Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons was an American fitness personality and public figure. He had promoted weight-loss programs, most prominently through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos.

Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening his gym Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products. He was often parodied and was a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman and The Howard Stern Show.

He continued to promote health and exercise through a decades-long career, and later broadened his activities to include political activism – such as in 2008 in support of a bill mandating noncompetitive physical education in public schools as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Family life

Simmons was born as Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 12, 1948, to Leonard Douglas Simmons Sr., and Shirley May (née Satin). He was born to "show-business parents" and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Simmons had an older brother, Leonard Jr. Their father was raised Methodist and worked as a master of ceremonies and later in thrift stores, while their mother was Russian Jewish and was a traveling fan dancer and later a store cosmetics saleswoman. Simmons later converted to Catholicism.

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Simmons explained he adopted the name Richard after an uncle who paid for his college tuition.

While his sexual orientation has been the subject of much speculation, he never publicly discussed his sexuality. He claimed to have few friends, saying, "I don't have a lot to offer to one person. I have a lot to offer to a lot of people." Aside from his three Dalmatians and two maids, Simmons lived alone in Beverly Hills, California. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Trivia

Per the New Orleans Historic Collection:

"On July 12, 1948, Simmons (Cancer with a Libra moon) made his first grand entrance into the world after his mother went into labor at Gin's Mee Hong Restaurant, located at 739 Conti Street, where the Simmons family had just arrived for dinner (prompted by his mother's declaration, 'I think our biscuit in the oven needs an egg roll')."

Sources

• Cohen, Rebecca, Andrew Blankstein, and Michelle Acevedo. "Richard Simmons, legendary fitness personality, dies at 76." NBC News, published 13 July 2024. < link > Accessed 13 July 2024.
• Makamson, Collin. "Richard Simmons: New Orleans's hometown hero." The Historic New Orleans Collection, published 7 July 2023. < link > Accessed 14 July 2024.
• "Richard Simmons." Wikipedia, revision of 13 July 2024. < link > Accessed 13 July 2024.