Richard Simmons, Celebrated Fitness Guru, Dead at 76

Richard Simmons, the energetic fitness guru who exuded positivity, has died according to his representative, ABC News reports. He was 76.

Simmons had just celebrated his birthday on Friday and had posted a thread about it on X, formerly Twitter. According to TMZ who first reported the news, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to his home on Saturday morning following a call from his housekeeper. He was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death was given. Per authorities, there is no foul play suspected and he appears to have died of natural causes. (Reps for Simmons did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.)

Simmons, who became obese during his adolescence, dedicated his life to helping others get healthy. In the 1970s and Eighties he opened several gyms aimed at those who were looking to gain fitness that were of all shapes (back then, most gyms were geared to those already bulked up and fit). He opened his own exercise studio, The Anatomy Asylum, in Los Angeles (later called Slimmons where he taught classes until 2013), which provided encouragement with an emphasis on the enjoyment of exercise.

His popular fitness tapes and DVDs — including  his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” series — featured him in his trademark striped short-shorts and sparkly tank tops providing motivation via his exuberant personality to people of all shapes and sizes.

His celebrity extended beyond working out: He had a recurring role in soap opera General Hospital and hosted his own nationally syndicated series The Richard Simmons Show, which ran for four years and garnered several Emmy Awards. Simmons also guest starred as himself on a number of shows, from Saturday Night Live, The Larry Sanders Show, and Arrested Development to game shows like Hollywood Squares and Win, Lose or Draw. He authored several books and cookbooks, including his autobiography, 1998’s Still Hungry After All These Years.

While he was a cultural fixture for more than four decades, he had generally retreated from the public eye in 2014, though he continued to communicate with fans via his social media. Earlier this year, news of a planned biopic on him starring Pauly Shore broke, of which Simmons apparently did not approve. “You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read,” he wrote on Facebook.

In March 2024, he revealed on Facebook that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer and later shared that after seeing a doctor the cancerous cells were successfully eradicated.

The cancer news came just a few days after he had written a post saying he was dying, which he clarified to mean that everyone should “embrace every day that we have.” In his original post, he shared the same positive sage advice he had dedicated his life to imparting.

“Every day that you are alive you have got to move. Whether it is standing or sitting you have got move your body every day. Start with stretching then cardio and strength.”

He later added: “There is something else very important that you must do. Tell the ones that you love that you love them. Hug those people and children who you really care for. A big hug really goes a long way,” he continued. “If you have time I want you to listen to a terrific song. It is by Tim McGraw it is called ‘Live Like You Were Dying.’ Live today and don’t forget to pray.”