Richard Simmons Celebrates 76th Birthday With Update on His Musical

Richard Simmons is a busy man, even on his birthday!

The fitness guru turned 76 on Friday but apparently that’s no excuse to have a leisure day. His rep, Tom Estey, tells ET that Simmons is spending his birthday working on his new Broadway musical. What’s more, Estey says Simmons has aligned with Patrick Leonard — who has worked with the likes of Madonna, Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Jon Bon Jovi and many more — to compose the music.

Simmons also took to Facebook 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.

“Lenny and I always received clothes for our birthday. As I became successful I bought my father cotton handkerchiefs with an S monogram as well as a cologne made with Patchouli,” he wrote in his post. “I bought my mom a fragrance by Germaine Monteil called Royal Secret. She preferred the bath oil to put on her neck because it lasted longer.  When that fragrance was discontinued she became an Oscar De La Renta lady. Also each month I sent them a check so they could buy anything they wanted.”

He signed off his message by thanking everyone for the wonderful wishes.

“So many of you have sent me birthday wishes on my Facebook and other platforms,” he wrote. “I really appreciate that. I don’t know when your birthday is but I wish you a happy and healthy birthday!”

Simmons’ birthday and update on his musical come just two months 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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