Off The Record
Fitness Guru Richard Simmons Has Died At 76, Cause Of Death Revealed
Richard Simmons, who became a mini-empire by encouraging overweight people to get out and eat healthier, passed away on Saturday.
Simmons was the energetic court jester of physical fitness on television. He was known for his signature tank tops and short shorts. On Friday, he turned 76.
According to an email sent to The Associated Press by Simmons’ publicist Tom Estey, the actor passed away at home in Los Angeles. He did not provide any further information.
The Los Angeles police and fire departments say they were called to a home where a man had been pronounced dead from natural causes. The AP was able to verify Simmons’ address with the property through public data.
Following his recent disappearance from public view, Simmons—who had disclosed a skin illness in March 2024—sparked speculation about his health and well-being. TMZ was the first to report on his demise.
Having formerly weighed 268 pounds, Simmons rose to prominence in the media and shared his hard-won weight-loss advice as the host of the Emmy-winning daytime show “Richard Simmons Show,” author of best-selling books, and creator of the Deal-A-Meal diet plan. Along with starting training studios, he starred in workout videos, such as the hugely popular “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” line that went on to become a cultural phenomenon.
“My food plan and diet are just two words — common sense. With a dash of good humor,” In 1982, he told The Associated Press, “I want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place.”
Simmons used mass media to spread his message, even if his extravagant clothing and flashy style eventually made him the target of jokes. He was a popular guest on TV programs hosted by Phil Donahue, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin. But Howard Stern would taunt him till he sobbed, and David Letterman would play practical jokes on him. In Neil Simon’s Broadway production of “The Goodbye Girl” in 1993, he was made fun of, and Eddie Murphy dressed up as him in “The Nutty Professor,” wearing white makeup and yelling, “I’m a pony!“
Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, “I think there’s a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It’s 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’s a different kind of training.”
In addition to 200 American stations, Simmons’ afternoon program aired in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, and South America. “Never Say Diet,” his debut book, became an immediate bestseller.
Rosalie Bradford, who held the record for being the heaviest woman in the world, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him shed 700 pounds, were two of the extremely obese people he was known to counsel. To make the fitness objectives seem doable, Simmons uses real people in his workout videos, whether they are overweight, balding, or unattractive.
Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. “There’ll 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,” he told the AP in 2005 as the Atkins diet craze swept the country. “If you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day you’ll live longer, feel better and look terrific.”
Born in New Orleans, Simmons was a plump boy given the name Milton by his parents. About the age of ten, he changed his name to “Richard” in an effort to feel better about himself. He would boast to others that he overindulged in food since he thought his parents preferred his older sibling. He gained about 200 pounds after being made fun of by his peers.
Simmons told the AP his mother watched exercise guru Jack LaLanne’s TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasn’t crazy about the fitness fanatic. “I hated him,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t 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.”
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 “Fellini Satyricon.” He told the AP: “I was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.”
After receiving an anonymous letter, his life was altered. “One dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, ‘Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but fat people die young. Please don’t die.” 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. “I went into the business because I couldn’t find anything I liked,” he said.
Following several years of Simmons’ disappearance from the public eye, numerous media sources conjectured that he was being held captive in his own home. In phone conversations, Simmons denied the allegations and assured his supporters that he was having fun spending time by himself with “Entertainment Tonight” and the “Today” show. One of his regular students, filmmaker and writer Dan Taberski, started a podcast called “Missing Richard Simmons” in 2017.
A representative for Simmons revealed to the New York Post that the adored fitness icon was “living the life he has chosen” in 2022, ending his six-year silence.
Actor and comedian Pauly Shore, who had previously worked on an unapproved biopic of Simmons to which Simmons had objected at the time, posted one of the tributes on the internet following Simmons’s passing.
“I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed,” he began in an Instagram post. “I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens,” adding, “You’re one of a kind, Richard. An amazing life. An amazing story.”
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