Richard Simmons dies at 76, one day after fitness legend’s birthday

Legendary fitness guru Richard Simmons died on Saturday at age 76, according to a report.

His housekeeper contacted police after finding him just before 10am Saturday, according to TMZ. Simmons was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death is not immediately known and has not been announced.

On Friday, he thanked his fans who wished him a 76th happy birthday on social media.

The news comes months after he revealed in March that he was diagnosed with skin cancer.

“I sat in his chair and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror. He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous,” the fitness personality wrote at the time. “He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. ‘You have cancer.’ I asked him what kind of cancer and he said, ‘Basel [sic] cell carcinoma.’ I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

Born Milton Teagle Simmons, he struggled with obesity throughout his childhood in New Orleans.

He would later dedicate his life to promoting exercise and helping others lead healthy lives.

Simmons became a fitness sensation in the 1980s shortly after he opened a fitness studio, called The Anatomy Asylum before being rebranded as Simmons in Los Angeles.

The TV fitness pioneer became known for his regular appearances on TV and radio talk shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman and The Howard Stern Show and for his popular series of aerobic videos Sweatin’ to the Oldies.

His workouts launched his celebrity status, leading to further film and television appearances, including General Hospital, The Larry Sanders Show , Arrested Development and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Passionate about helping others combat obesity, Simmons testified before Congress to advocate for more funding behind physical education in schools.

But the on-screen instructor, identifiable by his frizzy hair, sequined workout tank tops and short shorts, retreated from the public eye in recent years.

He hadn’t made a public appearance since 2014 — prompting him to give a phone interview to The Today Show in 2016 to put to rest rumors that he was being held hostage by his housekeeper.

In January 2024, a new biopic about Simmons, starring actor Pauly Shore, was said to be in the works. However, Simmons quickly distanced himself from the film, writing on Facebook: “I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.”

He added: “I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.”

Tributes to Simmons have already started pouring in.

Actress Ricki Lake wrote on X: “My heart is broken with the loss of this super special human. May he RIP. #richardsimmons I loved him so so much.”

“Saddened to hear of Richard Simmons’ passing, a man whose joy in what he did made it accessible to so many,” actor Emerson Collins posted on X, alongside a series of funny photos with Simmons. “Years ago I asked him for a photo after we performed on a benefit. It came out so hilariously bad with the green room wall, I cut it out and made a nonsense story with it. At the time I just couldn’t stop giggling, thinking he’d be amused by it too. And I think the purity of his delightful expression is something so resistant to cynicism that we could all use a bit more of in our lives.”

Kansas City PBS news host Nick Haines tweeted: “When I first came to the United States in 1987, I turned on the TV in my New York hotel room & the first image that popped on the screen was Richard Simmons. 10 years later, I’d randomly bump in to him at The Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence. He was charming & larger-than-life. RIP.”

Meteorologist Ed Curran wrote: “RIP Richard Simmons. In the early 80s he spent some time in our radio studio. He was crazy, on and off the air. Everybody had a great time. He was truly an original and I’m sorry to hear of his passing.”