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Richard Simmons, the fitness guru who appeared as himself on General Hospital from 1979 to 1983, and then again for a couple of episodes in 2013, passed away one day after turning 76. According to TMZ , a call from his housekeeper just before 10 a.m. on Saturday brought fire and police to his home and they pronounced him dead at the scene. No signs of foul play were found and it's being treated as a natural death. The site updated that Simmons suffered a fall the night before and could be connected to his passing.
Inspiring A Nation To Get Fit
Born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana, he became beloved for his passion for fitness and upbeat personality. According to the IMDB, he opened his workout studio, Simmons, in 1974 in Beverly Hills because he felt most gyms catered to those already fit and he wanted to help beginners and those overweight. It closed in 2016. The site also said he was motivated to lose weight after receiving an anonymous note, left on his car, that said, "Fat people die young. Please don't die."
He joined GH in 1979, staying with the show until 1983. In the storyline, he held classes for those wanting to get in shape at the Campus Disco, where Laura (Genie Francis) worked and Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) ran it. Simmons recently discussed those magical days. After years out of the spotlight, he started talking about what he wanted to include in his memoir on social media. On the subject of his time on the ABC soap, he wrote about how the offer came about after an appearance on a talk show with Regis Philbin, "A few days later, I met with the most powerful woman in daytime television: Gloria Monty,” he wrote of GH's iconic executive producer . “I also met with the head writer, Pat Falken Smith. These ladies were very smart.”
He discussed his first scene, which had to be intimidating since he wasn't an actor. “I had never memorized lines before. So much was going on in my head. At the end of my scene, I heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor and everyone froze. It was Ms. Monty, and she was talking to me. ‘Richard, the television is this big . You are talking like you are on a screen in a movie theater…bring your voice down.’ So, I did.”
He returned to the show for its 50th anniversary, appearing in two episodes to help out with the Nurses Ball. Lynn Herring (Lucy) spoke warmly to Digest about that in 2023: “Richard is truly a pure entertainer and he really wants everybody to laugh and feel comfortable. So the moment he steps on set, he’s greeting everybody, you know, from the lighting guys to everyone else on the crew. He talks and jokes and he points out something personal about someone’s outfit and teases them, so he makes everybody laugh. There are 100 people on the set, and all of a sudden he walks out and all the focus is on this one guy because he is just so present, and listening to every word. He just commanded such a warm feeling with everybody. For some reason, he and I just really hit it off. We connected because Lucy is such a large character, too, that you need to be ‘on’ sometimes when you really don’t feel like it. He came to my dressing room and we had the best talk. It was so much fun to hear what responsibility he feels for his audience. The last day he taped, he brought me this beautiful summery dress that he had actually used in drag for some fun skit and he thought that I would love to have it. It just killed me that he wanted me to have it. I had complimented him on a beautiful tank top he was wearing that had a peacock on it and he sent that to me, too. He was so kind. It was very special to me to have that time with him.”
Kin Shriner (Scott) responded to the sad news on X (formerly Twitter) saying, "RIP to Richard Simmons he brought quite a flair to [General Hospital] in the Hay Day, I got a kick out of him and his aerobic classes on the show!"
His success on GH caused Soap Opera Digest to give him his own column in the magazine where fans could write in and ask him for advice.
It is unknown how far he got with his memoir, but his tales were thrilling to those who followed him on social media. On his birthday he wrote, "Thank you…I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday. Love, Richard."
After his passing, his brother Lenny Simmons sent the following tweet out: "Hello Everyone, I don’t want people to be sad about my brother. I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote, and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help. So don’t be sad. Celebrate his life! He was very excited about all of the upcoming ventures he was working on. We are in shock. Please respect the family at this difficult time."
Digest sends sincere condolences to the family, friends and fans of Richard Simmons.
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