Biography for
Jack LaLanne

Birth name

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mini biography
LaLanne was addicted to sugar as a child, causing him to commit acts of violence, including setting his parents' house on fire and attacking his brother with an ax. He was so weak his family physician recommended he be removed from school to rest and regain his strength. Around this time, he and his mother attended a lecture by Paul C. Bragg, a nutritionist who told LaLanne he was a human garbage can. LaLanne turned his life around with a strict diet and exercise. By the age of 18, he was running a home bakery selling healthy breads, and a home gym where he trained policemen and firemen in exercise and weightlifting. LaLanne's reputation as a physical fitness guru eventually led to his 20-year stint as the host of TV's _"Jack LaLanne Show, The" (1963)_ . There he taught exercise aimed principally at homemakers, using items found around the home. Even as he exceeds 80 years of age, LaLanne continues to boast a fine physique and encourage fans with health and fitness tips through videos and writing.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IMDb mini-biography by
Ray Hamel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spouse
Elaine LaLanne (1956 - present) 3 children
Irma ? (1942 - 1948) 1 child

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trade mark
His blue tight-fitting jumpsuit


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trivia
Some of Mr. LaLannes amazing feats of strength include: At age 41 he proved it possible to escape from Alcatraz by swimming to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco while wearing handcuffs. At 45, he completed a thousand push-ups and a thousand chin-ups in an hour and twenty-two minutes with blisters under his calluses. At sixty, he swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf handcuffed, shackled, and towing a thousand-pound boat. At seventy, batlling currents while handcuffed and shackled, he towed seventy boats holding seventy people for a mile and a half across Long Beach Harbor.

LaLanne opened the nation's first health club in 1936. Today more than 200 clubs bear his name.

LaLanne appeared on "You Asked For It" where he performed 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes.

LaLanne was named Professional Mr. America in 1955.

His show, "The Jack LaLanne Show", debuted in 1951 and was the first ever television exercise program. It ran until 1985, well after critics said the show would be off the air in six weeks.

Adopted his wife Elaine's two children, Daniel and Janet as his own.

For his 70th birthday, he pulled 70 boats across the Long Beach, California harbor with 70 people in each of them, swimming while shackled and handcuffed.

Hasn't had dessert since 1929.

Started his own gym in 1936, which included a health food store and a juice bar.

He has a TV star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.