Richard Simmons was most definitely “in on it.”

The so-called “fitness guru” was an outspoken, flamboyant celebrity who gained legions of loyal fans from his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” weight-loss videos. His fame made him a staple on television for decades. He had a recurring role on the popular soap opera General Hospital, as well a guest roles on episodic television as a slew of game shows. Ricard was a regular guest on David Letterman’s television talk show and on Howard Stern’s radio show. On both, he was regularity the butt of jokes and the object of  ceaseless ridicule. Richard would grow silent at the insults, pouting and threatening to leave the show, but he stayed… and returned often… only to meet the same treatment. He was a riot and he appeared to be in on the joke… in an “Andy Kaufman” sort of way.

He loved to meet and mingle with his fans and he made it a point to personally answer fan mail.

In 2016, Richard totally withdrew from public life. This led to speculation that he was being mistreated and held hostage by his housekeeper. In 2017, LA Police made a welfare check at Richard’s Beverly Hills home, later issuing the statement: “Mr. Simmons is “perfectly fine” and that “right now he is doing what he wants to do and it is his business.”

A relentless campaign by comedian/actor Pauly Shore for a possible biopic prompted a rare post from Richard on Facebook, explaining that he no longer had a manager or a publicist and he has not given anyone permission to produce a filmed story of his life.

Richard passed away from complications from a fall in his home, just one day after his 76th birthday.

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Director Robert Altman loved Shelley Duvall. Shelley’s first six theatrical films were under the guidance of Altman. His laid-back style of directing allowed the young and talented Shelley to blossom as an actress. His films were notoriously unstructured and he often encouraged ad-libbing. Shelley felt comfortable under Altman’s direction and she received abundant praise for roles in his films, including a Best Actress nod from the Cannes Film Festival in 1977 for her turn in Altman’s 3 Women. Shelley made six films with Altman before her breakout role with a new director.

In 1980, she was cast as “Wendy Torrence,” the beleaguered wife of a stir-crazy author in the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s supernatural epic The Shining. The film would be a jarring experience for Shelley. Working with director Stanley Kubrick would be a very new and very different experience than she was used to with Robert Altman.

Kubrick was a detail-oriented perfectionist, the likes of which Shelley was not familiar. Kubrick expected an extreme level of acting from his cast and would go to extreme lengths to achieve the result he envisioned. Kubrick wanted Shelley to exhibit fear… real fear… palpable fear… a fear that the audience would feel right along with her. So, in an effort to get the best performance out of the actress, Kubrick terrorized her. He yelled. He screamed. He insulted. He threatened. He bickered. He argued. Kubrick purposely isolated her from the other actors. For the climatic scene in which Jack Nicholson’s character accosts Shelley with a baseball bat, Kubrick had her perform the scene 127 times until he was satisfied. Her hair began to fall out in clumps. The final nine months of shooting required Shelley to cry nearly 12 hours a day. She was a wreck. And she never worked with Stanley Kubrick again.

Shelly made one more film with Robert Altman, the poorly-received, big budget musical Popeye, in which she was perfectly cast as the spinach-eating sailor’s girlfriend “Olive Oyl.”

In later years, Shelley spoke positively about her time working on The Shining with Stanley Kubrick, proving she was a class act and the bigger person.

Retired from acting and out of the public eye for years, Shelley passed away from complications from diabetes just four days after her 75th birthday.

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Martin Mull was one of those guys. Not a superstar, but certain not an “unknown.” He was a comedian, a singer, a songwriter, an actor and voice actor and a painter.

In 1970, as a budding musician, Martin let his sense of humor shine in the novelty song “A Girl Named Johnny Cash,” a modest hit for singer Jane Morgan in her foray into country music. From there, he embarked on his own career as a singer, releasing a string of humorous songs and touring the country as an opening act for Randy Newman, Sandy Denny, Billy Joel and even Bruce Springsteen.

Ready to conquer the acting world, he landed the role of “Garth Gimble” on the syndicated soap opera spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. His popularity led to a spin-off pseudo talk show, Fernwood 2 Night (and later America 2 Night) as his character’s twin brother Barth. He was paired with comedian Fred Willard and the two were hilarious. He made the jump to movies with supporting roles in Mr. Mom and Clue and a rare starring role in the cult favorite Serial. Along the way, Martin produced a critically praised mockumentary The History of White People in America featuring his offbeat brand of humor. He was cast in a number of roles in episodic television including the family-friendly Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the more adult Arrested Development. He was featured in a few failed sitcoms, but he persevered, taking voice roles in the cartoons Danny Phantom and Bob’s Burgers.

Martin’s hidden passion was painting. He held a Masters Degree for the Rhode Island School of Design. His large-format works of photorealism were displayed in galleries and museums across the country, including — in true Martin Mull fashion — in the men’s’ room at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. One of his paintings — the 2008 piece After Dinner Drinks — was featured on the cover of the album Love Has Come for You by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

Out of the spotlight for several years, Martin passed away in June 2024 after a lengthy, yet undisclosed, illness. He was 80.

He was a funny guy.

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Lori Martin entered the world as Dawn Menzer, four minutes before her twin sister Doree on April 18, 1947. She was the daughter of a commercial artist and set designer for Warner Brothers Studios, so show business was already in her blood.

Six-year old Lori — still using her real name — was signed up by her mother with a talent agent who specialized in children’s roles. Her first audition had disaster written all over it, when en route, the family car broke down. Determined Lori got out and walked alone the six blocks to the casting office. She told the receptionist who she was and the business that brought her there. She aced the audition — a Chrysler car commercial — by herself. For future auditions, Lori’s mother waited in the car.

Now, using the name “Lori Martin,” a name she initially disliked, but grew to appreciate, she landed roles in films and episodic television. Lori was featured in the Roger Corman gangster film Machine Gun Kelly, the James Garner-Natalie Wood romantic comedy Cash McCall, the epic The FBI Story with James Stewart. She also appeared in guest roles in Leave It to Beaver, Wagon Train and Medic, television’s first doctor show.

At 12, Lori auditioned with over 900 other hopeful young actresses for the lead in the proposed TV series based on the popular film National Velvet. When the pool was narrowed down to three, Lori was interviewed an additional ten times before finally winning the role because of her striking resemblance to film star Elizabeth Taylor.

At 14, she was cast in her most notable performance, as Gregory Peck’s young daughter in the original Cape Fear. The film’s director wanted Hayley Mills for the role. When he couldn’t get her, he treated Lori deliberately harsh during filming. Lori admitted that she had regular nightmares about Robert Mitchum’s menacing performance.

Lori made an attempt at a singing career, releasing the single “The Home of the Boy I Love” in 1963. The tune, a typical 60s vocal in the style of Annette Funicello, Lesley Gore or Shelley Fabres, did not live up to Lori’s aspirations. She concentrated on her acting, taking guest roles in Family Affair, The Donna Reed Show and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. In 1970, she was paired with Jerry Mathers as newlyweds in an episode of My Three Sons. Years earlier, they played an adolescent couple on Leave It to Beaver. She retired from acting shortly after.

Lori married and moved to Oakhurst, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She took care of her child and helped her husband run his medical supply company. Lori appeared to be happy leaving her show biz life in her past, but Lori fought a life-long battle with bipolar schizophrenia, exacerbated by the death of her husband. She began to use illegal drugs and, in 2010, Lori took her own life by self-inflicted gunshot. She was 62 years old.

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June is Pride Month.

Patrick Haggerty grew up on a dairy farm in rural Washington. His parents were accepting of their son’s homosexuality and encouraged him to “be himself” and not to “sneak around.”

In high school, Patrick, a natural performer, was the leader of the pep squad and was popular among his classmates. In college, he joined the Peace Corp, but was dismissed when it was discovered he was gay. He joined and became very active in the Gay Liberation Front, a local chapter of a nationwide advocacy organization formed in the wake of the Stonewall riots.

In 1973, he formed a band — Lavender Country — in an effort to popularize a subgenre of country/Western music known as “Lavender Cowboy Music.” The band’s self-produced album received mixed reviews, being called “fun, but amateurish in its production.

After a 49-year hiatus, Patrick and his band released their second album “Blackberry Rose” in 2019. They performed across the country. They gained popularity partly from the surging career of nuevo-gay icon Orville Peck and his own re-introduction of “lavender cowboy music” to the mainstream. “Blackberry Rose” even received a re-release in 2022. Riding the wave of his newfound, but latent, success, Patrick died suddenly from a stroke on Hallowe’en 2022. He was 78.

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