Obituary: Richard Simmons, fitness guru

Richard Simmons was television’s 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. The New Orleans-born Simmons was painfully insecure as a teen and his weight ballooned out to 120kg. 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 Fellini Satyricon. His life changed after getting an anonymous letter which told him fat people died young and begged him not to die. The resulting starvation diet nearly killed him, so Simmons researched and devised a sensible diet and exercise regime for himself, one which he then parlayed into his own business.

"My food plan and diet are just two words — common sense. With a dash of good humour," he said. "I want to help people and make the world a healthier, happy place."

SImmons became a master of many media forms, sharing his hard-won weight-loss tips as host of the Emmy-winning daytime Richard Simmons Show and author of best-selling books and the diet plan Deal-A-Meal. He also opened exercise studios and starred in exercise videos, including the wildly successful Sweatin’ to the Oldies line, which became a cultural phenomenon. He consistently criticised fad diets and advocated a sensible, everything-in-moderation lifestyle.

As he aged Simmons became a new pop culture phenomenon: he retreated from the world, sparking speculation — which he eventually denied — that he was being held hostage in his own house. SImmons died on July 13, aged 76. — Agencies