Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (July 12, 1948 - July 13, 2024) was an American fitness instructor and television personality who became a cultural icon, urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. Simmons, who had revealed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculating about his health and well-being. Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who became a master of many media forms, sharing his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show” and author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal. He also opened exercise studios and starred exercise videos, including the wildly successful “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” line, which became a cultural phenomenon. He died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 76.
From Milton to Richard: The Early Years
Born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 12, 1948, to Leonard Douglas Simmons Sr. and Shirley May (née Satin), Simmons faced weight issues from a young age. He became obese during his early childhood and adolescence. He began to overeat and became overweight as early as the age of 4 and by the age of 5, he knew it was perceived negatively. At the age of 15, he weighed 182 pounds (83 kg). He would tell people he ate to excess because he believed his parents liked his older brother more. Around the age of 10, he renamed himself "Richard" to improve his self-image. Simmons told the AP his mother watched exercise guru Jack LaLanne’s TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasn’t crazy about the fitness fanatic. “I hated him,” Simmons said.
Simmons went to Italy as a foreign exchange student and ended up doing peanut butter commercials and bacchanalian eating scenes for director Federico Fellini in his film “Fellini Satyricon.” He told the AP: “I was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. His life changed after getting an anonymous letter. “One dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, ‘Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but fat people die young.
Slimmons and Rise to Fame
Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons worked as the maître d'hôtel at Derek's, a restaurant in Beverly Hills. He developed an interest in fitness. Exercise studios of the day favored the already fit customer, so little help was available for those who needed to gain fitness from an otherwise unhealthy state. He opened his own exercise studio, originally called The Anatomy Asylum, where emphasis was placed on healthy eating in proper portions and enjoyable exercise in a supportive atmosphere. Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening his gym Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight in a supportive atmosphere, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products.
Simmons began to receive media attention due to the success of his health club that started with him on Real People (where he was shown at work). He introduced customers whom he had helped to lose weight. He later had guest roles on Battlestars, Super Password, Win, Lose or Draw, Body Language, Match Game (ABC), Hollywood Squares (syndicated), and Nickelodeon's Figure It Out. Positive viewer reactions landed Simmons a recurring role as himself in General Hospital over a four-year period. This, as well as being in shopping malls (where he taught exercise classes), led to further media attention.
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Media Personality and Advocate for Healthy Living
In the early 1980s, Simmons hosted two shows - Slim Cookin and the Emmy Award-winning talk show The Richard Simmons Show, in which he focused on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. Simmons embraced mass communication to get his message out, even as he eventually became the butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair. He was a sought-after guest on TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue. But David Letterman would prank him and Howard Stern would tease him until he cried. Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, “I think there’s a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It’s knowing when to do it. I try to have a nice combination. Being silly cures depression. It catches people off guard and makes them think. But in between that silliness is a lot of seriousness that makes sense. Simmons’ daytime show was seen on 200 stations in America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America.
Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. “There’ll always be some weird thing 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 swept the country. “My food plan and diet are just two words - common sense. With a dash of good humor,” he told The Associated Press in 1982.
Helping Others: A Passion for Weight Loss
Simmons was known to counsel the severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being the world’s heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people - chubby, balding or non-telegenic - in his exercise videos to make the fitness goals seem reachable. One day I received an eight page handwritten letter written on pages from a yellow legal pad. His name was Mikey. “Please help my dad”…and he included a picture of Michael Hebranko ... He was losing weight rapidly. He lost over 700 pounds. Michael’s dream was to be in one of my videos. He danced in Sweatin to the oldies 2. I continued to call him and made sure he was on program. Michael began gaining his weight back and then gained all of his weight back. When I came home I sent him a cd player and some music that he would like . I called him two weeks before he passed away. His wife did not have enough money to bury him. When you don’t have the money they bury you in potter’s field.
Every time a daytime talk show would be in contact with an obese person, they called me. Since these people could not be flown in, I went to them. The Guinness book of records said that Rosalie Bradford was the largest woman in the world weighing over one thousand pounds. I got another letter from a friend of Rosemarie Carnemolla. I went to visit her. I entered Rosemaries bedroom. There were large plaster of Paris sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. I could tell she was a smoker but I never mentioned it. She wanted to have weight loss surgery and asked for my help. I put my feelers out there and Dr Sepata got in touch with me . Later she had another surgery to remove excess skin. Rosemarie became a taxi driver for a few years before she passed away. When I lost these people and many others I felt sick. Sometimes I would leave my house and walk for a few miles. When I arrived home, I crawled into my bed with sheets over my head. I asked myself, “maybe I didn’t try hard enough.” Then I realized it really was not my fault. And I did as many shows as I could to help people.
Setbacks and Challenges
Simmons was also a guest on Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) and the Late Show with David Letterman (CBS), but on November 22, 2000, they had a falling-out after an incident on that night's show. Simmons (while dressed as a turkey) grabbed Letterman as if to hug or kiss him, to which Letterman responded by spraying Simmons with a fire extinguisher, which made Simmons have a severe asthma attack. Simmons did not appear on the Letterman show for six years, finally returning on November 29, 2006. During that time, Letterman once again set Simmons up for a prank; while Simmons was demonstrating a steamer branded with his name, Letterman insisted on placing a tray under the steamer which Simmons did not believe belonged there. When Simmons turned the steamer on, something in the tray exploded and caught fire, sending Simmons running for his life.
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In March 2004, Simmons was cited for misdemeanor assault after he slapped Christopher Farney in the face at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The slap was in response to Farney making a remark poking fun at Simmons’ exercise videos.
Retreat from Public Life and Health Concerns
After 2014, Simmons did not make any major public appearances. He stopped appearing in public altogether on February 15 of that year. In September 2017, Simmons lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay the defendants' attorney's fees. Teresa Reveles, who worked as Simmons' house manager and was often erroneously referred to as his housekeeper in news reports, said that Simmons retired due to failing knees which required surgery and made him unable to have the flexibility necessary to teach his fitness classes. He did not want to continue working if he was not able to fully perform up to expectations. Simmons was also nervous about aging, claiming to her that he did not "look that beautiful anymore".
Two days before his death, Simmons had conducted his first interview in a significant amount of time with People. On his birthday, Simmons stated that he is grateful to be alive for another day and would spend his birthday helping people. Instead of cake, he stated he would have a candle on a zucchini, stating he is a vegetarian. He added, "Okay, fine. Maybe one Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie. But just one. He also stated that he no longer had a manager or publicist, and that he had not given permission for a biopic of him. That same month, Simmons revealed that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer, located underneath his right eye.
Death and Legacy
On July 13, 2024, Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 76. He had suffered a fall at his home in his bathroom two days prior and refused to seek medical attention until the following morning out of a desire to spend his 76th birthday at home. He went to bed and the next day, he posted on social media that he never got so many birthday wishes. On July 20, one week after his death, Simmons' team shared what would be his final social media post, a paraphrase of lyrics from the song "Fly Me to the Moon".
Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better, died Saturday. Simmons, who had revealed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculating about his health and well-being.
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“I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed,” he began in an Instagram post. “I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens,” adding “You’re one of a kind, Richard. An amazing life.