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==Early life==
==Early life==
He was born as John Lalanne in [[San Francisco, California]], to Jean Lalanne and his wife Jennie Garaig. His parents were immigrants from France, exactly from Oloron Sainte-Marie in the South West of France; in this area this name is popular. LaLanne had an older brother, Norman (August 31, 1908-September 24, 2005), who lived to the age of 97.<ref name="reitwiesner">Reitwiesner, William Addams (date unknown). Ancestry of Jack LaLanne. Retrieved from http://www.wargs.com/other/lalanne.html.</ref>
He was born as John Lalanne in [[San Francisco, California]], to Jean Lalanne and his wife Jennie Garaig. His parents were immigrants from Oloron Sainte-Marie in the South West of France. LaLanne had an older brother, Norman (August 31, 1908-September 24, 2005), who lived to the age of 97.<ref name="reitwiesner">Reitwiesner, William Addams (date unknown). Ancestry of Jack LaLanne. Retrieved from http://www.wargs.com/other/lalanne.html.</ref>


LaLanne wrote that as a child he was addicted to sugar and junk food. At age 15, he heard [[Paul Bragg]] give a talk on health and nutrition. Bragg's message had a powerful influence on LaLanne, who decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits.<ref>{{cite web
LaLanne wrote that as a child he was addicted to sugar and junk food. At age 15, he heard [[Paul Bragg]] give a talk on health and nutrition. Bragg's message had a powerful influence on LaLanne, who decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits.<ref>{{cite web

Revision as of 21:17, 4 January 2010

Jack LaLanne
LaLanne in 2007.
Born (1914-09-26) 26 September 1914 (age 109)
San Francisco, California, United States
Occupation(s)Doctor of Chiropractic and Fitness expert
Spouse
Irma Navarre
​
(m. 1942⁠–⁠1948)​

Elaine Doyle (m: 1959 – present)
Websitewww.jacklalanne.com

Jack LaLanne (born September 26, 1914) is an American fitness, exercise, nutritional expert, and motivational speaker who has been called "the godfather of fitness".[1][2] He has published numerous books on fitness and hosted a fitness television show between 1951 and 1985.

LaLanne gained recognition for his success as a bodybuilder, as well as his prodigious feats of strength. He has been inducted to the California Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

He was born as John Lalanne in San Francisco, California, to Jean Lalanne and his wife Jennie Garaig. His parents were immigrants from Oloron Sainte-Marie in the South West of France. LaLanne had an older brother, Norman (August 31, 1908-September 24, 2005), who lived to the age of 97.[3]

LaLanne wrote that as a child he was addicted to sugar and junk food. At age 15, he heard Paul Bragg give a talk on health and nutrition. Bragg's message had a powerful influence on LaLanne, who decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits.[4] He studied Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body and concentrated on bodybuilding and weightlifting.

LaLanne blames overly-processed foods for many health problems. He advocates an organic and vegetarian diet, though he eats some fish himself.[5]

Fitness career

Health clubs

After graduating from high school, LaLanne attended night classes at Oakland Chiropractic College in San Francisco and graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. In 1936, he opened his own health spa (gym) in Oakland, California and encourage clients to better themselves through weight-training. LaLanne designed the first leg extension machines, pulley machines using cables, and the weight selectors that are now standard in the fitness industry. He was the inventor of the Smith machine. 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, and they are now known as Bally Total Fitness. He is no longer associated with any gym, but still lifts weights.

Books, television and other media

Jack LaLanne presented fitness and exercise advice on television for 34 years. "The Jack LaLanne Show" was the longest running television exercise program.[6] It began as a local program on San Francisco's ABC television station, KGO-TV, but eventually was carried on the ABC network nationwide. In 1959, LaLanne recorded Glamour Stretcher Time, a workout album which provided phonograph-based instruction for exercising with an elastic cord called the Glamour Stretcher.[7]

LaLanne has published books and videos on fitness and nutrition, appeared in movies, recorded a song with Connie Haines. He has marketed exercise equipment, a range of vitamin supplements, and two models of electric juicers. These include the "Juice Tiger", as seen on Amazing Discoveries with Mike Levey, and "Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer".[8] It was on the show that LaLanne introduced the phrase "That's the power of the juice!"

In March 1996, 70,000 Juice Tiger juicers were recalled after "14 incidents resulting in at least eight lacerations to the hands, face, arms, and chest, and one permanent eye injury were reported to the CPSC and National Media Corporation of The USA."[9] However, this is about 9 percent of the Juice Tiger models. Another 600,000 units were not recalled. The Power Juicer is still actively marketed.[10]

LaLanne celebrated his 95th birthday with the release of a new book entitled, Live Young Forever. In the book, he discusses how he has kept healthy and active well into his advanced age.

Recent years

LaLanne receives a Lifetime Achievement Award on September 3, 2007 during a ceremony at Muscle Beach in Venice Beach, California.

At the age of 95, LaLanne continues to work out every morning for two hours. He spends 1½ hours in the weight room and half an hour swimming or walking. LaLanne and his wife Elaine (83) live in Morro Bay, California.[11] When interviewed by Katie Couric on NBC's Today show, LaLanne said his two simple rules of nutrition are: "if man made it, don't eat it", and "if it tastes good, spit it out." He often says, "I cannot afford to die, it will ruin my image." Interviewed on his 93rd birthday, he said his feat of strength was going to be "towing my wife across the bathtub."

In a June 2007 interview, LaLanne announced that for his 95th birthday, he'd like to swim to Santa Catalina Island, a distance of approximately 20 miles (32 km) off the coast.[12]

On December 8, 2009, the 95-year-old LaLanne underwent heart valve surgery at a Los Angeles Hospital.[13]

Honors

LaLanne was an Inaugural Inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame in 2005.[14]

On December 15, 2008, in a ceremony presided over by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Jack LaLanne was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts alongside 11 other legendary Californians.[15][16][17]

Timeline: Jack LaLanne's feats

As reported on Jack LaLanne's web site, and as documented as they happened:

  • 1954 (age 40): swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, underwater, with 140 pounds (64 kg; 10 st) of equipment, including two air tanks. A world record.
  • 1955 (age 41): swam from Alcatraz Island 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 reduced his chance to Star Jump significantly.
  • 1956 (age 42): set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on You Asked For It, a television program with Art Baker.
  • 1957 (age 43): swam the Golden Gate channel while towing a 2,500-pound (1,100 kg; 180 st) cabin cruiser. The swift ocean currents turned this one-mile (1.6 km) swim into a swimming distance of 6.5 miles (10.5 km).
  • 1958 (age 44): maneuvered a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile (48 km) trip took 9.5 hours.
  • 1959 (age 45): did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes and The Jack LaLanne Show went nationwide.
  • 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 1,000-pound (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
  • 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 1,000-pound (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
  • 1976 (age 62): To commemorate the "Spirit of '76", United States Bicentennial, he swam one mile (1.6 km) in Long Beach Harbor. 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, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled, and the boats were filled with 6,500 pounds (2,900 kg; 460 st) of Louisiana Pacific wood pulp.[18]
  • 1980 (age 66): towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people, and he towed them for over one mile (1.6 km) in less than one hour.
  • 1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, he fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles (2.4 km) while towing 70 boats with 70 people from the Queensway Bay Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.

Timeline: Jack LaLanne's awards

  • 1992 (age 78): Jack received the Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award.
  • 1994 (age 80): Jack received the State of California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • 1996 (age 82): Jack received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award.
  • 1999 (age 85): Jack received the Spirit of Muscle Beach Award.
  • 2002 (age 88): Jack received a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.
  • 2004 (age 90): Jack celebrated his 90th birthday in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. ESPN Classic ran a 24-hour marathon of the original Jack LaLanne television shows.
  • 2004 (age 90): Jack became the official spokesperson for Covenant Reliance Producers, LLC, a Financial Marketing Organization based in Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2005 (age 91): Jack received the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Department Historical Society, the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Interglobal's International Infomercial Award, the Freddie Award, and the Medical Media Public Service Award, and he was a Free Spirit honoree at Al Neuharth's Freedom Forum.

Filmography

LaLanne appeared as himself in the following films:

LaLanne also voiced himself in the 1999 Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the C Student".

Further reading

  • "Fitness guru Jack LaLanne still going strong at 89". CNN.com. 2004-01-19. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

References

  1. ^ Tyre, Peg (2006-02-20). Still Going Strong: Jack LaLanne is a living testament to the enduring benefits of diet and exercise. Newsweek, 20 February 2006. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/56995.
  2. ^ Tuttle, Dave (2006-08). "Godfather of Fitness" Still Going Strong at 91. LE Magazine, August 2006. Retrieved from http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/aug2006_report_lalanne_01.htm.
  3. ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams (date unknown). Ancestry of Jack LaLanne. Retrieved from http://www.wargs.com/other/lalanne.html.
  4. ^ "Paul C. Bragg". The Natural Health Perspective. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  5. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/19/LV107553.DTL
  6. ^ "The Jack LaLanne Show" at IMDB"
  7. ^ Jack LaLanne's Glamour Stretcher, NYTimes Exercise Product History
  8. ^ http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml96/96086.html
  9. ^ U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC, National Media Corporation Announced Juice Tiger Recall Program
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ "Jack LaLanne - About Jack". Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  12. ^ "A Fitness Icon Keeps His Juices Flowing, by Sally Squires, Washington Post, 12 June 2007".
  13. ^ "Fitness guru Jack LaLanne undergoes surgery in LA". The Huffington Post. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ National Fitness Hall of Fame Class of 2005. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
  15. ^ "Jack LaLanne - 2008 Inductee of the California Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  16. ^ "2008 California Hall of Fame Ceremony Information". Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  17. ^ "The California Hall of Fame 2008 Exhibits". The California Museum. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  18. ^ Squires, Sally (2007-06-12). A Fitness Icon Keeps His Juices Flowing. The Washington Post, 12 June 2007. Retrieved on 2009-04-18 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061101919.html.
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