Richard Simmons

Milton Teagle Simmons was born in New Orleans on July 12, 1948, to Leonard Douglas Simmons Sr., a master of ceremonies who later worked in thrift stores, and Shirley May Simmons (née Satin), a traveling fan dancer who later sold cosmetics. He grew up in the French Quarter with his older brother Leonard Jr., known as Lenny. His father was raised Methodist and his mother was Russian Jewish. He began overeating very young, was overweight by four, and weighed 182 pounds at 15. As a boy he sold pralines at Leah's Pralines, and he later saved money from that job to buy his mother a smoky topaz ring, a story he retold on his 76th birthday.

He attended Cor Jesu High School in New Orleans, then the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, before graduating from Florida State University in Tallahassee with a Bachelor of Arts in art. While an art student he appeared among the extras in Federico Fellini's Satyricon (1968) and The Clowns (1970). He considered becoming a priest but decided against it. He said he adopted the name Richard after an uncle who paid for his college tuition.

After traveling around the country for work, he settled in Los Angeles in the 1970s and became a waiter and maître d' at Derek's Second Floor in Beverly Hills. He opened The Anatomy Asylum, an exercise studio for people who felt unwelcome in ordinary gyms, with a salad bar called Ruffage. Renamed Slimmons, the studio ran in Beverly Hills until it closed in November 2016.

An appearance on Real People and a four-year recurring role as himself on General Hospital led to The Richard Simmons Show (1980 to 1984), an Emmy-winning daytime talk show on health, exercise and cooking, and to Slim Cookin'. His Sweatin' to the Oldies videos became among the most popular fitness tapes of their era, alongside a long catalogue of workouts such as Disco Sweat, Broadway Sweat and Richard Simmons and the Silver Foxes. He sold the Deal-A-Meal plan, wrote books including Never Say Diet and Still Hungry After All These Years, and released the album Reach on Elektra Records in 1982.

He was a regular guest on Letterman, Howard Stern, game shows such as Super Password, Match Game and Hollywood Squares, and talk shows from Rosie O'Donnell to Ellen. He hosted Lighten Up with Richard Simmons on Sirius Stars from 2006 to 2008, voiced Coach Salmons on Fish Hooks and starred in Air New Zealand's Fit to Fly safety video in 2011.

Simmons lived in the Los Angeles area with his Dalmatians and household staff, including his long-time house manager Teresa Reveles. He never married and never publicly discussed his sexual orientation. He described himself as having few close friends, saying he had a lot to offer to many people rather than to one person. He returned to Catholicism in later life. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 he spoke publicly about the effect on his family in New Orleans and returned to the city to help.

His message was that weight loss should be kind, social and fun. He favoured portion control, vegetables and enjoyable movement over punishment, and in later life said he was a vegetarian. He believed overweight people deserved encouragement rather than shame, and he campaigned for non-competitive physical education in public schools, supporting the Strengthening Physical Education Act of 2007 in Washington. He called himself a court jester whose job was to make people feel better.

Simmons made fitness approachable for people who had been left out of the aerobics boom. His one-to-one phone calls and letters were remembered by fans long after he left public life, and in 2020 his team reposted archival workouts on YouTube to help people exercise at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. His death in 2024 prompted tributes from fans and fellow stars, including Jane Fonda.

The Richard Simmons Show, which he hosted from 1980 to 1984, won Emmy recognition as a daytime talk show. His album Reach reached number 12 in Australia.

Books: Never Say Diet, Never Say Diet Cookbook, The Better Body Book, Deal-A-Meal Cookbook, Reach for Fitness, Never Give Up, Farewell to Fat, Sweetie Pie, Still Hungry After All These Years: My Story, The Food Mover Cookbook, Cookin' on Broadway and Steam Away the Pounds.

Videos: the Sweatin' to the Oldies series, Tonin' to the Oldies, Disco Sweat, Broadway Sweat, Dance Your Pants Off!, Richard Simmons and the Silver Foxes, Project H.O.P.E. and many more. Television included The Richard Simmons Show, General Hospital, Rocko's Modern Life, Fish Hooks, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Amazing Stories.

From February 15, 2014, Simmons stopped appearing in public. In 2016 there was speculation he was being held by his housekeeper, which he denied on the Today show. The 2017 podcast Missing Richard Simmons investigated his absence, and LAPD detectives who checked on him said he was fine. He sued the National Enquirer, Radar Online and American Media in 2017 over false claims about him and lost, and in 2018 sued a private investigator over a tracking device on his car. In 2024 he said he had not given permission for The Court Jester, a planned biopic starring Pauly Shore.

On July 11, 2024, Simmons fell in the bathroom of his Los Angeles home and put off seeing a doctor so he could spend his birthday at home. On July 12, his 76th birthday, he thanked fans online for their messages. On July 13 he posted a photo of himself dressed as Barbra Streisand with the line "Please don't rain on my parade," and he was found dead by Teresa Reveles soon afterwards. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident caused by the effects of blunt traumatic injuries, with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease as a contributing condition. He was laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in his trademark fitness outfit, and his brother Lenny hosted a memorial mass at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on October 5, 2024.