Ed Lange; Leading Advocate of Nudism

Ed Lange, the stalwart advocate of nudism who waged and won a 25-year zoning battle with Los Angeles County to operate his clothing-optional Elysium Institute in Topanga Canyon, has died. He was 75.

Lange, who was recently named citizen of the year by Topanga’s Chamber of Commerce, died Sunday in Los Angeles of cancer.

Originally a fashion photographer, Lange began publishing pro-nudist literature in 1961 as Elysium Growth Press. He issued books about body acceptance, health and self-esteem.

Clothes, he preached, are fine “for decoration and protection, but not for modesty. Modesty comes from within.”

But Lange gained greater fame in 1967 when he tried to create the Elysium Institute, complete with a swimming pool, tennis courts, sauna, picnic area and lectures on the naturalness and wholesomeness of nudity.

In 1992, Lange finally won a county conditional use permit for his “recreational and educational facility.” After all the opposition from the Board of Supervisors and others, he was required only to widen the road to his seven acres near Topanga State Park.

“We went from not acceptable to barely acceptable to quasi-acceptable to acceptable,” Lange told The Times earlier this year. “That was after they found out I wasn’t the devil.”

In February, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky commended Lange for his human rights activism.

“Nude doesn’t necessarily mean lewd,” Lange frequently said while showing visitors around. “This place is about what you see--the birds, the bees, the sounds of water. This is a supportive, protective environment.”

The nationally known Lange was a vice president of the American Assn. of Nude Recreation, a member of the American Sunbathing Assn. Nudist Hall of Fame and a vice president of the International Naturist Federation.

He was named citizen of the year not only for his work for nude rights but also for his philanthropic contributions to organizations such as the Topanga Women’s Club, the Topanga Community Center, the Topanga Philharmonic and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

As a photographer, Lange began his career working for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Life magazines. He worked as a studio photographer at Paramount and Conde Nast in Los Angeles, shooting Hollywood celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Lange’s architectural photographs are represented in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

He is survived by two daughters, Lisa Leah Lange and Dana Mia Lange Newman, and three grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to the American Civil Liberties Union or the American Cancer Society.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. May 21 at Elysium Fields in Topanga Canyon.