Jack LaLanne facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack LaLanne
LaLanne in March 1961
Born	Francois Henri LaLanne (1914-09-26)September 26, 1914 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	January 23, 2011(2011-01-23) (aged 96) Morro Bay, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Fitness expert television host inventor entrepreneur motivational speaker
Years active	1936–2009
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Television	The Jack LaLanne Show
Spouse(s)	Irma Navarre ​ ​ (m. 1942; div. 1948)​ Elaine Doyle ​ (m. 1959)​

Jack LaLanne (born Francois Henri LaLanne; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011) was an American fitness and nutrition expert. He was also a motivational speaker. Jack LaLanne helped millions of people learn about healthy living.

When he was young, Jack loved sugar and junk food. He also had trouble with his behavior. But at age 15, he heard a talk about healthy eating. This talk changed his life completely. He believed that the health of a country depended on its people's health. He called exercise and good food "the salvation of America."

Long before other famous people promoted fitness, LaLanne was already teaching about exercise and healthy eating. He wrote many books and hosted The Jack LaLanne Show on TV from 1951 to 1985. In 1936, at age 21, he opened one of the first fitness gyms in the U.S. This gym became a model for many others. He also invented several exercise machines. These include the pulley and leg extension machines, and the Smith machine.

LaLanne was also a successful bodybuilder. He was known for his amazing strength. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger was impressed by LaLanne's strength. Schwarzenegger called him "an apostle for fitness." He said LaLanne inspired "billions all over the world to live healthier lives."

Jack LaLanne was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was also inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Transformation

Jack LaLanne was born in San Francisco, California. His parents were French immigrants. He grew up in Bakersfield, California and later moved to Berkeley, California.

As a boy, Jack loved sugar and junk food. He often had a bad temper. He even dropped out of high school for a while at age 14. But at 15, he heard a health food expert named Paul Bragg speak. Bragg talked about the importance of good nutrition. This talk deeply affected LaLanne. He decided to change his life. He started focusing on his diet and exercising every day. He later said he was "born again."

LaLanne went back to school. He played on the high school football team. He later studied to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. He learned a lot about the human body. He also focused on bodybuilding and weightlifting.

Fitness Career and Impact

Opening Health Clubs

In 1936, Jack LaLanne opened the first health and fitness club in Oakland, California. He offered supervised exercise training and gave advice on nutrition. His main goal was to help people improve their health. At first, doctors told their patients to avoid his gym. They thought exercise would make people "muscle-bound" and cause health problems.

LaLanne remembered how doctors reacted to his ideas:

People thought I was a charlatan and a nut. The doctors were against me‍—‌they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks.

LaLanne invented many exercise machines. These include the first leg extension machines and pulley machines. He also created the weight selectors used today. He even invented the first Smith machine. LaLanne also encouraged women to lift weights. At the time, many thought this would make women look too muscular. By the 1980s, there were over 200 Jack LaLanne's European Health Spas. He later sold his health clubs to the Bally company.

Books, Television, and Media

Jack LaLanne in 1961

Jack LaLanne shared fitness advice on television for 34 years. The Jack LaLanne Show was the longest-running TV exercise program. It started in 1953 on a local San Francisco TV station. LaLanne paid for the airtime himself to promote his gym. In 1959, the show began airing nationwide. It continued until 1985.

The show had a simple set. LaLanne encouraged viewers to use everyday items, like a chair, for exercises. He wore his famous jumpsuit. He told his audience to get active and follow his movements. This style was a pioneer for today's fitness videos. His wife, Elaine LaLanne, also appeared on the show. She showed that women could exercise without ruining their figures. LaLanne even included his dog, Happy, to attract children.

LaLanne wrote several books and made videos about fitness. He also sold exercise equipment and vitamin supplements. He was famous for his electric juicers, like "Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer." He often said, "That's the power of the juice!"

He released a new book called Live Young Forever when he turned 95. In it, he shared how he stayed healthy and active at an old age.

Jack LaLanne's Health Habits

Diet Choices

LaLanne believed that too many processed foods caused many health problems. For most of his life, he ate mostly vegetarian meals. He also included fish in his evening meal. In his later years, he ate a diet that included fish but was mostly meatless. He also took vitamin supplements.

He ate two meals a day and avoided snacks. After his two-hour workout, he would have hard-boiled egg whites, broth, oatmeal with soy milk, and fruit for breakfast. For dinner, he and his wife usually ate raw vegetables, egg whites, and fish. He did not drink coffee.

Exercise Routine

When exercising, LaLanne worked out with weights until his muscles were tired. He moved from one exercise to the next without stopping. To show that he wasn't stiff, he would often balance on one hand. His home had two gyms and a pool, which he used every day.

LaLanne receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 at Muscle Beach in Venice Beach, California

He continued his two-hour daily workouts into his 90s. This included walking.

He once said, "If I died, people would say 'Oh look, Jack LaLanne died. He didn't practice what he preached.'"

He added, "I know so many people in their 80s who have Alzheimer's or are in a wheelchair. 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."

Family Life

Jack LaLanne was married to his second wife, Elaine Doyle LaLanne, for over 50 years. They had three children: Yvonne LaLanne (from his first marriage), Dan Doyle (from Elaine's first marriage), and Jon LaLanne (their son together). Yvonne is a chiropractor. Dan and Jon work in the family business, BeFit Enterprises.

Death

Jack LaLanne passed away on January 23, 2011. He was 96 years old. He died from respiratory failure due to pneumonia at his home. His family said he had been sick for a week but refused to see a doctor. They also said he did his daily workout the day before he died. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.

Amazing Feats of Strength

Jack LaLanne was famous for his incredible feats of strength and endurance. Here are some of them:

• 1954 (age 40) – He swam the entire 8,981-foot (1.7 mi; 2.7 km) length of the Golden Gate in San Francisco. He did this under water, carrying 140 lb (64 kg; 10 st) of air tanks and other equipment. This was a world record.
• 1955 (age 41) – He swam from Alcatraz Island to Pier 43 in San Francisco while handcuffed.
• 1956 (age 42) – He set a world record by doing 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on a TV show called You Asked For It.
• 1957 (age 43) – He swam the Golden Gate channel while pulling a 2,500 lb (1,130 kg; 180 st) boat. The strong ocean currents made this one-mile (1.6 km) swim into a 6.5 miles (10.5 km) swim.
• 1958 (age 44) – He paddled a paddleboard nonstop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore. The 30-mile (48 km) trip took 9.5 hours.
• 1959 (age 45) – He did 1,000 push-ups and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour and 22 minutes. He did this to promote his TV show. He said this was his hardest stunt because his hands started to rip.
• 1974 (age 60) – He swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf again. He was handcuffed and shackled, and he pulled a 1,000 lb (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
• 1975 (age 61) – He swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge again, underwater and handcuffed. This time, he was also shackled and pulled a 1,000 lb (450 kg; 71 st) boat.
• 1976 (age 62) – To celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial, he swam one mile (1.6 km) in Long Beach Harbor. He was handcuffed and shackled. He pulled 13 boats (for the 13 original colonies) with 76 people inside.
• 1979 (age 65) – He pulled 65 boats in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan. He was handcuffed and shackled. The boats were filled with 6,500 lb (2,950 kg; 460 st) of wood pulp.
• 1980 (age 66) – He pulled 10 boats in North Miami, Florida. The boats carried 77 people. He pulled them for over one mile (1.6 km) in less than an hour.
• 1984 (age 70) – He pulled 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen's Way Bridge to the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor. This was a 1 mile pull.

Awards and Honors

On June 10, 2005, then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger started the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. Schwarzenegger praised LaLanne for showing the benefits of fitness for 75 years. In 2008, he inducted LaLanne into the California Hall of Fame.

In 2007, LaLanne received The President's Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors people whose careers have greatly helped promote physical activity and fitness nationwide.

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
• 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
• NFLA – Healthy American Fitness Award
• Award from the Oscar Heidenstam Foundation Hall of Fame
• National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Gold Circle Award for over 50 years in TV
• 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 Fitness Award
• 1999 (age 85): The Spirit of Muscle Beach Award
• 2002 (age 88): A star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. At his ceremony, LaLanne did pushups on his star!
• 2005 (age 91): The Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Department 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's Freedom Forum; Inaugural Inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame
• 2008 (age 94): Inducted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver into the California Hall of Fame

Filmography

LaLanne appeared as himself in these films and TV shows:

• You Bet Your Life (1961)
• Peter Gunn (1960)
• Mister Ed (1961, 1963)
• The Addams Family (1966)
• Batman (1966)
• Here's Lucy (1969)
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1971)
• Fit & Fun Time (1972)
• The Chevy Chase Show
• Amazing Discoveries (1991)
• The Simpsons (1999)
• Beefcake (1999)
• Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina (2003)
• "Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed" (2004)
• The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006)