Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Richard Simmons, the energetic exercise icon behind the Sweatin’ to the Oldies workout tapes, has died at 76. A representative for Simmons confirmed the news to ABC. He had just celebrated his birthday on Friday, tweeting, “Thank you…I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” TMZ initially reported that law enforcement responded to a call from Simmons’s housekeeper on Saturday morning and pronounced him dead at the scene, with police suspecting no foul play and investigating it as a natural death. TMZ later updated its report to note that law enforcement sources said Simmons’s death could be connected to a bathroom fall he had the night before. Foul play is reportedly still not suspected.
Born Milton Teagle Simmons in 1948, Simmons grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has spoken about being overweight as a child and young adult. He eventually developed an interest in fitness and weight loss. After moving to Los Angeles, he opened a gym in Beverly Hills called Slimmons. In 1980, he released the first of twelve books, Never Say Diet. But it was his Sweatin’ to the Oldies series of aerobic workout tapes that brought him to another level of fame. In a 2008 CW11 interview, Simmons reflected on the enduring appeal of these at-home workouts. “The people in the videos are real people, they’re not like Q-tips in Spandex. These are people of all different shapes and sizes,” he said. “And then it had a live band, and it had real singers […] they’re just great workouts that make you feel good. They’re safe, they’re fun, and you get caught in the music.”
Once a regular guest on late-night talk shows, Simmons stepped away from public life about a decade ago. His withdrawal from the spotlight was questioned in the 2017 podcast Missing Richard Simmons, which wondered whether he was depressed or even being held captive. But it ultimately appeared that Simmons just wanted a quiet retirement. Still, thanks to Pauly Shore, he found himself back in headlines this year. Simmons has denounced an upcoming movie about his life that Shore is said to be playing him in. “I just read that a man that I don’t know is writing my biopic starring Pauly Shore. I do not approve this movie,” Simmons tweeted in April. “I am in talks with major studios to create my own biopic with some help. Wait for this movie.”