Nothing happened to me. As I said in an interview: “I can’t afford to die, it would ruin my image.”

I was born in 1914 when “boomer” meant someone who made loud noises. I was a muscle man and fitness guru before anyone thought it was “cool.” All these baby boomer upstarts—Jane Fonda, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan—stand on my biceps. Who do you think invented modern weight machines, television exercise shows, and turned amazing feats of strength into an art form?

I sold my 200 + health clubs to Bally back in the 1980s. Boomers flocked to them. Most guys would have retired. But, heck, I was only 70 years young. To show the world 70 is the new 20, I swam handcuffed and shackled over a mile while towing 70 boats with 70 people. People said I was poetic but crazy. You bet I am.

Later, I became an infomercial icon. Is there a baby boomer out there that hasn’t bought one of my juicers yet? It’s not too late. Turn on the television.

But wait. There’s more. I’ve slowed down a bit, much not much. I work out and swim every day. My incredible public displays may be over. As I said on my 93^rd birthday, my feat of strength was to “tow my wife across the bathtub.” That’s a joke, my friend. Even now, I could tow the darn bathtub with you and all your rubber duckies across a lake.

Trivia Factoid

LaLanne told Katie Couric that he had two simple rules of nutrition: “If man made it, don’t eat it,” and “If it tastes good, spit it out.”

The following are among Jack’s most notable public feats of strength, as noted on his website.

1954 (age 40): Jack swam the entire length of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco under water with 140 pounds of equipment, including two air tanks.

1955 (age 41): Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed.

1956 (age 42): Jack set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on the television show You Asked for It.

1957 (age 43): Jack swam the Golden Gate channel in San Francisco while towing a 2,500-pound cabin crusher.

1958 (age 44): Jack maneuvered a paddleboat from the Farallon Islands to San Francisco shore, a 30 mile trip that took almost 10 hours.

1959 (age 45): On the first nationwide Jack LaLanne Show, the star did 1,000 star jumps  (leaping up as far as possible) and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes.

1974 (age 60): Again, Jack swam handcuffed from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf. This time he was also shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.

1975 (age 61): Repeating his performance of 21 years earlier, Jack swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge, underwater and handcuffed. To add the challenge, he was shackled and towed a 1,000-pound boat.

1976 (age 62): To commemorate the Bicentennial, our hero swam one mile handcuffed and shackled towing 13 boats (representing the 13 original colonies) containing 76 people.

1979 (age 65): Handcuffed and shackled, Jack towed 65 boats with 6,500 pounds of wood pulp.

1980 (age 66): Jack towed 10 boats carrying 77 people for over one mile in less than one hour.

1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, Jack fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats with 70 people.

Baby Boomer Trivia Questions

►What was the first television infomercial?

Waring Blender
Soloflex Exercise Machine
Herbalife Weight Loss Supplement
Chia-Chia Miracle Grow Plant

►BOOMERS IN COMMON: Match the actor to his “mighty” role:

Superman
Adam
Napoleon
Hercules
Anthony
Spartacus

Steve Reeves, George Reeves, Rod Steiger, Robert Mitchem, Richard Burton, Michael Parks

Answers to Trivia Questions at end of post

This Day in Baby Boomer History

1998: Paula Jones sex harassment trial vs. President Clinton begins.

1994: Michael Jackson marries Elivs’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley.

1993: Susan Lucci, who played Erica Kane on All My Children, was nominated and lost the Best Actress daytime Emmy for the 14th time. She finally snagged it in 1999.

1987: The Supreme Court rules that defendants who are regarded as a dangerous public menace can be held beyond their sentenced prison time.

1978: The first legal gambling casino opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1977: The first Star Wars movie premiers.

1972: Nixon and Brezhnev signed the SALT accords, limiting nuclear weapons.

1969: John Lennon and Yoko stage their second “bed-in” to protest the Vietnam War and promote world peace in Montreal. Timothy Leary, Dick Gregory, and the Smothers Brothers are visitors. The Canadian Broadcasting Network interviews the couple.

1966: A Buddhist sets himself on fire at the U.S. consulate in South-Vietnam, drawing international wire photos and commentary.

1963: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Series: Shirley Booth in Hazel. Don Knotts as Barney Fife gets Best Supporting Actor.

1961: Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee established in Atlanta to protest segregation in public transportation.

Answers

►The Waring Blender had a version of the television infomercial in 1949, well before the word was coined. Most credit the Herbalife television spot in 1984 as the modern pioneer.

►BOOMERS IN COMMON: Match the actor to his “mighty” role:

Superman→ George Reeves
Adam→ Michael Parks
Napoleon→ Rod Steiger
Hercules→ Steve Reeves
Anthony→ Richard Burton,
Spartacus→ Robert Mitchem