Richard Simmons, iconic fitness guru, dead at 76

In March of 2024, Simmons clarified he was “not dying” following a cryptic Facebook post that seemed to intimate the opposite. The reclusive Simmons took to Facebook again a day later to say he’d had a cancerous growth removed from his face.

Simmons, born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans, built a fitness empire after losing more than 100 pounds. He started by opening exercise studios and gyms. After his success in that area led to a TV appearance, he drew media attention and began landing guest roles on multiple shows, including Win, Lose or Draw, Match Game and Hollywood Squares. He also had a recurring role as himself on General Hospital for four years.

With his energetic, flamboyant personality, curly hair and signature wardrobe of super-short shorts and tank top, Simmons soon became a pop culture icon, hosting TV shows, authoring multiple books, hosting fan cruises and making exercise videos and DVDs. These were especially popular, especially the Sweatin’ to the Oldies series.

Simmons continued to appear in multiple TV shows, talk shows and commercials until 2014, when he dropped out of public view. His exercise studio in Beverly Hills closed in 2016.

Simmons’ absence from the public eye inspired the 2017 podcast Missing Richard Simmons, produced by a former friend. In early 2024, Pauly Shore announced that he’d be playing Simmons in an upcoming biopic, which prompted Simmons to write Facebook, “I have never given my permission for this movie. So 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.”