Richard Simmons, fitness guru who mixed laughs and sweat, dies at 76

Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive tribunal jester of beingness fittingness who built a mini-empire successful his trademark vessel tops and short shorts by urging nan overweight to workout and eat better, died Saturday. He was 76.

Los Angeles constabulary and occurrence departments opportunity they responded to a Los Angeles location wherever a man was declared dormant from earthy causes. Neither provided a name, but The Associated Press matched nan reside and property to Simmons through nationalist records.

TMZ was nan first to study his death. It has besides been reported by different outlets citing unnamed Simmons representatives.

Simmons, who revealed a tegument test successful March 2024, had lately dropped retired of sight, sparking speculation astir his wellness and well-being.

Simmons was a erstwhile 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight-loss tips arsenic big of nan Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show,” writer of best-selling books and nan fare scheme Deal-A-Meal, arsenic good arsenic opening workout studios and starring successful millions of workout videos, including nan successful “Sweatin’ to nan Oldies” line.

“My nutrient scheme and fare are conscionable 2 words — communal sense. With a dash of bully humour,” he told The Associated Press successful 1982. “I want to thief group and make nan world a healthier, happy place.”

Simmons embraced wide connection to get his connection out, moreover arsenic he yet became nan butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair. He was a impermanent connected TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue. But David Letterman would prank him and Howard Stern would tease him until he cried. He was mocked successful Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl” connected Broadway successful 1993, and Eddie Murphy put connected achromatic constitution and dressed for illustration him successful “The Nutty Professor,” screaming “I’m a pony!”

Asked if he thought he could motivate group by being silly, Simmons answered, “I deliberation there’s a clip to beryllium superior and a clip to beryllium silly. It’s knowing erstwhile to do it. I effort to person a bully combination. Being silly cures depression. It catches group disconnected defender and makes them think. But successful betwixt that silliness is simply a batch of seriousness that makes sense. It’s a different benignant of training.”

Simmons’ daytime show was seen connected 200 stations successful America, arsenic good arsenic Australia, New Zealand, nan Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, “Never Say Diet” was a smash bestseller.

He was known to counsel nan severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being nan world’s heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him suffer 700 pounds. Simmons put existent group — chubby, balding aliases non-telegenic — successful his workout videos to make nan fittingness goals look reachable.

Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable professional of fad diets, ever emphasizing patient eating and workout plans. “There’ll ever beryllium immoderate weird point astir eating 4 grapes earlier you spell to bed, aliases drinking a typical tea, aliases buying this small legume from El Salvador,” he told nan AP successful 2005 arsenic nan Atkins fare craze swept nan country. “If you watch your portions and you person a bully cognition and you activity retired each time you’ll unrecorded longer, consciousness amended and look terrific.”

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Simmons was a autochthonal of New Orleans, a chubby boy named Milton by his parents. (He renamed himself “Richard” astir nan property of 10 to amended his self-image). He would show group he ate to excess because he believed his parents liked his older relative more. He was teased by schoolmates and ballooned to almost 200 pounds.

Simmons told nan AP his mother watched workout guru Jack LaLanne’s TV show religiously erstwhile he was increasing up, but he wasn’t crazy astir nan fittingness fanatic. “I hated him,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t fresh for his connection because he was fresh and he was patient and he had specified a affirmative attitude, and I was nary of those things.”

Simmons went to Italy arsenic a overseas speech student and ended up doing peanut food commercials and bacchanalian eating scenes for head Federico Fellini successful his movie “Fellini Satyricon.” He told nan AP: “I was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was nan life of nan party.”

His life changed aft getting an anonymous letter. “One dark, rainy time I went to my car and recovered a note. It said, ‘Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but fat group dice young. Please don’t die.” He was truthful stunned that he went connected nan starvation fare that near him bladed but very ill.

After nan clang fare he gained backmost 65 pounds. Eventually, he was capable to devise a sensible scheme to return disconnected nan pounds and support them off. “I went into nan business because I couldn’t find thing I liked,” he said.

When Simmons hadn’t been seen successful nationalist for respective years, immoderate news outlets speculated that he was being held hostage successful his ain house. In telephone interviews pinch “Entertainment Tonight” and nan “Today” show, Simmons refuted nan claims and told his fans he was enjoying nan clip by himself. Filmmaker-writer Dan Taberski, 1 of his regular students, launched a podcast successful 2017 called “Missing Richard Simmons.”

In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, pinch his spokesperson telling The New York Post that nan beloved fittingness icon was “living nan life he has chosen.”

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