Emperor Of Exercise-Saluting Jack LaLanne - The Cultute of Pop, DVD, Movie, TV, Pop Culture Review

Emperor Of Exercise-Saluting Jack LaLanne

Posted: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 0:23:43 PST

INFLUENTIAL EXERCISE MAVEN PASSES AT AGE 96

“I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image.”- Jack LaLanne (1914-2011)

Before networks had channels devoted to it, before Jillian Michaels started exhorting tough love to weight challenged invidiuals, before specialized DVD's and VHS tapes featured easy-to-lean lessons, before those early morning synthesizer accompanied TV workout shows with scantily clad, headband wearing females sweatin' it off to the music (with nearly half their audience consisting of mere male oglers), before Richard Simmons and his white man's Afro, and before Jane Fonda donned a leotard and created a business around her daily physical regimen, there was Jack LaLanne.

Known to many as the Godfather of physical fitness, LaLanne passed away Sunday afternoon at his home in California at age 96 with his family by his side. According to his long time agent, the cause was respiratory failure.

LaLanne was a seemingly normal, average Joe looking kind of guy in street clothes, but when he donned a trademark jumpsuit and preached the values, virtues and advantages of exercise while displaying a vigor that would make Charles Atlas and Clark Kent's alter ego envious, he became an emperor of exercise.. Thanks to his long running, self titled syndicated TV program seen by over three generations during its first run, he changed many lives for the better with his warm, friendly and inviting yet enthusiastic persona that made you want to join in and stick with it; kind of like if Mister Rogers was your gym teacher. LaLanne's appeal even extended into the 1990's and beyond thanks to reruns of his TV show playing on ESPN Classic and almost non-stop infomercial airplays plugging his infamous juicer products.

Born in 1914, the San Francisco native was a typical kid in terms of growing pains, emotional struggles and of course, dietary matters, loving sweets and comfort foods more than the stuff on your dinner plate that's good for you. That all changed when a teenage LaLanne got taken by his Mom to hear a speech by health nutritionist innovator Paul Bragg, a day that changed his life.

Shunning sugar and adapting a mostly vegetarian diet, LaLanne also starting making exercise a part of his daily routines, and in time, decided to make it his living. In 1936, he opened the first of what we now know as the standard gym with weights and then totally new devices including machines designed for leg activity, pulley devices and weight selections, all created by LaLanne.

After his initial fame, LaLanne became innovative in other forms of media, especially in the literary world via how-to books that even non viewers of his television program could learn from. He also encouraged women to work out when it wasn't fashionable to do so, or un-lady like. Years earlier even athletes were discouraged from working out for fear of physical repercussions..yet another area in which LaLanne was a pioneer...

He was also an advocate for senior citizens and the disabled not being left out of the picture, either...as LaLanne would often say, “it's never too late”. Children charmed by his long time German Shepherd TV sidekick Happy were also drawn into the act.

LaLanne also put his money where his mouth was at several instances of his career during Harry Houndini-esque fits of strength in his hometown of San Francisco, including swimming the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge at age 40, swimming the length of Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf not once but twice, at ages 41 and 60. Only difference between the two? On the second occasion he was not only shackled, but also managed to tow a 1,000 pound boat along for the ride,

I'd like to see Michael Phelps top that...

Even as the ravages of age took away a slight bit of luster to his outer look, LaLanne still looked far younger than his mid 90's, continued to be a popular favorite on many a talk show, fitness related public appearances, and of course, those beloved television infomercials featuring the now infamous catch phrase, That's the power of the juice!” with the same enthusiasm that never left him.

 Recently as the days before his death, his two hours of gym work and one hour of swimming continued unabated....but while his routines have been silenced, millions who continue to work out whether they know of his innovations or not, will continue...

...and for that, we must forever be grateful to a man who persevered doing what he believed in, to help extend the lives of others.

LaLanne is survived by his wife of 51 years, Elaine, son John, and daughter Yvonne.

-J.R.