Jack LaLane -- Feats & Honors

JackLaLane.com ^

[libh8er]

1954 Age 40: Swam the length of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge underwater with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks… an undisputed world record.

1955 Age 41: Swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA.

1956 Age 42: Set a world record of 1,033 pushups in 23 minutes on “You Asked for It, a TV Show with Art Baker.

1957 Age 43: Swam the treacherous Golden Gate Channel, towing a 2,500-pound cabin cruiser. This involved fighting the cold, swift ocean currents that made the 1 mile swim a 6 ½ mile test of strength and endurance.

1958 Age 44: Maneuvered a paddleboard 30 miles, 9-½ hours non-stop from Farallon Islands to the San Francisco shore.

1959 Age 45: Completed 1,000 pushups and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hours and 22 minutes. “Happy” is born and The Jack LaLanne Show goes nationwide

1974 Age 60: Swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

1975 Age 61: Swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater, for a second time handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

1976 Age 62: Commemorating the “Spirit of ‘76”, swam 1 mile in Long Beach Harbor, handcuffed, shackled and towing 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.

1979 Age 65: Towed 65 boats filled with 6,500-pounds of Lousiana Pacific wood pulp while handcuffed and shackled in Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan.

1980 Age 66: Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.

1984 Age 70: Handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents, towed 70 boats with 70 people from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 ½ miles. 1992 Age 78: Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award

1994 Age 80: State of California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award

1996 Age 82: Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award

1999 Age 85: Spirit of Muscle Beach Award

2002 Age 88: Jack receives his very own star on the Hollywood Blvd. Walk of Fame

2004 Age 90: Jack celebrates his birthday with a major media blitz in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. ESPN Classic runs a 24 Hour marathon of the original Jack LaLanne Shows

2005 Age 91: Received the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Historical Society, the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Interglobal’s International Infomercial Award, the Freddie, Medical Media Public Service Award, and he was a Free Spirit honoree at Al Neuharth’s Freedom Fourm.

2007 Age 93: Received the Treasures of Los Angeles Award, Lifetime Achievement Award from Muscle Beach, and the Y.M.C.A. Impact Award.

2008 Age 94: Inducted into the California Hall of Fame, Parker Seminars Award, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, receives the People of Vision Award from the RP International, receives the Heroes Humanity Award, and was inducted into the Gallery of Legends hosted by the World Acrobatics Society.

2009 Age 95: Jack receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Club Industry. Jack LaLanne days were observed in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[MarineBrat]

>>>1,033 pushups in 23 minutes

Yikes!!!

[Larry Lucido]

I’ll bet he didn’t go all the way down on those last two! :-)

[MarineBrat]

I wouldn’t have gone all the way down on that last 1000 or so. :)

[freedumb2003]

He was the stud that defined all studs.

And you may not care for Richard Simmons, but this is a moving tribute to Jack Lalanne: http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/24/simmons.jack.lalanne/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

Lalanne was the first that gave “97 lb weaklings” who “got sand kicked into their faces” options to work hard to get into shape.

And no one ever walked the walk like Mr. Lalanne.

[fatima]

Agreed and I was never in better shape than when I exercized with him.Just have to post this funny commercial.:)
I Lift Things Up and Put Them Down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf37Ep_6-UY

[AD from SpringBay]

I nominate Jack for bad ass of the week.

[italybub]

FHM interview Q: What made you decide to get into fitness?
A.’ From the time I was 4 years old, I was a sugaraholic. I had these blinding headaches, no energy, an uncontrollable temper and failing grades. When I was 15, I attended a health lecture and it turned my life around. The minute I started exercising and eating natural foods, my whole life changed from Hell to Heaven.’

[BlueDragon]

I've seen there are a lot of threads about LaLane. I've met the guy, saw him at his (possible) worst one day --- had to threaten to punch his lights out to make him stop grabbing the cocktail waitresses by the "most sensitive" portion of their crotch. This was about twenty years ago.

I warned him twice. The first time politely, even though I'd been told when I came in the place, that he'd been carrying on like that for a while. The second time I got right in his face and loud, right in front of everyone in a certain waterfront restaurant bar. There wasn't going to be a third time. I'm glad he bought the story, because I was for real, and I probably would have ended up in jail, then would have had to hire lawyers to clear me later whenever I tried to buy a firearm.

Otherwise, even though he was ok as a fitness buff, I though him a bit of a weird jerk, in that his own celebrity had long "gone to his head". I lived in Morro Bay for years, and would see him around town. You should see the big statue of himself someone gave him that he had in front of his house. Weird. Then there was the way he barked at his wife Elaine. I didn't care much for it whenever I saw & heard it, not that I knew her on a one-to-one basis, or thought highly of her or anything.

He was a bully when he thought he could get away with it. I have ZERO respect for that sort of behavior.

I didn't read the thread, or the article here...just responding to the comments listing, since I'm sick of the hero worship.

I could tell more, perhaps something good, but I won't. There is one lessor celebrity whom I know that LaLane helped at a time when he was having real difficulties, and it bordered on the miraculous, in that it was tied in with an evolving miracle of sorts. For that info, it would be best to ask this guy;

Unfortunately Dennis passed away, which I just now found out about doing a search for a photo. The last I saw Dennis was in Templeton, CA, 'round abouts the Thanksgiving Season before last.

[Mariner]

The fittest man to ever walk the planet.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I once worked with a guy who claimed he did 100 pushups every morning. He was decently built so I assumed it was possible but at a sales meeting he and I had to share a room and I saw his 100 pushups. He didn’t dip more that 2 inches at the most and did them very rapidly. I was underwhelmed.

[GOP Poet]

That’s my story too. I should really read up more on Jack and his diet as well as his fitness. What an inspiration.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

Well, it would help if you told us who he is besides “Dennis”. lol :~)

[BlueDragon]

When encountering such, try right-clicking on the photo, which will open a menu box, choose "view properties".

With this photo, his name is part of the location.

The man was a former Mr. America, Mr. Universe, etc. He beat the former California governor in a couple of body building competitions for the likes of the above, and would have beat him a couple of more times too, if the contests hadn't been "fixed" for the Governator.

Both times that occurred, the Governator was slated to make his first two movies.