Fitness Guru Jack LaLanne Dead at 96

Television fitness guru Jack LaLanne died yesterday in his California home from respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96. LaLanne, a self-professed "sugar-holic" as a child, was an advocate of exercise, raw vegetables, and clean living—and widely considered to be the father of the modern fitness movement . He was active up until a few months before his death, and worked out for two hours every day well into his 90s.

"He was surrounded by his family and passed very peacefully and in no distress ... and with the football game on Sunday, so everything was normal," his daughter told Reuters. The Jack LaLanne Show, which showed American housewives how to exercise and cook healthy foods, was on the air for 34 years. LaLanne was also known for his fitness stunts: At the age of 70 he towed 70 boats for 1.5 miles while shackled and handcuffed. "I can't die," LaLanne was known to say. "It would ruin my image." Click for more on Jack LaLanne. (More Jack LaLanne stories.)