The fitness instructor Richard Simmons, who rocketed to fame in the 1980s with up-tempo neon-colored exercise videos such as Sweatin’ to the Oldies, has died.
Simmons had just thanked fans on social media for birthday wishes after he turned 76 on Friday. “I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” Simmons wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.”
ABC News said Simmons’ death was confirmed by his representative on Saturday, following a 911 call made by his housekeeper. It added that Simmons appeared to have died of natural causes, citing police sources.
Born in New Orleans as Milton Teagle Simmons, Simmons rose to fame in the 1970s and captured the zeitgeist in the 1980s through a series of exercise videos, conducted in often lurid outfits. He also opened a number of gyms, promoted a range of products and became an established media presence on TV and radio over the decades.
Having long been the most recognizable face of fitness and healthy living in the US, promoting various weight-loss programs in his often flamboyant style, Simmons also became involved in aspects of political activism, such as his support for non-competitive physical education in public schools.
In the past decade, Simmons had largely retreated from public life. In March, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer, underneath his eye. In the same month, he posted on social media that “I am … dying. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death.”
He later clarified that he was not actually about to die and that he intended to pass on a message for people to embrace life.