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Richard Simmons, who became a national treasure in America as the leading “sweat it out with oldies” fitness guru, sadly passed away last weekend.
Simmons was found dead in her home by her housekeeper on Saturday. TMZ sources say she may have died after reportedly suffering a fall on Friday, her 76th birthday.
Just hours before, he shared one last shocking post on social media.
Brilliant Facebook ImagesHe wrote: “Hey lovely person! Please don’t ruin my parade.”
Simmons recently discussed his birthday in a rare interview with People magazine, saying he was “grateful to be alive for another day,” adding, “I’m going to celebrate with a candle in a zucchini. You know I’m a vegetarian.”
He also spoke about moving away from fame, saying, “I know you all miss me, and hey, I miss you all too. But we stay in touch through phone calls and emails, and I do get out of the house every now and then, but I’m in disguise.”
Richard insisted, “I’ve never lived the celebrity life. I’ve never thought of myself as a celebrity. People don’t know this, but I’m really shy, a bit of an introvert. But once the curtain goes up, it’s a different story. I’m there to make people happy. But the compliments I get through email – today we probably reply to over 100 emails, and they’ll say, ‘I’m your biggest fan’. I just reply and say, ‘Don’t say that. I’m a human being just like you. And I know you’re doing good things too.'”
In 2008, Richard spoke to “Extra” about his mission to help others and shared his experiences with being overweight while growing up in New Orleans.
He never played sports at his old school, “where sports was all they had,” and he was fighting to bring a national program to help kids get healthy.
“I know I’m a clown, I know I’m a court jester, that’s why God put me here, but in the heart of a clown, there’s a sincere desire to just help kids,” an emotional Richard said. Watch the video above.