On July 13, fitness icon Richard Simmons died. Simmons was 76 years old when he died and had been in the midst of a comeback plan that would have taken his story to the stage. On Wednesday, Simmons’ brother Lenny reportedly received confirmation of Simmons’ cause of death, which was the result of several contributing factors.
The fitness personality rose to prominence through his self-titled Simmons gyms. These filled a previously unaddressed niche by catering to individuals who were not yet at their weight or health goals, rather than those who wanted to maintain where they were. Simmons frequently appeared on several late-night talk shows, from the Late Show with David Letterman to The Howard Stern Show, before going on a hiatus in the 2010s that was supposed to end recently, as Simmons had just jumped back into interviews and even stage production.
Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny confirms the fitness guru’s cause of death
Tom Estey, a spokesperson for Simmons’ family, shared a statement with People announcing what Lenny had been told. “This morning, Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny, received a call from the LA Coroner’s office,” Estey shared on Wednesday. “The Coroner informed Lenny that Richard’s death was accidental due to complications from recent falls and heart disease as a contributing factor.”
RELATED: Richard Simmons’ Final Touching Interview Just Two Days Before His Passing
He continued, “The toxicology report was negative other than medication Richard had been prescribed. The family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss.” Estey then added, “The family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss. … The world has truly lost an angel.”
The plans that almost came to be
Estey had previously confirmed news of Simmons’ death after Simmons’ longtime household manager Teresa Reveles found him unresponsive a day after his 76th birthday. “When I saw him, he looked peaceful,” Reveles had told People in an earlier interview. Before official reports came to light, Reveles had theorized Richards had suffered a heart attack because his hands had reportedly been clenched into fists.
“I had a heart attack a few years ago, and my hands did the same,” she added.
Reveles also shared that Simmons had suffered a fall the day before but deferred on going to the hospital because he did not want to spend his 76th birthday there, instead suggesting, “Why don’t we wait and we do it in the morning?” People further reported that Simmons had been feeling dizzy just prior to his fall.
Simmons halted major public appearances by 2014 and stopped appearing publically altogether by February of that same year. After 2016 saw the rise of rumors that Simmons was being held hostage in his own home, he broke his silence to deny these allegations with an interview for The Today Show. But then later that year, his gym closed suddenly without any announcement from Simmons, eventually prompting a welfare check from local police, who said he was “perfectly fine” and “right now he is doing what he wants to do and it is his business.”
He stepped back into the limelight recently and had participated in an interview with People, his first interview in quite a while, just two days before he died. He had also been writing a Broadway musical about his life, and was fighting back against an unauthorized biopic he had not wanted released.
After his death, Simmons’ team shared the final social media post he had written, ready to share, reading, “Let me fly you to the moon so we can gaze among the stars. Love, Richard.”
