Let’s Get Physical

The postwar spread of television made possible the career of the most notable competitor to Charles Atlas, François Henri “Jack” LaLanne. Like Macfadden, LaLanne was a reformed physical wreck who decided “physical culture and nutrition is the salvation of America.” He’d opened a pioneering gym in Oakland in 1936 at age 21, and took his fitness gospel to the airwaves in 1951. His “Jack LaLanne Show” aired until 1985 and earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; fans ranged from housewives to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He paved the way for Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda’s workout videos.
Proving the longevity benefits he’d touted, LaLanne died in 2011 at age 96. Not quite so fortunate was Charles Atlas, who died of a heart attack during his daily jog in 1972 at age 79.