Richard Simmons, television含羞草研究社檚 hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better, died Saturday. He turned 76 on Friday.
Los Angeles police and fire departments say they responded to a Los Angeles house where a man was declared dead from natural causes. Neither provided a name, but The Associated Press matched the address and age to Simmons through public records.
TMZ was first to report his death, which has also been reported by other outlets citing unnamed Simmons representatives.
Simmons, who had revealed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculating about his health and well-being.
Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime 含羞草研究社淩ichard Simmons Show,含羞草研究社� author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal, as well as opening exercise studios and starring in millions of exercise videos, including the successful 含羞草研究社淪weatin含羞草研究社� to the Oldies含羞草研究社� line.
含羞草研究社淢y food plan and diet are just two words 含羞草研究社� common sense. With a dash of good humor,含羞草研究社� he told The Associated Press in 1982. 含羞草研究社淚 want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place.含羞草研究社�
Simmons embraced mass communication to get his message out, even as he eventually became the butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair. He was a guest on 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 in Neil Simon含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淭he Goodbye Girl含羞草研究社� on Broadway in 1993, and Eddie Murphy put on white makeup and dressed like him in 含羞草研究社淭he Nutty Professor,含羞草研究社� screaming 含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 a pony!含羞草研究社�
Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, 含羞草研究社淚 think there含羞草研究社檚 a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It含羞草研究社檚 knowing when to do it. I try to have a nice combination. Being silly cures depression. It catches people off guard and makes them think. But in between that silliness is a lot of seriousness that makes sense. It含羞草研究社檚 a different kind of training.含羞草研究社�
Simmons含羞草研究社� daytime show was seen on 200 stations in America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, 含羞草研究社淣ever Say Diet,含羞草研究社� was a smash best seller.
He was known to counsel the severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being the world含羞草研究社檚 heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people 含羞草研究社� chubby, balding or non-telegenic 含羞草研究社� in his exercise videos to make the fitness goals seem reachable.
Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. 含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檒l always be some weird thing about eating four grapes before you go to bed, or drinking a special tea, or buying this little bean from El Salvador,含羞草研究社� he told the AP in 2005 as the Atkins diet craze swept the country. 含羞草研究社淚f you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day you含羞草研究社檒l live longer, feel better and look terrific.含羞草研究社�
Simmons was a native of New Orleans, a chubby boy named Milton by his parents. (He renamed himself 含羞草研究社淩ichard含羞草研究社� around the age of 10 to improve his self-image). He would tell people he ate to excess because he believed his parents liked his older brother more. He was teased by schoolmates and ballooned to almost 200 pounds.
Simmons told the AP his mother watched exercise guru Jack LaLanne含羞草研究社檚 TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasn含羞草研究社檛 crazy about the fitness fanatic. 含羞草研究社淚 hated him,含羞草研究社� Simmons said. 含羞草研究社淚 wasn含羞草研究社檛 ready for his message because he was fit and he was healthy and he had such a positive attitude, and I was none of those things.含羞草研究社�
Simmons went to Italy as a foreign exchange student and ended up doing peanut butter commercials and bacchanalian eating scenes for director Federico Fellini in his film 含羞草研究社淔ellini Satyricon.含羞草研究社� He told the AP: 含羞草研究社淚 was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.含羞草研究社�
His life changed after getting an anonymous letter. 含羞草研究社淥ne dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, 含羞草研究社楧ear Richard, you含羞草研究社檙e very funny, but fat people die young. Please don含羞草研究社檛 die.含羞草研究社� He was so stunned that he went on the starvation diet that left him thin but very ill.
After the crash diet he gained back 65 pounds. Eventually, he was able to devise a sensible plan to take off the pounds and keep them off. 含羞草研究社淚 went into the business because I couldn含羞草研究社檛 find anything I liked,含羞草研究社� he said.
When Simmons hadn含羞草研究社檛 been seen in public for several years, some news outlets speculated that he was being held hostage in his own house. In telephone interviews with 含羞草研究社淓ntertainment Tonight含羞草研究社� and the 含羞草研究社淭oday含羞草研究社� show, Simmons refuted the claims and told his fans he was enjoying the time by himself. Filmmaker-writer Dan Taberski, one of his regular students, launched a podcast in 2017 called 含羞草研究社淢issing Richard Simmons.含羞草研究社�
In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, with his spokesperson telling The New York Post that the beloved fitness icon was 含羞草研究社渓iving the life he has chosen.含羞草研究社�
___ Mark Kennedy is at
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Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
