Richard Simmons was a fitness legend beginning in the 1970s.
Simmons rose to fame pioneering his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” aerobics workouts, leading him to launch his own fitness studio Slimmons until its 2016 closure.
After Slimmons closed up shop for good, the weight loss guru resigned from the limelight, prompting rampant conspiracy theories about his whereabouts.
“No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” Simmons said on the Today show in March 2016, shutting down the speculation. “You know, I do what I want to do as I’ve always done so people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons!”
He added, “I just sort of wanted to be a little bit of a loner for a little while. You know, I had hurt my knee, and I had some problems with it, and then the other knee started giving me trouble because I’ve taught, like, thousands and thousands of classes, and you know, right now, I just want to sort of take care of me.”
Simmons, who went on to keep fans updated on his well-being via Facebook, was diagnosed with skin cancer in March 2024. Nearly five months later, Simmons died at the age of 76. A cause of death was not immediately revealed.
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