forum; Inaugural Inductee into the
National Fitness Hall of Fame National Fitness Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame for notable fitness professionals. It includes notable figures involved in fitness instruction, training, education, fitness management and product development. The mission is to recognize ...
* 2008 (age 94): Inducted by
California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
(fellow 2005 inductee of the National Fitness Hall of Fame) and
Maria Shriver Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955) is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...
into the California Hall of Fame


Filmography

LaLanne appeared as himself in the following films and television shows: * ''
You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...
'' (1961) * ''
Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...
'' (1960) – LaLanne appeared in an episode with Craig Stevens. * ''
Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
'' (1961), episode "Psychoanalyst Show" (as "Instructor"), (1963), episode "Doctor Ed" * ''
The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
'' (Season 2, 1966), episode "Fester Goes on a Diet" * ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' (man on roof with girls, uncredited cameo) (1966) * ''
Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's thir ...
'' (Season 2, 1969), episode "Lucy and the Bogie Affair" * ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...
'' (Episode #5.14, 1971), Guest Performer * ''Fit & Fun Time'' (kids TV pilot) (1972) * ''
The Chevy Chase Show ''The Chevy Chase Show'' was an American late night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Chevy Chase that aired in 1993 on Fox. The series was canceled after five weeks on the air. History Creation and pre-production Fox originally asked coun ...
'' * ''Amazing Discoveries'' (1991) * ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' (Season 10, 1999), episode " The Old Man and the 'C' Student" * ''
Beefcake Beefcake is a performance or a form of glamour photography depicting a large and muscular male body. Beefcake is also a publication genre. A role a person plays in a performance may be called ''beefcake''. The term was believed to be first used ...
'' (1999) * ''Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina'' (2003) * "Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed" (2004) * '' Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'' (Season 2, 2004) * ''
The Year Without a Santa Claus ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...
'' (2006), Hercules


References


External links

Official * Media and publications * , video, 31 January 2011 *
LaLanne's book ''Live Young Forever''
Interviews
Interview with Jack LaLanne on his 93rd birthday



Interview by Donald Katz



Taped interview with Dr. McDougall 02 July, 1994

Jack LaLanne interview
at Archive of American Television12 September 2003 Miscellaneous
CPSC Tiger Juicer Recall Page

Official Jack LaLanne Power Juicer page

Jack LaLanne Power Juicer manual


* Memorials and retrospectives * ''
Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...
'' remembers Jack LaLan
slideshow
* ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'
photo gallery of Jack LaLanne , 1914-2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalanne, Jack 1914 births 2011 deaths American bodybuilders American chiropractors American exercise and fitness writers American exercise instructors American health and wellness writers American nutritionists American people of French descent Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from respiratory failure Diet food advocates People associated with physical culture People from Morro Bay, California Television personalities from San Francisco Writers from San Francisco