I’m legitimately sad. What a nice man he seemed to be.
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.
Here he was in Satyricon.
This is actually true! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064940/characters/nm07998
Yep. I remember him talking about it in an interview on some talk show decades ago. Might have even been Donahue.
That’s wild, would estimate that kind of messaging has a low success rate based on the “fat people KNOW THEY’RE FAT!!” exasperation I see.
How wonderful someone said the thing that worked for him. Gotta watch that classic Who’s Line? clip someone linked if you haven’t seen it.
Probably helps that it was a pretty wholesome message. Like, “I really like your work, and I hope to see it continue, so please don’t die.”
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.
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Letterman is no spring chicken himself, I think he’s older
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Wow Richard Simmons and Doctor Ruth in the same day. The Grim Reaper is busy
Someone is after our health gurus.
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.
Rest in peace, Richard. You were a truly beautiful person.
I’d recommend the Missing Richard Simmons podcast. It’s a miniseries that discusses his legacy and influence. It’s well worth the listen.
Thanks Richard for showing me men can be quirky.
Keeping entire generations moving. RIP
Rip legend
That’s why you shouldn’t work out.
I thought his rampant positivity got him
It’s ok, I thought it was funny
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