Jack LaLanne, the larger-than-life fitness guru who opened the country’s first modern health club, helped spark the juice craze, and boasted of his ability to do 1,033 push-ups at age 42, died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia on Sunday afternoon. He was 96 years old.
In addition to transforming health and fitness in America, LaLanne cast a big shadow over pop culture. Uncle Jack, the pugnacious 90-year-old fitness magnate played by Martin Short on Arrested Development, was an homage to LaLanne; so was Jim Carrey‘s Juice Weasel-hawking salesman in one of my favorite In Living Color sketches.
If you’re interested in learning more about LaLanne, our friends at Neatorama have put together a list of 10 facts about Jack LaLanne you probably didn’t know.
(title pic via nathancreminsino)
