Richard Simmons: Providing the gift of health

Exercise and health advocate Richard Simmons.

Source: https://wwd.com/pop-culture/celebrity-news/gallery/

richard-simmons-fitness-outfits-photos-1236140125/richard-simmons-portrait-session-2/

(May be subject to copyright)

A few months ago, I made a note that I really needed to write about Richard Simmons. He was another one of the characters from the 1980s that defies description.

He was not an actor, writer, musician, or entertainer. He was more a force of nature, dragging many into the fitness craze of the decade.

Simmons was energetic and charismatic, inspiring thousands to get moving to lose weight and get fit.

Sadly, I heard today he had passed away, moving Richard Simmons to the top of the list.

He was just 76 years of age.

As seen on TV
“Real People” was a television show that run from 1979 to 1984, hosted initially by Skip Stephenson, Sarah Purcell, Canadian John Barbour, Byron Allen and Bill Rafferty. It featured segments on a wide variety of topics from the Rubik’s Cube and a man who could speak backwards, to Terry Fox running across Canada in his Marathon of Hope for cancer research.

The first time I ever saw Richard Simmons was on “Real People”. I remember him being so full of energy and so flamboyant. On the show, he was initially at his gym where viewers met his customers who had lost weight through a combination of diet and exercise. He talked about people’s hearts being covered in chips and cookies from eating all this bad food, and how that could stop.

He was living proof of the message he was delivering, because he himself lost more than 120 pounds, and kept it off.

Richard Simmons would go on to have his own series, “The Richard Simmons Show” which aired from 1980 to 1984. I often heard about it, and saw clips of him leading aerobics, but don’t recall ever seeing it air on peasant vision.

He would also make appearances on game shows, talk shows, television series such as a season one episode of Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” in 1986, and even the soap opera “General Hospital”, usually just playing himself.

Parting thoughts
Richard Simmons continued to promote health and exercise for decades. He made his last pubic appearance in 2014.

He is another one of those personalities from the ‘80s who defied description really. Simmons raised so much awareness about health, and especially fitness, at a time when media were becoming much more accessible.

He said he had a lot to give people.

The biggest gift Richard Simmons gave was their health.