We calculate the blue-red-blue evolution of the progenitor of SN 1987A in the HR diagram by adopting the Schwarzschild criterion for convection and by choosing appropriate parameters for mass loss and mixing [Fig. 1 (left) where metallicity is Z = 0.005]. During helium burning, the star moves from the blue to the red due to mass loss from 23 M⊙ to 16 M⊙. Figure 2 (right) shows the lifetime in effective temperature bins normalized to unity (solid) compared with the number of supergiants with −8 < Mboi < � 9 in the LMC, which is also normalized to unity (dashed). The model is qualitatively consistent with the observed histogram.