Richard Simmons, fitness guru, dies at age 76

VIDEO: Richard Simmons visited WJZ for Oprah's segment in 1980s

Richard Simmons, the fitness guru who devoted his life to making people sweat with his "Sweatin' to the Oldies" workout videos, has died early Saturday morning, his representative confirmed to CBS News. He was 76. 

Simmons died a day after his birthday. He had posted a message on his social media accounts on Friday writing "Thank you…I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails." On Saturday fans posted message after message saying they will miss him and thanking him for his positivity and encouragement. 

At 9:57 a.m. Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a radio call of a death investigation in the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood, the LAPD told CBS News. Authorities said the fire department joined police on the 1300 block of Belfast Drive, where Simmons' house is located.

In his shimmering tank tops and short shorts, Simmons was always full of energy and smiling. His aerobic videos in the 1980s and '90s transformed the home into a gym, teaching the world to get in shape.

But his enthusiasm for fitness came from a less-than-healthy beginning.

"You know, I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana, we eat everything fried there, we even take leaves from outside and dip them in breadcrumbs and fry them," he told CBS' "Sunday Morning" in 2010.

Born in 1948 in Louisiana, Simmons struggled with his weight as a child, weighing 268 pounds when he graduated from high school.

"Once upon a time, there was a little fat kid in New Orleans who sold pralines on the street corners to make a living for his family," Simmons said.

It was a health scare that changed his life.

"This little guy took it seriously, and he got himself together and then he decided to be the pied piper of health," Simmons said.

And the people followed — for 40 years. Simmons was still teaching aerobics in his 60s from his gym in Beverly Hills, complete with a disco ball, record player and shiny shirt.

"I have to stay at 135 pounds to be in these 1980 Dolfin shorts," Simmons said.

His fitness videos sold more than 20 million copies. He played himself on TV shows, commercials, even cartoons.

He became a political activist for children, campaigning for physical education in schools, fighting for healthy eating and against fad dieting.

"Never say diet, say live it, you want your body to live, not die," Simmons said.

Simmons made hundreds of appearances on TV talk shows, but in 2014, he went from seemingly being everywhere to being nowhere, disappearing from the public eye for years. In April 2017, he posted a message on Facebook: "I'm not 'missing,' just a little under the weather."

For his followers, his message remained.

"I hope that one day we can all be a little bit more intelligent on how to take care of the only thing that God gave us – that's our body," Simmons said.

Richard Simmons helped start a movement, on moving.

In:
• Richard Simmons
• Exercise

John Blackstone

From his base in San Francisco, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone covers breaking stories throughout the West. That often means he is on the scene of wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and rumbling volcanoes. He also reports on the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley and on social and economic trends that frequently begin in the West.