Soap fans will forever remember fitness legend Richard Simmons for his iconic run on General Hospital.
Richard Simmons, the fitness guru who played himself on General Hospital in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away on July 13, just one day after his 76th birthday. According to TMZ, law enforcement officers found Simmons unresponsive in his Beverly Hills home after he fell in his bathroom. The outlet said police did not suspect foul play.
Milton Teagle Simmons was born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans, LA, and later called himself Richard. Overweight as a teenager, he opened a Los Angeles gym called SLIMMONS in 1974, and his star took off from there.
In May of this year, Simmons took to X and told the story of how he became a soap star. He made an appearance on Regis Philbin's L.A. talk show, A.M. Los Angeles. Within days, ABC contacted him to appear on General Hospital.
"A few days later, I met with the most powerful woman in daytime television, Gloria Monty. I also met with the head writer Pat Falken Smith," Simmons wrote. "These ladies were very smart. They told me their idea. I would teach exercise classes in a disco for all the ladies on the show."
The exercise classes were a success both in Port Charles and with audiences at home. Simmons made his GH debut in 1979 and remained with the soap until 1982. He said the first cast member he met was Genie Francis, and they hit it off right away.
"When I got my first paycheck I went to Tiffany's and bought her a pair of earrings," Simmons said on X. "When I gave her the blue box...the famous blue box...she opened up a second blue box then gazed at the earrings. 'For me?' she said. She later told me she gave the earrings to her daughter."
Simmons went on to host his own syndicated series, The Richard Simmons Show. He also released 65 fitness videos that sold millions of copies, the most famous one being Sweatin' to the Oldies. He owned his gym, SLIMMONS, until 2013, which was the same year he made his GH return, appearing on two Nurses Ball episodes.
Simmons posted a thank you note on X on July 12 after receiving birthday wishes. "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. Love, Richard," he tweeted.
His last tweet was the morning of his death. "Hello gorgeous! Don't rain on my parade," he wrote, referencing the Barbra Streisand movie Funny Girl.
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