26.01.2011, 18:29 4021

Fitness guru Jack LaLanne dead at 96

The fitness guru, Jack LaLanne, passed away on Sunday at the age of 96, the agency reports.

Almaty. January 26. Kazakhstan Today - The fitness guru, Jack LaLanne, passed away on Sunday at the age of 96, the agency reports.

Jack LaLanne has died at the age of 96. He passed away Sunday at his California home from complications of pneumonia. Those too young to remember black and white television may not recognize the name. LaLanne was the first television fitness guru and the careers of many modern exercise mavens are based on the foundation that he established.

LaLanne was born in 1914, in San Francisco. A self-described "sugar and junk food addict," his life was changed by a talk he heard on fitness. By 1936, his studies had led him to establish a health spa in Oakland, Calif., where he designed and created many of the exercise machines used in gyms today.

His show business career began in 1951, with the Jack LaLanne Show. It first appeared locally, then nationally and in syndication through 1985. The show featured Jack's own brand of exercise, diet tips and many visitors including his wife Elaine. He was a frequent talk show guest, demonstrating finger push-ups and other feats of strength as he promoted fitness.

Wearing his trademark jumpsuit, on his ABC show for 20 years, he demonstrated how a person could exercise using just a chair and a towel.

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