Richard Simmons, televisionB次元官网网址檚 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 turned 76 on Friday.

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 first to report his death, which has also been reported by other outlets citing unnamed Simmons representatives.

Simmons, who had revealed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculating 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 B次元官网网址淩ichard Simmons Show,B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址淪weatinB次元官网网址� to the OldiesB次元官网网址� line.

B次元官网网址淢y food plan and diet are just two words B次元官网网址� common sense. With a dash of good humor,B次元官网网址� he told The Associated Press in 1982. B次元官网网址淚 want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place.B次元官网网址�

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 SimonB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Goodbye GirlB次元官网网址� on Broadway in 1993, and Eddie Murphy put on white makeup and dressed like him in B次元官网网址淭he Nutty Professor,B次元官网网址� screaming B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 a pony!B次元官网网址�

Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, B次元官网网址淚 think thereB次元官网网址檚 a time to be serious and a time to be silly. ItB次元官网网址檚 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. ItB次元官网网址檚 a different kind of training.B次元官网网址�

SimmonsB次元官网网址� daytime show was seen on 200 stations in America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, B次元官网网址淣ever Say Diet,B次元官网网址� was a smash best seller.

He was known to counsel the severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being the worldB次元官网网址檚 heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people B次元官网网址� chubby, balding or non-telegenic B次元官网网址� in his exercise videos to make the fitness goals seem reachable.

Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檒l 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,B次元官网网址� he told the AP in 2005 as the Atkins diet craze swept the country. B次元官网网址淚f you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day youB次元官网网址檒l live longer, feel better and look terrific.B次元官网网址�

Simmons was a native of New Orleans, a chubby boy named Milton by his parents. (He renamed himself B次元官网网址淩ichardB次元官网网址� 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 LaLanneB次元官网网址檚 TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasnB次元官网网址檛 crazy about the fitness fanatic. B次元官网网址淚 hated him,B次元官网网址� Simmons said. B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 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.B次元官网网址�

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 B次元官网网址淔ellini Satyricon.B次元官网网址� He told the AP: B次元官网网址淚 was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.B次元官网网址�

His life changed after getting an anonymous letter. B次元官网网址淥ne dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, B次元官网网址楧ear Richard, youB次元官网网址檙e very funny, but fat people die young. Please donB次元官网网址檛 die.B次元官网网址� 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. B次元官网网址淚 went into the business because I couldnB次元官网网址檛 find anything I liked,B次元官网网址� he said.

When Simmons hadnB次元官网网址檛 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 B次元官网网址淓ntertainment TonightB次元官网网址� and the B次元官网网址淭odayB次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址淢issing Richard Simmons.B次元官网网址�

In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, with his spokesperson telling The New York Post that the beloved fitness icon was B次元官网网址渓iving the life he has chosen.B次元官网网址�

___ Mark Kennedy is at

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Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles.

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press