LOS ANGELES — Popular fitness personality Richard Simmons has died at the age of 76, according to ABC News.
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The Los Angeles Police Department went to his home after a 911 call from his housekeeper found Simmons dead, according to police sources.
He appears to have died of natural causes, and no foul play is suspected, the sources said.
In March, Simmons scared fans after he posted that he was dying on Facebook.
Writing in part, “I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am...dying.”
He later clarified that he was not actually dying, but that the message was intended to encourage everyone to “embrace every day that we have.”
According to ABC News, he told his fans that he’d had skin cancer removed from his face, but was not doing well.
“I know some of you reading this have had cancer or have known someone in your life who has had cancer,” he wrote. “Promise me you will see your doctor and get a complete check up.”
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According to ABC News, Simmons has been out of the public eye recently, despite the reports of a possible biopic.
“Don’t believe everything you read. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful,” Simmons later said.
Simmons has often talked about how he was overweight as a child, which led him to his weight loss journey and pursuit of a career in fitness starting in the 1970s and ‘80s. His first foray into weight loss came with the opening of his gym, Slimmons, in Beverly Hills, California.
He released his first book, “Never Say Diet,” in 1980. The book was the first of 12 he would release in his career.
Simmons died one day after his 76th birthday.
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