Jack Lalanne Day, Part 1 - Nudes

 Jack Lalanne famously went around to all the physique photographers for whom he had posed nude and asked them to hand over their negatives when he launched his TV show.  Russ Warner famously refused, and thanks to him, we have some great frontals of this model.  I have mixed opinions on Mr. Lalanne's character.  He was quoted during and after his lifetime as having made some pretty strongly homophobic remarks.  That lifetime was 96 years, so he must have been doing something right when it came to fitness, a concept he introduced to millions of Americans. 

 

Wheel

The watermark removal on this one leaves something to be desired.

For a different (and better) shot of Jack Lalanne and that wheel,

click on his name in the column at the right of this page.

 

Cropped

Someone cropped this from an item in that legendary Russ Warner 

duo photo shoot of Jack Lalanne with Jack Thomas.

I'll post more of those in a later series.

 

Demure

This demure item is likely by Russ Warner.

 

Work of Art

The most impressive work of art in this picture is Jack Lalanne.

 

Rock Wall

 

I've seen this last photo in part one attributed to both Bruce of LA and Dave Martin.  

I'm pretty sure, however, that it is by Russ Warner, like just about all the frontal nudes 

of Jack Lalanne.  The giveaway here is the little stone wall along the bottom.  

It appears in Russ Warner's photos of Louis Vinegas, among others.

What a lineup!

The all-star lineup here is (l-r) Russ Warner behind the camera,

Jack Lalanne, Norm Tousley, and Jimmy Payne.

 

Russ Warner

When Russ Warner refused to hand over his Jack Lalanne nudes,

he also held onto this impressive posing strap item.

 

Jack Lalanne Day, Part 2 - Magazine Covers

Jack Lalanne appeared on at least 14 magazine covers, and I probably missed 

several in my search.  Part two of our series shows five of these,

starting with an impressive shot from Muscle Power.

 

Strength and Health I

In the first of two Strength and Health covers in part two, we see Jack Lalanne on a beach.

Can you imagine a lead story in a modern health magazine about how to gain weight?

And of course, being the 1950s, they had to say something about "Those Russians."

 

VIM

The 15 cent price tells us this VIM cover was early in Mr. Lalanne's career.

 

Strength and Health II

Jack Lalanne does not seem quite as bulky on this later Strength and Health cover.

 

Your Physique

And finally, we see Mr. Lalanne's amazing good looks on the cover of Your Physique.

 

Jack Lalanne

Some people give Jack Lalanne a hard time for having tried unsuccessfully to round up and destroy 

all his nude photos when he got his first TV deal.  Fortunately, Russ Warner refused, and a few 

photos by other photographers resurfaced decades later when private collections were sold.  

I don't think we should judge Mr. Lalanne harshly, though.  He would have been blacklisted 

had his past become widely known, and he went on to introduce basic principals of fitness 

and health to millions.  And besides that, he was one fine looking and well built man.  

So he closes out my "honorable mention" list.

 

Jack Lalanne

Although my source did not have a photographer attribution, I'm fairly sure this is by Russ Warner.  

Mr. Lalanne is said to have rounded up all and destroyed all his nude work except for that of Mr. 
Warner, who refused to hand over the negatives.  Somehow I managed not to post this one until now, but I did get in a shot of Mr. Lalanne and Jack Thomas together earlier this week.

 

Jack Thomas and Jack Lalanne

This photo of Jack Thomas (left) and Jack Lalanne is part of a legendary photo shoot, the product of which Russ Warner refused to hand over or destroy when Jack Lalanne's TV career took off.

It is the onlh shot from that session that I have not previously posted.

 

Jack Lalanne

Russ Warner famously refused to hand over or destroy his frontal nudes of Jack Lalanne when the fitness guru got his first TV contract in the 1950s.  (To see some of those, click on the Jack Lalanne label in the column of topics ar right.)  This magazine cover shot in the Hollywood Hills reminds me that I have enough such photos by Mr. Warner to do a complete series.

 

Jack Mitchell Day

Jack Mitchell was an openly gay photographer who specialized in New York actors, dancers, and models.  He also took some memorable photos of celebrities such as Meryl Streep, Lauren Bacall, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, and a host of others.  Today we will look at ten of his photos.

 

Jack Lalanne

When he landed his first TV contract, Jack Lalanne (1914-2011) famously went around to the handful of photographers who had taken nude shots of him and insisted that they hand over their negatives to be destroyed.  Russ Warner just as famously refused to give them up.  This apparently didn't hurt 

Mr. Lalanne's career because he stayed on TV for the phenomenal stretch of 34 years.

 

Jack LaLanne and Jack Thomas took things to an extreme in this 1950s 

photo by Russ Warner.  Now that’s just showing off!

Thanks once again to LarryK for another great guest series.