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.