US TV fitness guru Richard Simmons dead aged 76 – Taipei Times

Richard Simmons, US 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 on Saturday. He turned 76 on Friday.

Simmons died at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Tom Estey said in an e-mail, without giving further details.

Los Angeles police and fire departments say they responded to a house — whose address has matched with Simmons through public records — where a man was declared dead from natural causes.

Simmons, who had revealed a skin cancer diagnosis in March, had dropped out of sight, sparking speculating about his health and well-being. His death was first reported by TMZ.

Simmons was a former 122kg teen who became a master of many media forms, sharing his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime Richard Simmons Show and author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal.

He also opened exercise studios and starred in exercise videos, including the wildly successful Sweatin’ to the Oldies line, which became a cultural phenomenon.

“My food plan and diet are just two words — common sense — with a dash of good humor,” he said 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 sought-after guest on TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue.

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 said: “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.”

Simmons’ daytime show was shown on 200 stations in the US, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America.

His first book, Never Say Diet, was a bestseller.