Jack LaLanne was a pioneer in the field of fitness and nutrition. He became an international celebrity and built an empire that paved the way for later fitness gurus like Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons. Living until the age of 96, LaLanne's obsession with diet and exercise brought him fame, fortune and acclaim, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early Years
Jack LaLanne was born in California in 1914. He was an unhealthy high school dropout when his mother took him at the age of 15 to see a health and nutrition speaker named Paul C. Bragg, who LaLanne credited with changing his life. He started working out with weights, which at the time was a highly unusual practice. He also read medical textbooks and graduated from chiropractic school. In 1936, he opened a health spa in Oakland, California, which would be the prototype for modern-day health spas. Despite misguided criticism from the medical community that weightlifting causes adverse health outcomes, he pushed on with his message of healthy living until a new technology, television, made Jack LaLanne a household name.
Television
In 1951, "The Jack LaLanne Show" debuted on San Francisco area television; it went national in 1959. Appealing to a broad audience but specifically targeting children, the program consisted of an enthusiastic LaLanne performing his exercise routines. He drew in children to the program by demonstrating tricks with his faithful German shepherd named Happy, then asking the children to encourage the adults in the house to exercise with him. His television show continued into the 1980s, and ran as re-runs for years later.
Fitness Studios
After solidifying his reputation on television, LaLanne opened a chain of several dozen fitness studios that he later licensed to Bally. He invented several exercise machines, marketed a fruit and vegetable juicer and sold fitness books and videos. LaLanne encouraged women, the elderly and disabled to exercise at his health clubs.
Golden Years
Jack LaLanne continued to impress and inspire his fans well into his old age. At the age of 60, he swam shackled and handcuffed while towing a boat that weighed 1,000 lbs. from Fisherman's Wharf to Alcatraz. Then, at age 70, again handcuffed and shackled, he towed 70 boats carrying 70 people total for a mile and a half. "Jack LaLanne Live!," an online radio program, debuted in 2007; the program featured LaLanne's wife and nephew, who is a personal trainer. He made numerous personal appearances well into his 90s, continuing his promote his optimistic message. He said, "I can't die. It would ruin my image."
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