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Richard Simmons, fitness guru and FSU alum, dies at age 76

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Richard Simmons, fitness guru and FSU alum, dies at age 76

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Richard Simmons, a Florida State University alum turned fitness guru known for his little shorts and big personality as the king of home exercise videos has died at age 76 – a day after his birthday, according to media reports.

Earlier this year, Simmons announced on Facebook he had been diagnosed with skin cancer after seeing a dermatologist about a “strange-looking bump” under his right eye.

Simmons died at his home in Hollywood on Saturday, several media outlets reported, including ABC News and NBC News. TMZ was first to report the death of Simmons, who turned 76 on Friday.

Simmons gave a rare interview to People magazine this week, telling the magazine that he might blow out some candles for his birthday.

“But the candle will probably be on a zucchini,” Simmons told the magazine. “You know, I’m a vegetarian.”

He also reported that he was doing well, saying: “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.”  

How Richard Simmons came to Florida State University

Simmons attended college at University of Louisiana before transferring to FSU and joining the travel abroad program. He graduated from the university with a bachelor of arts degree.

Not much is known of his time in Tallahassee, but he reflected on his Seminole days and some drama in Florida’s capital city in a lengthy Facebook post in April of this year.

“I liked USL. But, I wanted more. I called Uncle Milton and asked him to send me to a better college. We chose Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

Before you knew it, he sent me the money. What a massive campus! I decided to major in fashion illustration and graphic design.

I stayed in an experimental building called Cash Hall. Very appropriate. Two sides were for the men and the other two sides were for the women. There were separate elevators to take you to your floor.

One lady that I met was named Becky Slack. She became my best friend. I am still in contact with her with her and she has been a librarian for decades.

I went upstairs to my dorm room and said hello to my roommate then I went downstairs to have lunch. When I went back to my room, there was yellow caution tape across the door.

The policeman told me I could not go back in there. While at lunch, my roommate put a plastic bag over his head and put tape around his neck. He died.

I was so shaken, I asked to be moved to a different room. I had nightmares for weeks.

There was a lady who saved me. Her name was Gabrielle Dempsey. She was my art teacher and was married to a very smart man named Bruce.

Gabrielle told me that I had some talent and helped me put together a portfolio of my work. FSU had an exchange program. You could go to France, Germany, or Italy. I chose Italy.

The plane landed in Pisa. The Florence airport was not yet built. Then we took a bus to Florence. There were students from all over the country who stayed in an old mansion …Villa Fabbricotti.

There were about 30 of us. During meals, we had to speak Italian. You had to learn the language quickly or you would starve. What can I say about Florence, Italy…I sketched Michelangelo’s David.

I could not believe my eyes. There were so many piazzas. I would walk on the Pontiveccio…a bridge that was packed with shops. We only went to school 4 days a week and for the rest of the week we would hitchhike to different cities. Back then it was safe.

I hitchhiked with Mindy Goodfriend. She was almost six feet tall and had beautiful legs….and wore cut off jeans. We would walk to the Autostrada. We would put out our thumbs and I could not tell you how many cars stopped.

The drivers would all ask the same question, “Hai fame?” We would say yes. They would pull off to a restaurant and we would lunch on pizza and sandwiches. Then after our trips, we would return back to the Villa.

For an hour a day I sketched. I used a pen called a rapidograph. You would take it to the ink well and fill it up. Mine always got stuck and I would shake it.

One day when I was shaking it near my chest I stabbed myself. The other students heard me scream and came to my room. I still have the little red scar on my chest…

After my time was up, I went back to FSU. And with my portfolio in hand, I went back to New Orleans.

Love, Richard

In 2015, he also posted a photo of what he called “Richard Simmons Fun Facts,” noting he was a proud graduate of FSU.

“I loved going to college in the Sunshine State!” he wrote.

Simmons, an exercise guru for all

The fitness coach built a multimedia empire with “The Richard Simmons Show” and VHS exercise videos such as “Sweating With the Oldies.”

Born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans in 1948, Simmons grew up in the French Quarter and sold pralines on the street. The city’s rich food heritage contributed to him becoming an overweight child and an overweight young adult, he has said.

Simmons weighed nearly 270 pounds when he graduated from high school in the 1960s.

“I mean I was mucho big. You know how they teach you early on that ‘Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you?’ Well that’s a lie,” Simmons told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 1983, People magazine reported. “But who has the last laugh now?”

By his mid-20s, Simmons had prevailed over his weight battle and moved to Los Angeles in 1973, where he opened an exercise studio called Slimmons in Beverly Hills, according to his website. He continued to teach classes and host seminars there until 2013.

As Simmons became a fixture on local and national radio and TV, he became a sought-after fitness expert even playing himself on soap opera “General Hospital” for four years. His nationally syndicated series, “The Richard Simmons Show,” ran from 1984 to 1989 and won Daytime Emmys for best direction and best talk show, according to Variety. 

Simmons had a hugely successful career with exercise home videos, releasing 65 fitness videos and selling more than 20 million copies, his website says. On the videos – with names such as “Party Off the Pounds” and “Disco Sweat” – Simmons would lead exercise routines and shout encouragement as popular music tracks gave exercisers a beat to workout to.

Simmons “preached exercise, diet and most of all kindness,” Chicago Sun-Times TV and movie reviewer Richard Roeper posted on social media network X. “He positively impacted thousands and thousands of lives. I’m one of the hundreds and hundreds of TV people who basked in his energy and readily accepted those crazy hugs. Rest well.”

Richard Simmons dies on same day as Dr. Ruth

Simmons’ death came hours after the announcement of the death of another 1980s icon, pint-sized sexpert “Dr. Ruth” Westheimer, who passed on Friday in New York City at the age of 96.

The back-to-back deaths gained drew social media attention to an old and charming interview between Simmons and Westheimer.

Westheimer told Simmons in the old footage: “You burst on the scene and everybody’s happy, and I love that. You bring a lot of joie de vivre,” she said, using the French term that means “joy for life.”

Simmons replied: “I think people without a scene of humor, it’s just awful. You must have a sense of humor, life is too short.”

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