Fitness guru LaLanne dies
Source: Agencies |
January 25, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JACK LaLanne, a one-time sugar-holic who became a television fitness guru preaching exercise and healthy diet to a generation of American housewives, died on Sunday at the age of 96, his daughter said.
LaLanne, who became a TV fixture, starting in 1959, was regarded as the father of the modern fitness movement. He succumbed to pneumonia following a brief illness at his home in Morro Bay, California.
"He was surrounded by his family and passed very peacefully and in no distress," his daughter, Yvonne LaLanne, 66, said.
She said her father had remained active until just a few months ago, -including being involved in the taping of a recent public TV special.
He preached the gospel of exercise, raw vegetables and clean living long after his contemporaries had traded in their bikes for nursing home beds.
"I can't die," LaLanne would say. "It would ruin my image."
LaLanne was born Francois Henri LaLanne on September 26, 1914, in San Francisco, the son of French immigrants. He said he grew into a "sugar-holic" and suffered headaches, mood swings and depression.
In desperation when he was 14, LaLanne's mother took him to hear health lecturer Paul Bragg, who urged followers to exercise and eat unprocessed foods.
The young LaLanne swore off white flour, most fat and sugar and began eating more fruits and -vegetables. By the age of 15, he had built a backyard gym.
"The Jack LaLanne Show," which went national in 1959, showed housewives how to work out eat right, becoming a staple of American daytime television during a 34-year run.
LaLanne, who became a TV fixture, starting in 1959, was regarded as the father of the modern fitness movement. He succumbed to pneumonia following a brief illness at his home in Morro Bay, California.
"He was surrounded by his family and passed very peacefully and in no distress," his daughter, Yvonne LaLanne, 66, said.
She said her father had remained active until just a few months ago, -including being involved in the taping of a recent public TV special.
He preached the gospel of exercise, raw vegetables and clean living long after his contemporaries had traded in their bikes for nursing home beds.
"I can't die," LaLanne would say. "It would ruin my image."
LaLanne was born Francois Henri LaLanne on September 26, 1914, in San Francisco, the son of French immigrants. He said he grew into a "sugar-holic" and suffered headaches, mood swings and depression.
In desperation when he was 14, LaLanne's mother took him to hear health lecturer Paul Bragg, who urged followers to exercise and eat unprocessed foods.
The young LaLanne swore off white flour, most fat and sugar and began eating more fruits and -vegetables. By the age of 15, he had built a backyard gym.
"The Jack LaLanne Show," which went national in 1959, showed housewives how to work out eat right, becoming a staple of American daytime television during a 34-year run.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
