ABC News confirmed Simmons’ death via a representative after a 911 call was made by his housekeeper. In March, Simmons issued a letter to fans via X/Twitter – it began with “Please don’t be sad.
I am ….dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death.”He followed it up with a Facebook post on March 19, revealing to the public that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.
Per ABC News, Simmons appears to have died of natural causes. Mere hours before his death, Simmons posted his final tweet, accompanied by a picture of himself dressed as Liza Minnelli: “Hello gorgeous!
Please don’t rain on my parade.”Upon the news of his death, fans and celebrities took to social media to share their tributes to Simmons – many who celebrated his infectious and inclusive presence as a fitness personality, others who remember his wild and thoroughly candid television appearances on shows like The Late Show with David Letterman and Whose Line Is It Anyway?.“I feel sorry for gay kids who didn’t grow up watching Richard Simmons,” wrote Jimmy Kimmel Live!
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