Legendary Fitness Guru Richard Simmons Dead at 76

Legendary fitness guru and beloved icon of the 1980s Richard Simmons died Saturday, just one day after turning 76.

According to ABC News, few details were immediately available about Simmons’ death, but the “Los Angeles Police Department responded to his home after a 911 call from his housekeeper and found Simmons dead, police sources told ABC News. He appears to have died of natural causes, and no foul play is suspected, the sources said.”

Simmons scared his beloved fans in March when he wrote on Facebook that he was dying.

“I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am …. dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death,” he said.

Simmons followed by saying that he was not actually dying but wanted to encourage people to “embrace every day that we have.”
The fitness guru made headlines in 2023 upon reports of a biopic about him that would be starring former 1990s comedic actor Pauly Shore. Simmons stressed he had no involvement in the project.

“Don’t believe everything you read. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful,” he said.

Before his death, Simmons expressed gratitude to his fans on Facebook for their birthday wishes.

“Thank you … I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” he wrote. “I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter (THR), during his heyday in the 1980s with the popularity of his syndicated exercise TV show, Simmons “flew around the country making motivational speeches and conducting fitness classes for rapt fans.”

“In 1980, he published Richard Simmons’ Never-Say-Diet Book, a huge best-seller that had chapters like ‘Coming to Grips With Your Hips’ and ‘How to Eat Out and Not Pig Out,'” it noted.