Fitness guru Jack LaLanne dies at 96

Published 9:59 pm Sunday, January 23, 2011

MORRO BAY, Calif. — Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down and pump iron for decades before exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday. He was 96.

LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast, his longtime agent Rick Hersh said.

Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.

LaLanne credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others’ lives, too.

His workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to the ‘70s. LaLanne and his dog, Happy, encouraged kids to wake their mothers and drag them in front of the television set. He also founded a chain of fitness studios and in recent years touted the value of raw fruit and vegetables as he helped market a machine called Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer.

In addition to his wife Elaine, he is survived by two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne.