With an iron man’s physique and a determination verging on mania, Jack LaLanne became America’s leading workout and natural nutrition guru in an era when such concerns were hardly mainstream.

LaLanne, who died Sunday at age 96 at his home in Morro Bay, opened a string of gyms in the 1930s and went on to host “The Jack LaLanne Show,” syndicated nationwide. Cheerful and distinctively dressed in a jumpsuit and ballet slippers, LaLanne was fond of slogans like, “First we inspire them, then we perspire them.” But behind the glib exterior was a philosophy of exercise and whole foods that was decades ahead of its time.

Lalanne, who had heart valve surgery two years ago, maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that “I can’t afford to die. It would wreck my image.”

&#8226 CLICK HERE to read the Associated Press story.

&#8226 CLICK HERE to read the Wall Street Journal story.