Mark Wahlberg teaming up with Elaine LaLanne for new documentary
For decades, "The Jack LaLanne Show" brought everyday fitness to exercise enthusiasts everywhere.
The program, known for being one of the first and longest fitness TV shows, first premiered in 1951 and ran on ABC for years. Jack LaLanne, nicknamed the "godfather of fitness," presented the show, and his wife Elaine LaLanne, the so-called "first lady of fitness," was a co-host.
"Women, in my day, until he starred on television, we didn't think about working out," Elaine LaLanne recalled to ABC News' Danny New about the fitness landscape in the 1950s. The 100-year-old said she still remains active even in her golden years and commits to doing 30 jackknife exercises a day.
Now, actor and fitness buff Mark Wahlberg is teaming up with Elaine LaLanne to make a documentary about her late husband and his fitness legacy, with plans to make a movie down the line as well.
"Jack LaLanne is the most famous name ever connected to fitness in the history of the world," Wahlberg told New about the motivation behind the projects.
Jack LaLanne launched one of the country's first public health and fitness clubs in Oakland, California, in 1936, which offered weight training to both women and athletes, among others -- a revolutionary concept at the time, according to the Associated Press.
He went on to enjoy a storied career that included hosting his beloved TV program -- which offered viewers exercises that required no special equipment -- and inventing several modern exercise machines that are still used to this day.
Jack LaLanne died in 2011 at the age of 96. His agent Rick Hersh told the AP at the time that the fitness legend died at his Morro Bay home from respiratory failure caused by pneumonia.
Wahlberg told New he hopes to portray the "godfather of fitness" in the upcoming documentary film, as well as some of his headline-making feats such as swimming and pulling boats on his 70th birthday.
"I gotta get comfortable enough to walk out of the trailer in a Speedo but I'll do it. I'll do it!" Wahlberg said.
