Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
No Result
View All Result
Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
Home DramaAlert

Richard Simmons, fitness guru who mixed laughs and sweat, dies at 76 – National

rmtsa by rmtsa
July 15, 2024
in DramaAlert
0
Richard Simmons, fitness guru who mixed laughs and sweat, dies at 76 – National
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


You might also like

Ray J Breaks Silence On Whitney Houston Relationship

Lil Baby Hosts Fifth Annual Back to School Fest in Atlanta, Giving Back to Over 4,000 Families • Hollywood Unlocked

Philadelphia Renames Street After Teddy Pendergrass

Richard Simmons, television’s hyperactive court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better, died Saturday. He was 76.

Los Angeles police and fire departments say they responded to a Los Angeles house where a man was declared dead from natural causes. Neither provided a name, but The Associated Press matched the address and age to Simmons through public records.

TMZ was the first to report his death. It has also been reported by other outlets citing unnamed Simmons representatives.

Simmons, who revealed a skin cancer diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculation about his health and well-being.

Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show,” author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal, as well as opening exercise studios and starring in millions of exercise videos, including the successful “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” line.

Story continues below advertisement

“My food plan and diet are just two words — common sense. With a dash of good humour,” he told The Associated Press in 1982. “I want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place.”

Simmons embraced mass communication to get his message out, even as he eventually became the butt of jokes for his outfits and flamboyant flair. He was a guest on TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue. But David Letterman would prank him and Howard Stern would tease him until he cried. He was mocked in Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl” on Broadway in 1993, and Eddie Murphy put on white makeup and dressed like him in “The Nutty Professor,” screaming “I’m a pony!”

Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, “I think there’s a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It’s knowing when to do it. I try to have a nice combination. Being silly cures depression. It catches people off guard and makes them think. But in between that silliness is a lot of seriousness that makes sense. It’s a different kind of training.”

Breaking news from Canada and around the world
sent to your email, as it happens.

Simmons’ daytime show was seen on 200 stations in America, as well as Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, “Never Say Diet” was a smash bestseller.

He was known to counsel the severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being the world’s heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people — chubby, balding or non-telegenic — in his exercise videos to make the fitness goals seem reachable.

Story continues below advertisement

Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. “There’ll always be some weird thing about eating four grapes before you go to bed, or drinking a special tea, or buying this little bean from El Salvador,” he told the AP in 2005 as the Atkins diet craze swept the country. “If you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day you’ll live longer, feel better and look terrific.”

Trending Now

Alberta woman who was born despite IUD suffering from rare diseases

Donald Trump shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks

Simmons was a native of New Orleans, a chubby boy named Milton by his parents. (He renamed himself “Richard” around the age of 10 to improve his self-image). He would tell people he ate to excess because he believed his parents liked his older brother more. He was teased by schoolmates and ballooned to almost 200 pounds.

Simmons told the AP his mother watched exercise guru Jack LaLanne’s TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasn’t crazy about the fitness fanatic. “I hated him,” Simmons said. “I wasn’t ready for his message because he was fit and he was healthy and he had such a positive attitude, and I was none of those things.”

Simmons went to Italy as a foreign exchange student and ended up doing peanut butter commercials and bacchanalian eating scenes for director Federico Fellini in his film “Fellini Satyricon.” He told the AP: “I was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.”

Story continues below advertisement

His life changed after getting an anonymous letter. “One dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, ‘Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but fat people die young. Please don’t die.” He was so stunned that he went on the starvation diet that left him thin but very ill.

After the crash diet he gained back 65 pounds. Eventually, he was able to devise a sensible plan to take off the pounds and keep them off. “I went into the business because I couldn’t find anything I liked,” he said.

When Simmons hadn’t been seen in public for several years, some news outlets speculated that he was being held hostage in his own house. In telephone interviews with “Entertainment Tonight” and the “Today” show, Simmons refuted the claims and told his fans he was enjoying the time by himself. Filmmaker-writer Dan Taberski, one of his regular students, launched a podcast in 2017 called “Missing Richard Simmons.”

In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, with his spokesperson telling The New York Post that the beloved fitness icon was “living the life he has chosen.”

Curator Recommendations

Create the perfect outdoor home office setup this summer

Shop our top 5 deals of the week

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press



Source link

Tags: diesFitnessGuruLaughsMixedNationalRichardSimmonsSweat
Share30Tweet19
rmtsa

rmtsa

Recommended For You

Ray J Breaks Silence On Whitney Houston Relationship

by rmtsa
July 29, 2025
0
Ray J Breaks Silence On Whitney Houston Relationship

In what Ray J called his “last interview,” he set the record straight on his relationship with Whitney Houston and rumors that he “murdered” her. “We were in...

Read more

Lil Baby Hosts Fifth Annual Back to School Fest in Atlanta, Giving Back to Over 4,000 Families • Hollywood Unlocked

by rmtsa
July 29, 2025
0
Lil Baby Hosts Fifth Annual Back to School Fest in Atlanta, Giving Back to Over 4,000 Families • Hollywood Unlocked

Lil Baby is proving—yet again—that his commitment to the community goes far beyond the music. This weekend, the Grammy-winning rapper and philanthropist teamed up with his nonprofit The...

Read more

Philadelphia Renames Street After Teddy Pendergrass

by rmtsa
July 28, 2025
0
Philadelphia Renames Street After Teddy Pendergrass

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton July 28, 2025 'It's been so many years just thinking about dad and what he meant to the city of Philadelphia,' said Teddy...

Read more

Tyra Banks Asked Her 9-Year-Old Son to Sign Contract Limiting Video Game Usage

by rmtsa
July 28, 2025
0
Tyra Banks Asked Her 9-Year-Old Son to Sign Contract Limiting Video Game Usage

"He signed it, it's like it never existed. What do I do?" Banks laments -- before getting some solid parenting advice. Tyra Banks is giving her 9-year-old son,...

Read more

Venice Reply AI Film Fest Lineup; Sets Gabriele Muccino As Jury Chair

by rmtsa
July 28, 2025
0
Venice Reply AI Film Fest Lineup; Sets Gabriele Muccino As Jury Chair

The Reply AI Film Festival – a competitive event aimed at bridging the gap between cinema and AI, and taking place during the Venice Film Festival – has...

Read more
Next Post
Serena Williams’ Stylist On Her Iconic Looks At The ESPY Awards – Essence

Serena Williams' Stylist On Her Iconic Looks At The ESPY Awards - Essence

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized

CATEGORIES

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

Recent News

  • Sullivan’s Crossing Ending Explained After Lucy’s Secret Husband Reveal
  • Kenya Moore Accuses Cynthia Bailey of Betrayal by Sharing Her Texts & Secrets With Someone, Confirms RHOA Exit
  • ‘Tom Cruise Birth Name’ Trends As Fans Discover His Real Name

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In