International fitness guru Richard Simmons dies at age 76

Richard Simmons, the hyperactive fitness television court jester who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat healthier, died Saturday. He was 76 Friday. Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Tom Estey told The Associated Press in an email. He did not provide further details.

Los Angeles police and fire officials say they were called to a home “whose address the AP matched to Simmons through public records” where a man had been pronounced dead from natural causes. Simmons, who had disclosed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had recently disappeared from public view, fueling speculation about his health and well-being. His death was first reported by TMZ.

Simmons was a former 268-pound teenager who became a master of multiple media formats, sharing his hard-won weight-loss tips as the host of the Emmy-winning daytime show “Richard Simmons Show” and the bestselling author of the diet plan Deal-A-Meal. He also opened fitness studios and starred in fitness videos, including the wildly successful “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” line that became a cultural phenomenon.

“My nutrition plan and diet are just two words, ‘common sense. With a touch of humor,'” he told The Associated Press in 1982. “I want to help people and make the world a healthier, happier place.”

Simmons embraced mass communication to spread his message, even as he eventually became the butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair. He was a popular guest on TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue. But David Letterman would make fun of him and Howard Stern would tease him until he cried. He was mocked in Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl” on Broadway in 1993, and Eddie Murphy donned white makeup and dressed as he did in “The Nutty Professor,” shouting, “I’m a pony!”

When asked if he thought he could motivate people by being stupid, Simmons replied, “I think there’s a time to be serious and a time to be stupid. It’s knowing when to do it. I try to have a nice combination. Being stupid cures depression. It surprises people and makes them think. But in between that stupidity, there’s a lot of seriousness that’s useful. It’s a different kind of training.”

Simmons’ daytime program was seen on 200 stations in the United States, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, “Never Say Diet,” was a bestseller.

He was known for advising severely overweight people, including Rosalie Bradford, who held the record for the world’s heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons with helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people, “chubby, bald or non-telegenic” in his workout videos to make fitness goals seem attainable.

Throughout his career, Simmons has been a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise routines. “There’s always going to be something weird about eating four grapes before you go to bed, or drinking a special tea, or buying this little bean from El Salvador,” he told the AP in 2005, as the Atkins diet craze was sweeping the country. “If you watch your portions, have good posture and exercise every day, you’ll live longer, feel better and look great.”

Simmons was originally from New Orleans, a chubby boy whom his parents named Milton. (He renamed himself “Richard” around age 10 to improve his self-image.) He told people that he ate excessively because he believed his parents liked his older brother better. He was bullied by schoolmates and weighed nearly 200 pounds.

Simmons told the AP that his mother watched fitness guru Jack LaLanne’s TV show religiously when he was a child, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the fitness fanatic. “I hated him,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t ready for his message because he was fit and healthy and had such a positive attitude, and I wasn’t like that at all.”

Simmons went to Italy as an exchange student and ended up doing peanut butter commercials and bacchanalian food scenes for director Federico Fellini in his film “Fellini Satyricon.” He told the AP: “I was fat, curly-haired. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.”

His life changed after he received an anonymous letter. “One dark, rainy day I was walking to my car and found a note. It said, ‘Dear Richard, you are very funny, but fat people die young. Please don’t die.’ He was so shocked that he went on a starvation diet, which left him thin but very sick.

After the crash diet, he gained 65 pounds. Eventually, he was able to come up with a sensible plan to lose the pounds and keep them off. “I got into the business because I couldn’t find anything I liked,” he said.

After Simmons had not been seen in public for several years, some news outlets speculated that he was being held hostage in his own home. In phone interviews with “Entertainment Tonight” and the “Today” show, Simmons refuted the claims, telling fans that he was enjoying the time alone. Filmmaker-writer Dan Taberski, one of his frequent students, launched a podcast in 2017 called “Missing Richard Simmons.”

In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, telling the New York Post that the beloved fitness icon was “living the life he chose.”

One of the online tributes following Simmons’ death came from actor and comedian Pauly Shore, who previously made an unauthorized biopic about Simmons, which Simmons objected to at the time.

“I’ve just learned, like everyone else, that the wonderful Richard Simmons has passed away,” he began in an Instagram post. “Hope you’re at peace and shining in heaven,” adding, “You’re one of a kind Richard. An amazing life. An amazing story.”