Richard Simmons, Iconic Fitness Guru, Dies at 76

Richard Simmons, the iconic fitness guru who helped millions get into shape, has died at the age of 76.

As reported by THR, Simmons’ rep shared that he passed away at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 13, which also happened to be one day after his birthday. Simmons even posted a message on his big day thanking everyone for the well wishes.

“Thank you… I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life,” Simmons said. “I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday. Love, Richard.”

Image Credit: Evan Hurd/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Image

Richard’s brother, Lenny, wrote a few words for the fitness icon and urged his fans to celebrate his life.

“I don’t want people to be sad about my brother,” Lenny Simmons wrote.” I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote, and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help. So don’t be sad. Celebrate his life.”

Richard Simmons was born Milton Teagle Simmons on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans and was overweight as a child. He weighed nearly 270 pounds when he graduated high school and would shortly after that take a trip to Europe that would set him on a path to stardom.

During this trip in 1968, he recalls that he found a note from an anonymous person on his car that said: “Dear Richard: Fat people die young. Please don’t die.”

He took that note to heart and got his weight down to 150 and wanted to share his journey with the world. He opened an exercise studio called Anatomy Asylum and a restaurant called Ruffage in 1974 and it took Beverly Hills by storm. It became so popular that some of his clients included Barbara Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Cheryl Ladd, Diana Ross, and Paul Newman.

Simmons was also huge in the world of media, beginning with the reality show Real People that spotlighted his studio. He would go on to appear as a recurring guest in General Hospital, host Slim Cookin and the Emmy Award-winning talk show The Richard Simmons Show, and play himself in such shows as Arrested Development, Amazing Stories, CHiPs, The Larry Sanders Show, and more.

RIP Richard Simmons

The Animated World loved you just as much as the world did. You were one of a kind and will be dearly missed. pic.twitter.com/uUyyD6oHtb

— TRAFON(s Backup Account) (@RiseFallNickBck) July 13, 2024

He may be the most well-known, however, for his Sweatin’ to the Oldies series, which was his most popular line of fitness videos.

While Simmons was beloved around the world, he began to withdraw from the public eye in 2014. He would then close his fitness studio in 2016 and rumors began to circulate that he was being held hostage by his housekeeper. He denied those rumors on The Today Show.

In January 2024, Simmons spoke out against the biopic of his life from The Wolper Organization that would star Pauly Shore, saying he has “never given my permission for this movie.”

“While we would love to have him involved,” the filmmakers behind the project said earlier this year, “we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story. We know he is deeply private, and we would never want to invade that. However, he is an amazing person that changed millions of people’s lives, and the effect he has had on the world needs to be recognized.”

I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed. I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens. Please give my mother Mitzi and my father Sammy a big hug and a kiss for me. You’re one of a kind, Richard. An amazing life. An amazing story.… pic.twitter.com/gM1650BWnK

— Pauly Shore (@PaulyShore) July 13, 2024

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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

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