Jack LaLanne, the fitness pioneer who inspired TV viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades (34 years), died at 96 of respiratory failure due to pneumonia at his home in California.

He ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end. Just before he had heart valve surgery in 2009 at age 95, Jack Lalanne told his family that dying would wreck his image.

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use it," LaLanne said. "Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it's never too late."

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 developed exercises that used no special equipment, just a chair and a towel.

He said his own daily routine usually consisted of two hours of weightlifting and an hour in the swimming pool.

When he turned 43 in 1957, he performed more than 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes on a TV show. At 60 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf handcuffed, shackled and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At 70, handcuffed and shackled again, he towed 70 boats, carrying a total of 70 people, a mile and a half through Long Beach Harbor.

He had a blog too: http://www.jacklalanne.com/blog

Jack LaLanne at Age 95 (CBS). He had just published his 11th book at the time.

Twitter comments:

@TracylynnHolt (Tracyfogelstrom-Holt) But lived an awesome LIFE...:):)

@DrVes: Sure. He was great. I wish everybody could make it to 96 in reasonable health... 🙂