Richard Simmons, fitness guru and TV personality, dead at 76

Richard Simmons leads a class at his Slimmons Studio in Beverly Hills in 2013. (File photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Richard Simmons, the fitness guru whose flamboyant personality and infectious energy made him a mainstay of television talk shows and infomercials for years, was found dead at his Hollywood Hills home today, one day after his 76th birthday.

Simmons’ death was first reported by TMZ.

Authorities were dispatched at 9:55 a.m. Saturday to 1350 Belfast Drive in Hollywood Hills West on a call of a cardiac arrest/suspected death, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. They did not transport anyone to a hospital.

The department described it as a “natural death” and said the decedent was 76 years old.

Simmons celebrated his 76th birthday Friday, relayed in a lengthy post on Facebook.

“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,” he posted in a follow-up message Friday.

After spending years as a ubiquitous figure on television, Simmons has retreated from public appearances in recent years amid rampant speculation about his health. He was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2017 for what was reported to be a gastrointestinal problem.

But he told People this week that he felt good as he prepared for his birthday.

“I feel good! I am grateful that I’m here, that I am alive for another day. I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people,” he said.

Born in New Orleans, Simmons moved to Southern California in the 1970s, working as a maitre d in Beverly Hills before opening his first gym in that city, called Slimmons. It was closed in 2016.

His career took off via his burgeoning appearances on television, as a guest on daytime and late-night talk shows and as the host of his own shows, “Slim Cookin” and “The Richard Simmons Show.”