Richard Simmons, fitness guru and TV personality, dead at 76

FILE PHOTO: Richard Simmons onstage at JDRF’s Los Angeles Walk to Cure Diabetes at the Rose Bowl on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision for JDRF/AP)

LOS ANGELES – Richard Simmons, the fitness guru whose flamboyant personality and infectious energy made him a mainstay of television talk shows and infomercials for years, was found dead at his Hollywood Hills home Saturday, one day after his 76th birthday.

Simmons’ death was first reported by TMZ.

Authorities were dispatched at 9:55 a.m. Saturday to 1350 Belfast Drive in Hollywood Hills West on a call of a cardiac arrest/suspected death, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. They did not transport anyone to a hospital.

The department described it as a “natural death” and said the decedent was 76 years old.

Simmons’ housekeeper was the one who called authorities, according to multiple media reports. TMZ added later that unnamed law enforcement sources told the website that Simmons had a fall Friday night, which could have been connected to his death.

Simmons celebrated his 76th birthday Friday, relayed in a lengthy post on Facebook.

“Thank you — I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday,” he posted in a follow-up message.

After spending years as a ubiquitous figure on television, Simmons has retreated from public appearances in recent years amid rampant speculation about his health. He was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2017 for what was reported to be a gastrointestinal problem.

But he told People this week that he felt good as he prepared for his birthday.
“I feel good! I am grateful that I’m here, that I am alive for another day. I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people,” he said.

Born in New Orleans, Simmons moved to Southern California in the 1970s, working as a maitre d in Beverly Hills before opening his first gym in that city, called Slimmons. It was closed in 2016.

At a time when the fitness movement was mostly associated with the young and beautiful, Simmons focused on older people and those who struggled with serious weight issues, helping them overcome doubts and insecurity to improve their lives through exercise, diet and a positive attitude.

His career took off via his burgeoning appearances on television, as a guest on daytime and late-night talk shows and as the host of his own shows, “Slim Cookin” and “The Richard Simmons Show.”

He made numerous appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman” and on Howard Stern’s radio show, where he was often the butt of jokes from the hosts that made reference to his perceived homosexuality.

His television appearances included stints on “Real People” and a recurring role as himself on “General Hospital,” and spots on “Evening Shade,” “Arrested Development” and “The Larry Sanders Show” among others.

On the big screen, Simmons appeared in the films “Fellini Satyricon” in 1969 and “What Women Want” in 2000.
He made a fortune producing home-exercise videos during the VHS and DVD boom of the 1980s and ’90s, most famously with his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” series.

Simmons was also a brand spokesman for several products, including Sprint, Yoplait, and Herbal Essence shampoo.
A vegetarian, Simmons wrote numerous cookbooks and espoused the importance of a healthy diet.
His expansive business ventures also included his “Cruise to Lose” ship excursions.

Coincidentally, Simmons’ death occurred within hours of the passing of another TV icon of the 1980s, Dr. Ruth

Westheimer. The diminutive sex therapist, whose non-judgmental, grandmotherly demeanor helped average Americans talk more freely about sexual issues via appearances on many of the same shows that welcomed Simmons, died Friday at her home in New York at age 96.

Sally Jessy Raphael, who hosted a syndicated television talk show from 1983 to 2002, posted a tribute to Simmons accompanied by a photo of the two from their glory years.

“I am completely devastated at the loss of @theweightsaint… we’ve done so many shows together, shared so many laughs & hugs, and I considered him a dear friend who changed so many lives over the years,” she wrote on X.
Comedian and actor Pauly Shore has been attached to a biopic in which he would portray Simmons, but its subject was reportedly not on board with the project.

“I just read that a man that I don’t know is writing my bio pic starring Pauly Shore,” Simmons posted on social media in April. “I do not approve this movie. I am in talks with major studios to create my own biopic  with some help. Wait for this movie.”

And just four days ago, Simmons posted the following message on his Facebook page: “Getting closer to telling my story in my own words. I’m so excited!”

Shore paid tribute to Simmons on Saturday.

“I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed,” Shore wrote on X. “I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens. Please give my mother Mitzi and my father Sammy a big hug and a kiss for me. You’re one of a kind, Richard. An amazing life. An amazing story. They broke the dolphin shorts when they made you. Rest in peace, my friend. Rest in peace.”

Three months ago, Simmons posted that he was dying on Facebook, writing in March, “I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am …. dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death.”

He later clarified that he was not actually dying, but that the message was intended to encourage everyone to “embrace every day that we have,” according to ABC News.

Simmons was the author of nine books, including the New York Times Best Seller, “Never Say Diet.” (With CNS report)