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23 Jan 11 - 11:35 PM (#3081176) Subject: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Desert Dancer Jack LaLanne, Founder of Modern Fitness Movement, Dies at 96 (NY Times) ... A self-described emotional and physical wreck while growing up in the San Francisco area, Mr. LaLanne began turning his life around, as he often told it, after hearing a talk on proper diet when he was 15. He started working out with weights when they were an oddity, and in 1936 he opened the prototype for the fitness spas to come — a gym, juice bar and health food store — in an old office building in Oakland. "People thought I was a charlatan and a nut," he remembered. "The doctors were against me — they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks and they would lose their sex drive." But Mr. LaLanne persevered, and he found a national pulpit in the age of television. "The Jack LaLanne Show" made its debut in 1951 as a local program in the San Francisco area, then went nationwide on daytime television in 1959. His short-sleeved jumpsuit showing off his impressive biceps, his props often limited to a broomstick, a chair and a rubber cord, Mr. LaLanne pranced through his exercise routines, most notably his fingertip push-ups. ... His show continued into the mid-1980s. [and continued long after in reruns on ESPN Classic] ... At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor. He ate two meals a day and shunned snacks. --- I remember watching as a child in the '60s. He was a man with enormous positive energy. |
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23 Jan 11 - 11:47 PM (#3081178) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Stilly River Sage He lived a long, full life. Nothing to complain about there! SRS |
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24 Jan 11 - 01:04 AM (#3081193) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Bev and Jerry Both Jack and his wife appeared in a regular spot on our local news broadcast up until just recently. He lived near us. He devoted his life to trying to get the rest of us in better condition and, by the looks of people around us, he didn't have much success. Bev and Jerry |
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24 Jan 11 - 02:48 AM (#3081210) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: alanabit I am impressed. I had never heard of him, but obviously his message has got around. At the end of the day the message is pretty simple. If we exercise, rest and nourish our bodies sensibly, they work better and last longer. We may beg to differ over the details, but the basic principles should make sense to everyone. |
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24 Jan 11 - 04:44 AM (#3081238) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Bonnie Shaljean I used to watch him as a kid. I loved him and thought he was so cool. I remember pestering my mother for a Glamour Stretcher but she just told me I was too young to need one. I had more success getting her to buy some Yami Yogurt, which looked delicious until I actually put some in my mouth. It reminded me of old socks, and even LaLanne said it tasted terrible. (In fairness, I don't think anyone was used to yogurt in those days. I eat it all the time now, though always in or on something else.) Yogurt has since become a staple in the heavenly pantheon of Virtuous Foods. But Jack was the first to bring it to widespread public attention. I admire his hard work and sense of focus: self-directed study of Grey's Anatomy at 15, and opening his own studio while a lot of kids were still in college. Pretty good going for a 21 year old. Rest in peace, Jack. - - - By the time he was 15 he was pimply and nearsighted, craved junk food and had dropped out of high school. That is when his mother took him to a women's club for a talk by a well-known speaker on health and nutrition. That talk, Mr. LaLanne often said, turned his life around. He began experimenting with weights at the Berkeley YMCA, tossed aside cakes and cookies and studied Gray's Anatomy to learn about the body's muscles. He became a pitchman for good health [and] opened his first health studio when he was 21. |
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24 Jan 11 - 07:37 AM (#3081307) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: GUEST,Alan Whittle I confess I'd never heard of this bloke until last week when I was watching the shopping channel and his juicers were on offer. Now recently I have bought a house with a garden which produces loads of apples. On the advert I saw this blokes juicer juice a whole apple, no probs. What I need to know is. Are this chaps juicers really any good. they are more expensive than some. Do I need the really big juicer to juice a lot of apples. Sorry he's dead. I bet he wishes he could lift weights as well as us weaklings now. |
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24 Jan 11 - 08:01 AM (#3081313) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Bonnie Shaljean Below is a link to another article, from the San Francisco Chronicle, a beloved Sunday treat in our house while I was growing up. Sounds like Jack's early years were rougher than I'd thought. Some excerpts: - Mr. LaLanne described himself as a skinny, pimply kid addicted to sugar. His behavioral problems were extreme. He attacked his brother, attempted suicide and tried to burn down his house. His overweight father died of a heart attack at 50. I was "a miserable goddamn kid," Mr. LaLanne told The Chronicle. "It was like hell." - At 40, he towed a 2,000-pound cabin cruiser as he swam the Golden Gate Channel. When he was 42, he did a record 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes. - When he was 60, Mr. LaLanne swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf - while handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat. - His show ran for 34 years in the United States and Europe. He maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006: "I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/23/MN3T1HDCIB.DTL |
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24 Jan 11 - 08:13 AM (#3081320) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Fortunato Jack is an inspiration. |
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24 Jan 11 - 08:58 AM (#3081351) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: gnu Mum used to watch his show every day and do the exercises. I wish she had encouraged me when I was a tad to do the same but I was always out and about playing so I suppose it wan't deemed necessary. Good guy. RIP |
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24 Jan 11 - 09:54 AM (#3081380) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: fat B****rd RIP Mr. LaLanne. I recall the gentleman on the Addams Family (Fester Goes on a Diet). Good to know he didn't take things too seriously. |
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24 Jan 11 - 09:57 AM (#3081383) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Desert Dancer This is a great clip from his show, probably in the '60s: a wonderful moment showing his wonderfully positive philosophy. (And with music content!) ~ Becky in Tucson |
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24 Jan 11 - 02:55 PM (#3081574) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: meself Get up off the couch, Grandma! |
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24 Jan 11 - 04:44 PM (#3081647) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: GUEST,jeff RIP Mr. LaLanne. He set the standard that many health spas and even TV shows such as the 'Biggest Loser' are modeled. His approach to health and fitness created an entire industry. He will be sorely, sorely missed. This world is a poorer place for his passing. |
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25 Jan 11 - 04:51 PM (#3082330) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: GUEST,will Livingston We will miss you Jack. Thank you for pioneering the nutrition and fitness movement. Also way to be the only person to out muscle the governator. Even at 94 you were still kicking people around and whipping them into shape. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKEHWISVi9U |
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25 Jan 11 - 05:09 PM (#3082349) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Bonnie Shaljean Thanks for the link, Will. Any idea when that film was made? He's looking & sounding pretty damn good for his age. (Was he 94 at that time? Hard to believe.) Clickety-click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKEHWISVi9U |
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25 Jan 11 - 08:02 PM (#3082454) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: gnu Bonnie... great clip... thanks. |
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26 Jan 11 - 03:09 AM (#3082539) Subject: RE: Obit: Jack LaLanne, aged 96 From: Bonnie Shaljean It's Will Livingston's clip! All's I did was clickify it - it's been interesting to read this thread and learn so much about Jack, even if the reason for it is a sad one. Still, he lived a good, long, full life and totally turned it around from its difficult and unpromising beginnings. An inspiration to those in similar circumstances perhaps. |