Richard Simmons, exercise guru, and sometimes the butt of snickering, has always shown empathy and great humor; for many people, he’s been a lifeline. Some of us may not know that as an adult, he’s been a devoted Dalmatian owner. When out of town, Richard called his house every night to talk to the dogs and sing to them.
Some of his Dals were named after characters from Gone With the Wind (Scarlett, Pittypat, Melanie). “Hattie,” in particular, was Simmons’ constant companion and went everywhere with him, including his Los Angeles exercise studio.
Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening his gym Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products. He was often parodied and was a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman and The Howard Stern Show.
Simmons continued to promote health and exercise through a decades-long career, and later broadened his activities to include political activism, such as in 2008 in support of a bill mandating noncompetitive physical education in public schools as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Richard Simmons has been out of the public eye lately, though there were reports of a biopic being made about the fitness enthusiast earlier this year. He criticized the reports, writing, “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.”
Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles on July 13, 2024, at the age of 76. Police said that his death appeared to be from natural causes. Simmons posted prolifically on social media, often several times a day. He posted about his birthday on Facebook a day before his death, writing, “Thank you… I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.”
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