Richard Simmons, Beloved Fitness Instructor, Dead at 76

Richard Simmons, the incomparable fitness guru who got people moving and sweating with his eccentric coaching style, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 76.

TMZ, who was first to report the news, reports Simmons died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. The outlet, citing law enforcement sources, says police got a call from his housekeeper just before 10 a.m. PT. He was pronounced dead at the scene and no foul play is suspected at this time. The cause of death is not known.

ET has reached to Simmons’ rep. Simmons had just posted some six hours ago on social media a photo of Simmons as Barbra Streisand.

Simmons’ death comes just one day after he celebrated his 76th birthday. His rep told ET on Friday that Simmons was excited about landing Patrick Leonard as the composer for his upcoming Broadway musical.  

Simmons also took to Facebook on his birthday and shared a throwback photo of him celebrating his first birthday. He also reflected on birthday cakes, making birthday cards in grade school and what he and his brother, Lenny, would get as gifts on their birthdays.

As recently as March, Simmons set the record straight about his health after previously sharing his skin cancer treatment story. He later took to Facebook to explain that the story took place “years ago.”

“I have had a tremendous amount of responses on my message regarding skin cancer,” Simmons wrote. “It happened so many years ago. The reason I wrote these two messages is that if you see a spot on your body please go to your doctor …so they can diagnose it right away.”

“I guess I should be more careful about what I write about,” Simmons added.

Born July 12, 1948, as Milton Simmons, he grew up in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, and had aspirations to be an actor.

In 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and it was then that he started to focus on his health. According to Simmons’ official website, the fitness guru was 268 pounds when he graduated from high school, and dropped the weight when he moved to L.A. In numerous interviews, Simmons has said it was his own struggle to lose weight through a string of fad diets that inspired him to help others lead a healthy lifestyle.

In 1974, he opened his fitness studio, Slimmons, in Beverly Hills, California, which recently closed in November of 2016.

From there, Simmons went on to encourage others with the release 65 workout videos — including Sweatin’ to the Oldies, Dance Your Pants Off and Sit Tight (a workout designed for people who cannot stand) — that have sold over 20 million copies, his website notes.

In addition to his wildly successful workout videos, Simmons authored several books, including the 1980 New York Times bestseller, Never Say Diet, his 1999 biography, Still Hungry-After All These Years: My Story, and three cookbooks.

Simmons’ career also spanned into television. From 1980 to 1984, he hosted the Emmy-winning talk show, The Richard Simmons Show, and was a regular on General Hospital.

His most recent business venture occurred earlier in April 2017 when his management company, Prominent Brand + Talent, acquired exclusive rights to represent Simmons for merchandising, endorsements and licensing opportunities. His rep, Michael Catalano, told ET that the yet-to-be-released products would be “consistent” with Simmons’ “message and mission.”

Even with worldwide fame, Simmons continued to teach classes at Slimmons, but in February 2014, he retreated from the public eye completely.

In March 2016, Simmons addressed fans’ concern in regard to his well-being in an exclusive phone interview with ET. “I love all the people who worry about me,” he said. “But it was time for me to take some time to be by myself.”

“This is how I want to live my life right now,” he added. “And to all the people that are worried about me, please don’t be. If I was in any trouble, if I was hurting in any way, I would reach out. It is time right now for Richard Simmons to take care of Richard Simmons.”

Simmons’ death comes after Pauly Shore shared that he’s moving forward with his Simmons biopic “whether [Simmons] likes it or not.”

Shore made that declaration during his Netflix Is a Joke comedy show in Los Angeles, as first reported by Variety.

“I’m also gonna be starring in the Richard Simmons biopic … whether he likes it or not,” Shore said, per the outlet. “Just another f***ing bump in my f***ing road.”

ET had previously reported that the project did not have the support of Simmons himself. But that didn’t stop Shore from dropping photos and a teaser trailer, which depict him as Simmons in The Court Jester.

Simmons’ rep later told ET, “Richard and I are not endorsing this project. It is unauthorized. I spoke to Pauly last year and told him [Richard] is not ready to tell his story.”

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