Richard Simmons, television鈥檚 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 Saturday. He turned 76 on Friday.

Los Angeles police and fire departments say they responded to a Los Angeles house where a man was declared dead from natural causes. Neither provided a name, but The Associated Press matched the address and age to Simmons through public records.

TMZ was first to report his death, which has also been reported by other outlets citing unnamed Simmons representatives.

Simmons, who had revealed a skin diagnosis in March 2024, had lately dropped out of sight, sparking speculating about his health and well-being.

Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime 鈥淩ichard Simmons Show,鈥� author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal, as well as opening exercise studios and starring in millions of exercise videos, including the successful 鈥淪weatin鈥� to the Oldies鈥� line.

鈥淢y food plan and diet are just two words 鈥� common sense. With a dash of good humor,鈥� he told The Associated Press in 1982. 鈥淚 want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place.鈥�

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 guest on TV shows led by Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Phil Donahue. But David Letterman would prank him and Howard Stern would tease him until he cried. He was mocked in Neil Simon鈥檚 鈥淭he Goodbye Girl鈥� on Broadway in 1993, and Eddie Murphy put on white makeup and dressed like him in 鈥淭he Nutty Professor,鈥� screaming 鈥淚鈥檓 a pony!鈥�

Asked if he thought he could motivate people by being silly, Simmons answered, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a time to be serious and a time to be silly. It鈥檚 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鈥檚 a different kind of training.鈥�

Simmons鈥� daytime show was seen on 200 stations in America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, 鈥淣ever Say Diet,鈥� was a smash best seller.

He was known to counsel the severely obese, including Rosalie Bradford, who held records for being the world鈥檚 heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranko, who credited Simmons for helping him lose 700 pounds. Simmons put real people 鈥� chubby, balding or non-telegenic 鈥� in his exercise videos to make the fitness goals seem reachable.

Throughout his career, Simmons was a reliable critic of fad diets, always emphasizing healthy eating and exercise plans. 鈥淭here鈥檒l always be some weird thing about eating four grapes before you go to bed, or drinking a special tea, or buying this little bean from El Salvador,鈥� he told the AP in 2005 as the Atkins diet craze swept the country. 鈥淚f you watch your portions and you have a good attitude and you work out every day you鈥檒l live longer, feel better and look terrific.鈥�

Simmons was a native of New Orleans, a chubby boy named Milton by his parents. (He renamed himself 鈥淩ichard鈥� around the age of 10 to improve his self-image). He would tell people he ate to excess because he believed his parents liked his older brother more. He was teased by schoolmates and ballooned to almost 200 pounds.

Simmons told the AP his mother watched exercise guru Jack LaLanne鈥檚 TV show religiously when he was growing up, but he wasn鈥檛 crazy about the fitness fanatic. 鈥淚 hated him,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 ready for his message because he was fit and he was healthy and he had such a positive attitude, and I was none of those things.鈥�

Simmons went to Italy as a foreign exchange student and ended up doing peanut butter commercials and bacchanalian eating scenes for director Federico Fellini in his film 鈥淔ellini Satyricon.鈥� He told the AP: 鈥淚 was fat, had curly hair. The Italians thought I was hysterical. I was the life of the party.鈥�

His life changed after getting an anonymous letter. 鈥淥ne dark, rainy day I went to my car and found a note. It said, 鈥楧ear Richard, you鈥檙e very funny, but fat people die young. Please don鈥檛 die.鈥� He was so stunned that he went on the starvation diet that left him thin but very ill.

After the crash diet he gained back 65 pounds. Eventually, he was able to devise a sensible plan to take off the pounds and keep them off. 鈥淚 went into the business because I couldn鈥檛 find anything I liked,鈥� he said.

When Simmons hadn鈥檛 been seen in public for several years, some news outlets speculated that he was being held hostage in his own house. In telephone interviews with 鈥淓ntertainment Tonight鈥� and the 鈥淭oday鈥� show, Simmons refuted the claims and told his fans he was enjoying the time by himself. Filmmaker-writer Dan Taberski, one of his regular students, launched a podcast in 2017 called 鈥淢issing Richard Simmons.鈥�

In 2022, Simmons broke his six-year silence, with his spokesperson telling The New York Post that the beloved fitness icon was 鈥渓iving the life he has chosen.鈥�

___ Mark Kennedy is at

___

Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles.

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press