Legendary fitness guru Richard Simmons has died aged 76.
The American star – real name Milton Teagle Simmons – was best known for his flamboyant personality and energetic workouts.
Sadly, Simmons died on Saturday (July 12).
It is reported that police and fire responded to a call from his housekeeper just before 10am and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Insiders added to TMZ: ‘No foul play is suspected at this time, and cops are looking into it as a natural death.’
Simmons celebrated his 76th birthday just yesterday and took to social media to thank fans for their well wishes.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘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’.
The post received thousands of comments, a testament to the love felt around the world for the fitness personality, who rose to fame in the 1970s and 80s when he opened several gyms and created exercise videos.
Expressing their sadness following the shock of his death, fans of Simmons penned heartfelt tributes.
‘Richard Simmons preached exercise, diet and most of all kindness. He positively impacted thousands and thousands of lives. I’m one of the hundreds and hundreds of TV people who basked in his energy and readily accepted those crazy hugs. Rest well’, wrote RichardERoeper on X.
‘I feel like the world losing Richard Simmons means that we have officially entered the darkest timeline’, penned thekylestevens.
User deathjitsu wrote: ‘I’m not sure it’s possible for later generations to understand how BIG Richard Simmons was in the 80s. An icon of pop culture and a good-hearted human by all accounts. RIP.’
Others hailed him as a ‘legend’ and said they hoped he ‘had peace in his final years out of the public eye.’
Simmons’s death comes after he announced in March that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer.
He took to Facebook to detail the moment he found out he had the disease and told in a lengthy post how he underwent an attempt to remove the cancer cells.
Through his health struggles, he remained positive.
In a rare interview, New Orleans-born Simmons – who stepped away from the spotlight 10 years ago – told People he was planning to blow out a candle to mark his milestone birthday this year.
The health fanatic joked in the chat: ‘But the candle will probably be on a zucchini. You know, I’m a vegetarian.’
When asked how he felt about turning 76, he added: ‘I feel good!
‘I am grateful that I’m here, that I am alive for another day.
‘I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people’
Simmons ascended to prominence when he opened The Anatomy Asylum in Los Angeles.
He also released dozens of fitness tapes and DVDs including Sweatin’ to the Oldies, Party off the Pounds, and more, with fans loving him for his positive energy.
Simmons retreated from the limelight in his latter years due to the demands of maintaining an energy-filled persona in public, but kept his fans updated on his life on social media.