Damn, that sucks. Richard Simmons always seemed like one of the nicest, most genuinely good-hearted people in Hollywood. The world is just a little bit worse off without him.
A little story about why Richard Simmons became a fitness and diet guru. He was in the Frederico Fellini film Satyricon and he was fat. A fan wrote to him and said, “fat people die young, Richard. Please don’t die.” He took it to heart and his relentless positivity became an inspiration to so many people.
I think it probably does have a low success rate. Very few people can be shamed by strangers into making such a big change in their lives... But it probably has a higher success rate for someone who wants to be in movies and TV since body image is a big deal there as is looking healthy.
Anyway, I am glad that, whatever the reason, he became the delightful person we will remember him as.
And yes, the Who's Line episode he was in was a real classic. I wasn't a huge fan of the American version of the show, but that one is undeniably just hilariously funny.
One theory about why he disappeared is because he had to have bilateral knee replacements and couldn't exercise anymore. I thought that sounded pretty plausible.
My mon got into a health and fitness phase thanks to Simmons who probably added years if not decades to her healthspan. Thanks to him I got to share more moments with my mom, and I'm sure I'm it the only one who indirectly benefited from his work.
That’s too bad. I never really got his shtick, but he seemed legit and any stories I ever heard of people interacting with him were always positive. His passing is definitely a loss.