Richard Simmons, the celebrated fitness coach who was known for his joyful and flamboyant personality, died at his home on Saturday, his publicist told TheWrap. He was 76.
“Today the World lost an Angel,” publicist Thomas Estey said in a statement.
Simmons began his career in 1974 when he opened his gym The Anatomy Asylum in Beverly Hills. The gym was renamed the Slimmons Studio and operated until it was closed in November 2016.
In a 2012 interview with Men’s Health Simmons said that his classes at the gym were attended by several “very career-oriented” people who “whatever reason they just haven’t focused on taking better care of their bodies.” He also said he’s known for his music selection for class.
“My nickname is Dickie Jukebox. I own thousands and thousands and thousands of songs. Some days I’ll be getting ready for class and I’ll put together a list of every song with the word ‘Dance’ in the title,” Simmons explained. “You name it, ‘Dancing in the Streets’ and ‘Dancing in the Dark,’ whatever I can find. And then the next day I’ll look for songs that are all different dances.”
“I’ll have a workout mix that has the Hustle, the Congo, the Charleston, the Twist, the Can-Can, the Mexican Hat Dance, the Mash Potato, the Cha-Cha and the Macarena. You put all those songs together and speed them up a little and you’ve got people just sweatin’ and sweatin’ and feeling good and singing along. If I’ve got the right songs, I can weave a spell over everyone,” he added.
Later in the interview, Simmons admitted he was not interested in spreading negativity. “I think being silly is great. It’s much better than just seeing doom and gloom everywhere and only thinking of their past. That’s what people do,” he explained. “I wrote a short book called ‘Walking Among the Ruins’ because that’s what the majority of people in the world do. They walk among the ruins of their life. Things that didn’t work out, relationships that went sour, jobs that disappeared. All they can think about is their ruins, and when you focus on that you can’t build a new you.”
Interest in the gym created the opportunity for media appearances, including on the reality series “Real People” as well as on “Body Language,” “Win, Lose, or Draw,” and “Hollywood Squares.” Simmons also starred as himself on “General Hospital,” “Saturday Night Live,” and in the “Arrested Development” episode “Bringing Up Buster.”
Simmons’ energetic and playful personality were a huge part of his appeal to fans and clients who sought his help to lose weight. His “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” videos catapulted him to widespread fame throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 21st century, something the notoriously private fitness guru never quite adjusted to.
Simmons largely retreated from the public eye in 2014 and though regularly posted to his Facebook account. In one post shared in January, Simmons wrote, “For as long as I can remember, people have made fun of me. And people still to this day make fun of me. But you know what? I am glad to be me! And you should be glad that you are you. Three songs to listen to: I Will Survive… I Am What I Am… and … This Is Me. These songs will uplift you.”
In January Simmons also shot down any idea that he approved a planned biopic about his life starring Pauly Shore. “Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist.I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support,” he wrote on Facebook.
Days later Howard Stern said Simmons “should make a movie where he plays Pauly Shore and see if Pauly likes it.” Stern added of Simmons, “He’s a real caring human being and I think that’s why he eventually just disappeared, because he really got affected by the people he helped, and I really think it became too much of a burden.”
Simmons celebrated his 76th birthday on Friday, July 12. He shared a post on Facebook in which he wrote at length about the birthday traditions he grew up with. “My mom never baked our birthday cakes. She bought them from different bakeries,” Simmons said. “One year I had a birthday cake that was….welll not my style. It was a chocolate cake with cowboys and Indians fighting each other. There was green icing made to look like grass and a white Pickett fence around the whole cake. Maybe it had a message but I didn’t get it.”
Milton Teague Simmons was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 12, 1948 to Leonard Douglas Simmons Sr., and Shirley May. Simmons’ fitness career was inspired by his own weight loss journey; when he graduated high school Simmons weighed 268 pounds.
“I was completely obsessed with food. I began reading cookbooks when I was 6, because my father had hundreds of cookbooks in the kitchen,” he told Men’s Health. “I was obsessed with cooking and tasting different recipes. I got lost in being a compulsive eater. It brought me much happiness.”
In 2008 he told the Tampa Bay Times that he originally planned to become a priest because, “I thought that was my calling.” He added, “I was raised extremely Catholic in New Orleans. I thought that’s what I wanted to be, but it wasn’t. It was much different than the fun nuns and priests I had in the French Quarter.”
Simmons moved to Los Angeles in 1973 and tried to find a gym for people who were not already in shape but was unable to do so. His gym Slimmons was designed for anyone, “from the overweight and obese, to seniors and the physically challenged.”
In addition to his success with Slimmons Studio and the 65 fitness videos he created, Simmons was also the author of 9 books and 3 best-selling cookbooks.
This news was first reported by TMZ, citing law enforcement sources.
Mike Roe also contributed to this story.
