CNN
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Richard SimmonsLongtime publicist Tom Esty said the 1980s workout fixture was known for his positive attitude.
Esty said Simmons died early Saturday morning, just one day after his 76th birthday. “We lost an angel today. A true angel,” Esty added.
Simmons’ brother, Lenny, paid tribute to him in a statement to CNN.
“I don’t want people to be sad about my brother. I want people to remember the pure joy and love he brought to people’s lives,” Renee Simmons wrote. “He truly cared about people. He called, wrote and emailed thousands of people throughout his career offering to help. So please don’t be sad. Please celebrate his life.”
He added that his brother is “very excited about all the upcoming ventures he’s working on.”
CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department, Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Coroner for more information.
From 1980 to 1984, Simmons hosted “The Richard Simmons Show,” a personal health and fitness focused show that won four Daytime Emmy Awards.
Simmons was also well known for his aerobic exercise videos, such as 1988’s “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” and its 1990 and 1991 sequels.
From there, Simmons’ easy smile and playful personality allowed him to parlay his early stardom into regular TV appearances on everything from “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” to game shows like “Match Game” and “New Hollywood Squares.” He was a late-night regular throughout the ’90s and 2000s on shows hosted by Jay Leno and David Letterman.
In 2003, Simmons told CNN. He says his experience as an overweight child ultimately led him down the path to fitness.
“By the time I was 8 years old, I weighed 200 pounds,” he said at the time, “and my uniform no longer fit me, so my dad started sewing padding under my arms and in my legs.”
As he got older, he began to turn to dangerous methods to lose weight.
“I learned how to throw up, then I started taking 30 to 40 laxative tablets a day, then I drank only water and starved myself for two and a half months, and I nearly died.”
When he was 16, a stranger helped change Simmons’ life.
“Someone left a note on my car,” he recalled, “and it said, ‘Dear Richard, you’re a very funny guy, but fat people die early. Please don’t die.'”
“I bought some primary school books about the six food groups, which I now think of as a pyramid. I started reading about walking and exercise. Slowly but surely, I was on the right track.”
Eventually, that path led a slim and healthy Simmons to Beverly Hills, where in 1974 she opened one of the first aerobics studios, which she named “Slimmons.”
He seamlessly adapted his role as a motivational fitness instructor to his famous TV character, and took pride in interacting with other overweight people to inspire them to take steps to improve their health.
“I call between 50 and 80 people a day. I send about 200 e-mails a day. … I don’t give anybody false hope,” he said in 2003. “I tell them it’s going to take time. You have to love yourself. You have to be patient.”
Although he has stayed out of the public eye in recent years, the circumstances surrounding his whereabouts and health have been the subject of considerable internet discussion.
Simmons occasionally shares personal updates on his social media pages, writing in a January Facebook post: post“I just try to live quietly and peacefully.”
In March, his social media activity was A decidedly not peaceful moment,He is Posts X and an ominous message on Facebook: “I have news for you. Don’t be sad. I am… dying. The truth is, we are all dying. We are closer to death every day we live.”
he Added“Why am I telling you this? It’s because I want you to live life to the fullest every day. Wake up in the morning and look up to the sky… Count your blessings and enjoy them.”
Another Simmons moment that caught everyone’s attention earlier this year was He commented on the plans for the biopic. A movie about him will star actor Pauly Shore.
“You may have heard that a movie may be being made about Pauly Shore and me. I have never given permission for this film so please don’t believe everything you read,” Simmons wrote. statement On his Facebook page at the time.
According to a news release sent to CNN on Wednesday, Shore will play Simmons in the upcoming biopic, which will be produced by the Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. (CNN’s parent company is Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns Warner Bros.).
Shore also played Simmons in an unrelated short film titled “The Court Jester,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is available to stream. Youtube.
On his birthday, Simmons wrote: Friday X“Thank you…I’ve never received so many birthday messages in my life! I’m sitting here writing this. Have an amazing rest of your Friday. Love, Richard.”
He also people For his 76th birthday, he joked that he’d celebrate by blowing out birthday candles “on a zucchini,” in honour of his career as a health and self-care advocate.
“I feel great! I’m grateful to be here and to be alive another day,” Simmons said at the time. “I’m going to spend my birthday helping people like I do every day.”
CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
