Jack LaLanne dead at 96, still plans to put chain around his waist and pull hearse to cemetery
Today is a day we all thought would never come. Jack LaLanne is dead.
The Associated Press has the sad details:
Jack LaLanne was prodding Americans to get off their couches and into the gym decades before it was cool. And he was still pumping iron and pushing fruits and vegetables decades past most Americans’ retirement age.
Early TV exercise guru Jack LaLanne is dead at 96
The fitness fanatic ate well and exercised – and made it his mission to make sure everyone did the same – right up to the end at age 96, friends and family said.
LaLanne died Sunday at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, longtime agent Rick Hersh said. The cause was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.
“I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for,” Elaine LaLanne, LaLanne’s wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.
Note from the Editor: Nine years ago I got a phone call from an elderly friend who had worked in the television business.
“I hear you’re moving to the Central Coast,” he said. “Take down this phone number. I want you to call an old friend of mine who lives there. His name is Jack LaLanne.”
“The Jack LaLanne,” I asked.
“There’s only one Jack LaLanne,” he said.
I’m just not one to bother celebrities. If I see one sitting in a restaurant or walking down the street, I leave them alone. So I never called Jack because I didn’t want to bother him.
Nevertheless, I’ve always carried that phone number around in my wallet. Every once in a while I’d pull it out and think to myself, “Maybe I should call. It would be fun just to have lunch with the guy.” But I never did.
Until very recently, Jack and Elaine had a weekly fitness segment on the local NBC-TV affiliate in our town of San Luis Obispo. He wasn’t quite as strong and limber as he’d been in the past, but still looked great and was sharp as ever.
Today I wish I’d broken my rule. I wish I’d called.
Because as my friend said, “There’s only one Jack LaLanne.”
I watched Jack on TV when I was younger, about 50 years younger, and he always practiced what he preached. I have to look at it this way though: This past week we had a birthday celebration for a little lady in our town who has seen 100 years of living and still going strong. Think about it. She was a child when radio was invented. She was a young adult when television was invented. She saw man land on the moon then microwave ovens and computers become household items. Memories of two world wars, the Great Depression and numerous recessions over the years along with the high times when our country was booming.
Funny thing is, she was born and raised on a farm/ranch operation. She married a rancher, her grandson now runs the operation. She still loves beef, beans and potatoes. She also likes pork roast, mexican food and fried chicken. With the skin on of course. Jack LaLanne lived to a ripe old age by depriving himself. He never learned that all foods are good for you if you are not a pig and stuff yourself at every meal. Abstinence is not the answer, moderation is. Live a "healthy" life, you still die so what is the point? I would rather meet St. Peter looking like I had just went 15 rounds with Cassius Clay or slid into home plate on an infield homer. Beat up, dirty and tired is how I want to look when I get to Heavens Gate. I can look at the healthy person next to me, who is just as dead, and laugh like crazy. At least I can say "Thank you Lord"! It was one hell of a ride!!
Best comment from our Facebook page (become a fan):
Jeff Taylor I heard that instead of being buried or cremated, that he wanted to be juiced.
*da dump DING*
Give me a glass! OoraH! USA!!!! ***Salute***
If you haven't seen it, what every single person should watch is the 3-minute "sugarholics" clip of Jack on Youtube from 50 years ago. Listen to Jack for 3 minutes, do what he says for five days, and you, too, might just be thanking him for the rest of your life. Thanks, Jack.
Gosh, I remember watching my mom pull out the chair and exercise along with Jack when I was six or seven years old! Man, that was at least fifty years ago!
I don't know if I want to live to the age of 96-but I probably will thanks to old Jack! I started Juicing after watching that crazy old man do pushups on television. Impressive, that man was-a phenom of a person who lived what he preached every day.
Heaven's population just increased. What a great man, husband and American Original!
R.I.P. Jack LaLanne!
Great guy! He will truly be missed. I think I'll dig out get my old "Juicer" and squeeze out a pomegranate-orange-celery-cherry-carrot-blueberry-mango juice drink in memory of Jack! GOD BLESS JACK! (Note how I did not mention anything about sit-ups and all that in memory of Jack ... that's not what I call "resting in peace." Just saying ... )
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I watched Jack on TV when I was younger, about 50 years younger, and he always practiced what he preached. I have to look at it this way though: This past week we had a birthday celebration for a little lady in our town who has seen 100 years of living and still going strong. Think about it. She was a child when radio was invented. She was a young adult when television was invented. She saw man land on the moon then microwave ovens and computers become household items. Memories of two world wars, the Great Depression and numerous recessions over the years along with the high times when our country was booming.
Funny thing is, she was born and raised on a farm/ranch operation. She married a rancher, her grandson now runs the operation. She still loves beef, beans and potatoes. She also likes pork roast, mexican food and fried chicken. With the skin on of course. Jack LaLanne lived to a ripe old age by depriving himself. He never learned that all foods are good for you if you are not a pig and stuff yourself at every meal. Abstinence is not the answer, moderation is. Live a "healthy" life, you still die so what is the point? I would rather meet St. Peter looking like I had just went 15 rounds with Cassius Clay or slid into home plate on an infield homer. Beat up, dirty and tired is how I want to look when I get to Heavens Gate. I can look at the healthy person next to me, who is just as dead, and laugh like crazy. At least I can say "Thank you Lord"! It was one hell of a ride!!
Best comment from our Facebook page (become a fan):
*da dump DING*
Give me a glass! OoraH! USA!!!! ***Salute***
If you haven't seen it, what every single person should watch is the 3-minute "sugarholics" clip of Jack on Youtube from 50 years ago. Listen to Jack for 3 minutes, do what he says for five days, and you, too, might just be thanking him for the rest of your life. Thanks, Jack.
Gosh, I remember watching my mom pull out the chair and exercise along with Jack when I was six or seven years old! Man, that was at least fifty years ago!
I don't know if I want to live to the age of 96-but I probably will thanks to old Jack! I started Juicing after watching that crazy old man do pushups on television. Impressive, that man was-a phenom of a person who lived what he preached every day.
Heaven's population just increased. What a great man, husband and American Original!
R.I.P. Jack LaLanne!
Great guy! He will truly be missed. I think I'll dig out get my old "Juicer" and squeeze out a pomegranate-orange-celery-cherry-carrot-blueberry-mango juice drink in memory of Jack! GOD BLESS JACK! (Note how I did not mention anything about sit-ups and all that in memory of Jack ... that's not what I call "resting in peace." Just saying ... )