By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/15/24 – It’s not often celebrities become so omnipresent that they can help define a decade. However, Richard Simmons did just that. In the fifties and sixties fitness guru Jack LaLanne was a TV pioneer. He infiltrated stay-at-home housewife’s living rooms with his one-piece bodysuit, roller rink organ player, and a branded line of products devoted to fitness. He briefly ran a franchise of gyms before Golds and 24-Hour Fitness laid siege to strip malls across the continent. However, any time capsule describing the culture of the 1980s would have to include Richard Simmons.
Simmons was different than what came before. He was an icon who cultivated a bond with his audience that few other fitness gurus could. For starters, he was an overweight outsider as a child, so the empathy he had with those afflicted with obesity was genuine. Also, he projected a sexual ambiguity that he chose to never clarify to the public. This rendered him unthreatening to his core audience of women; many of whom, suffered self-esteem issues related to weight. They knew Richard Simmons would never judge, and cried real tears just like them.
Born July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, Simmons moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s, initially gaining employment as a maître d’ at Derek’s restaurant in Beverly Hills and developed an interest in fitness. Fitness studios of the day focused on those already fit with little regard to those battling weight issues or ill health.
He would eventually open his own studio (The Anatomy Asylum) where emphasis on exercise was paired with a focus on healthy diet. Later renamed “Slimmon’s” he would teach aerobics and conduct motivational classes several times a week.
Simmons’ success continued, culminating in his own Television series, The Richard Simmons Show which ran from 1980 to 1984 and scooped up multiple Emmys. Simmons further capitalized on the decade’s renewed interest in fitness by putting out a series of videos, “Sweatin’ to The Oldies” which became hugely popular and sealed his position in the cultural Zeitgeist.
Simmons remained an active media figure and celebrity well into the 21st Century. He was a popular and recurring guest on Howard Stern during the shock jock’s reign. He was also a regular on the TV talk show circuit including David Letterman. He had many acting jobs playing himself, most notably a recurring role on General Hospital that spanned four years. He also was a successful pitch man for brands that included, Sprint, Yoplait and Herbal Essence.
He remained a passionate advocate for health and fitness throughout his life. This included political activism in 2008 when he actively supported a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in schools as part of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ act.
Simmons died on July 13, 2024, at his home in Hollywood Hills from natural causes at the age of 76.
