Sunday, January 23, 2011

Jack LaLanne Dead at 96

By Douglas V. Gibbs

I remember my mom watching Jack LaLanne way back in the seventies. I was a young man, and even back then I thought the guy was old. Despite his age, however, Jack was the healthiest person on the tube.

Recently, I saw him advertising some juicer, and I thought to myself, "Wow, for his age, he still looks good."

Jack LaLanne was into health and fitness before it was all the craze. He was the one who made popular the idea that we should work out and eat right in order to hang on to youth longer.

Jack LaLanne, as expected, lived long. Today, he died at the age of a ripe, old 96.

LaLanne's death was the result of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He passed away in his home in Morro Bay, California.

LaLanne opened what many believe to be the nation's first health club, in Oakland in 1936. His television fitness show began in the 1950s, and the show continued well into the 70s. LaLanne also designed many exercise machines that are now widely recognized, including leg extension machines and cable-pulley weights.

Jack was his happy, exuberant self, all the way to the end. We are all the better for having known him.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Jack LaLanne, fitness guru, dies at 96 - Los Angeles Times

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