Richard Simmons, fitness icon, dead at 76
Simmons, who was known for his "Sweatin' to the Oldies" workout videos, just celebrated his 76th birthday on Friday.
Simmons' longtime rep Tom Estey confirmed his death to Fox News Digital on Saturday.
An LAFD spokesperson told Fox News Digital that first responders were dispatched for a cardiac arrest of a 76-year-old man at Simmons' Los Angeles home, without identifying Simmons as the patient. The patient was pronounced dead at the scene of natural causes, LAFD said.
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"I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!" Simmons wrote on his social media on Friday.
The former fitness coach, who stepped away from the spotlight 10 years ago, told People magazine in an interview this week that he was "grateful" to be "alive for another day" following his skin cancer diagnosis.
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He said he planned to blow out a candle to mark the occasion, but "But the candle will probably be on a zucchini. You know, I'm a vegetarian."
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"I am grateful that I'm here, that I am alive for another day," he continued. "I'll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people."
In March, Simmons revealed to his followers he had been diagnosed with skin cancer. He took to Facebook to detail the moment he found out about the diagnosis and the procedure he underwent in an attempt to remove the cancer cells.
Simmons announced his diagnosis a day after worrying fans with a social post in which he said he was "dying."
"I have some news to tell you. Please don't be sad. I am ….dying," he wrote at the time.
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He continued, "The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky… count your blessings and enjoy. "
His rep confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time that he was not dying and the post was meant to be inspirational.
After news of his death broke, social media was flooded with tributes to Simmons.
"My heart is broken with the loss of this super special human," Ricki Lake wrote on X. "May he RIP. #richardsimmons I loved him so so much."
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Simmons first became famous in the late 1970s with "The Richard Simmons Show," appearances on game shows and late-night TV and his "Sweatin' to the Oldies" workout videos, which were first released in 1988.
"The Richard Simmons Show" earned two Daytime Emmys for for best direction and best talk show.
Simmons was beloved for his upbeat and goofy personality and for connecting with regular people who wanted to get fit using his unintimidating workout videos.
"My food plan and diet are just two words — common sense. With a dash of good humor," he told The Associated Press in 1982. "I want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place."
He was born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans and later moved to Los Angeles, where he lost more than 100 pounds before opening up The Anatomy Asylum gym in Beverly Hills in 1974.
After decades in the limelight, Simmons suddenly stopped teaching at his workout studio in 2014 and retreated from public life altogether. His disappearance sparked a podcast titled "Missing Richard Simmons," as well as numerous conspiracy theories alleging he was being held hostage in his Hollywood Hills home by his housekeeper.
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Pauly Shore was also in talks to make a biopic about Simmons' life, but the 76-year-old said in January that it didn't have his backing.
"I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed," Shore wrote on X on Saturday. "I hope you're at peace and twinkling up in the heavens. Please give my mother Mitzi and my father Sammy a big hug and a kiss for me. You're one of a kind, Richard. An amazing life. An amazing story. They broke the dolphin shorts when they made you. Rest in peace, my friend. Rest in peace."
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