Richard Simmons' brother has revealed that the day before his death, the fitness icon was concerned he had food poisoning.
The TV personality found fame in the 1970s and 80s by opening a chain of gyms and releasing numerous fitness tapes and DVDs. Simmons quickly became a household name thanks to his positive and flamboyant energy, but in his later years, he retreated from the public eye.
On July 13, TMZ reported that Simmons had died at the age of 76, the day after his birthday. Law enforcement officials who spoke with the outlet said that just before 10 a.m. on Saturday, Simmons' live-in housekeeper Teresa Reveles called for assistance. After police and fire department personnel arrived at the scene, he was pronounced dead. No foul play is suspected at this time and authorities are currently treating it as a natural death.
In an interview with ET, his brother, Lenny Simmons, revealed that he had "just talked" to Richard Simmons on his 76th birthday. This made the phone call from the fitness personality's housekeeper to announce his death even more shocking.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Richard Simmons for comment on Tuesday.
"The phone rang, and I didn't know why she was calling. I just talked to my brother yesterday for his birthday, which all also happened to be [my wife and I's] wedding anniversary and she started crying, and said, 'Your brother, I think he's gone,'" he said.
"It was really a shock. He wasn't feeling really well that day because he said he thought he'd had some food poisoning, but he was getting better and going to bed a little early. So we really didn't think anything about it.
"We all have our bad days sometimes, you know, not feeling the best and when she called me, I was in shock. I called my wife, Kathy, and I said, 'You need to come here. You need to hear what [Teresa's] saying.' And it really... my soul just [felt] sucked [out of my body]."
Lenny Richards spoke fondly of his brother in the interview, saying he had always looked up to him as "he's the real deal" and was "the person that everybody liked, everybody loved."
Richard Simmons reportedly declined medical help after a fall at his home, just hours before his death.
According to TMZ, Richard Simmons fell in his bathroom and was feeling dizzy before the accident. His housekeeper, who was present at the time, helped him up and strongly advised he seek medical attention. Despite her concerns, the wellness pioneer chose to stay at home, expressing a desire to remain in familiar surroundings on his birthday.
On the same day, Richard Simmons took to his public Facebook page to thank his fans for their birthday wishes, writing, "Thank you...I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday."
In an interview with People, which was also published on July 12, the professional fitness coach shared his gratitude.
"I feel good! I am grateful that I'm here, that I am alive for another day. I'll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people," he said.
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