Richard Simmons died of heart disease

He had just turned 76. It's not like he dropped dead at 45 due to heart disease. It's conceivable your heart can only take so much at a certain age. He may have other comorbidities that we don't know about.

And the Big Mac eating Trump still lives. It just ain’t fair.

Will Deal-A-Meal customers be able to get their money back?

Flatlining to the Oldies!

He was a former fattie. Eating disorders will destroy the heart.

OP, not exactly. They also said cause of death was "accidental" due to recent falls as well as heart disease.

[quote] ...Richard's death was accidental due to complications from recent falls and heart disease as a contributing factor. The toxicology report was negative other than medication Richard had been prescribed.

So sad. He helped so many people.

I listened to that podcast about his disappearance from public life a few years ago. At first, I thought it was entertaining. And then it was just icky. Lots of speculation about him transitioning and about his personal life. It felt outrageously intrusive since Richard clearly did not want to be "found."

He helped a lot of women. I remember watching middle aged ladies who were ridiculously happy while working out with him. It was a time before most women had gym memberships and he introduced them to exercise. He also could laugh at himself - setting himself up for insults from Letterman and Howard Stern with mock outrage.

He was a good guy and I hope he had a good life.

It's a crime he wasn't mentioned in the GH rap. And Annie won't. . .

He probably ate like a bird to keep his weight in check.

So much for it being a "live it" instead of a "die it" . Did he have CHF?

There is only so much you can do with genetics

I'm waiting for Dr. Ruth's coroner's report to be leaked to the public. I'm curious as to what she died from - was she really a coke head ?

R12 - yes - we don't know what his genetics were for his heart. There is a thing called Israeli paradox, where they have a high occurrence of heart disease in spite of eating a diet relatively low in saturated fats.

He could also have exercised a lot to offset some eating disorder or behaviors.

He was a fat kid - those behaviors and food likes don't just disappear. It's possible that he still indulged in unhealthy food.

At the end of the day, he was 76 - not really really old, but not an age that it's out of the ordinary to die.

It’s funny. Minor but very bad falls seem to complicate elder peoples health more than we realize. I suggest all my older family members take it easy. And don’t do things like rush and stuff all the time for events. You can be on CP time, don’t be rushing and fall down them steps.

I remember one time I hit my head on a ship. Some low hanging insulation that I didn’t notice. I hit the shit out of my head. So much so it made me angry and later on I felt delirious. It was scary. I can imagine if the same thing had happen to an older person. Isn’t that how that actress died. I cannot remember her name for the life of me. It was about 15 years ago and she was only forty something.

Good-as long as he’s dead.

R16 ???? I have actually never heard anyone say a bad thing about Richard Simmons. From celebs to regular people. Maybe straight guys making a joke or two. What gives.

[quote]At the end of the day, he was 76 - not really really old, but not an age that it's out of the ordinary to die.

Certainly not really old in 2024. My grandmother died at the age of 72 in 1973 and I recall mourners at her funeral saying 'she lived a very long life'. 51 years ago, it was indeed.

R18 - agreed - it feels like everyone is living to their 80's nowadays. My grandma died at 74 and my grandpa at 77 - in the early 80s and that was considered a reasonable life expectancy.

It's wild when you read Wikis of older celebrities and major business people - it was more like mid to late 60's.

Oh - and they looked like SHIT.

r13, she was on heroin in the 80's and methadone for almost 20 years...I believe she was clean at the time of her death.

Them feels.

Richard Simmons, Dr. Ruth, and Phil Donahue... it's been a bad summer for '80s icons.

[quote] I listened to that podcast about his disappearance from public life a few years ago.

What podcast?

R22 Dr Ruth and Phil Donahue were both pushing 90. We aren’t octopuses.

Actually they live very short lives. Enter some marine animal that lives forever.

Went to McDonald’s one or too many times.

What is sad is that he seemed to have no one in his life but the housekeeper. He had no boyfriend, no partner, just his dogs. He must've been so lonely.

R24 Dr. Ruth wasn't "pushing 90" - she was pulling it behind her. She was 96.

He was morbidly obese when he was young, then literally starved himself to become thin.

When you do something like that, it permanently damages your heart, so no matter how healthy a life you lead following something like that, you can't undo the damage.

RIP, Richard.

Has Louise Hoven commented yet?

Complications from the fall were the primary cause, the heart disease was secondary. His maid begged him to got to the hospital and get looked at but he didn’t want to because it was his birthday.

He kept in touch with friends and fans thought email and phone calls. He did what a lot of Americans do in their late 60s and retired though it seemed like he was starting to slowly get back into the spotlight. People are shocked nowadays when a high profile person voluntarily takes themselves out of the spotlight.

He was 76 which is a normal life expectancy in the US, you fucking kweens. It may surprise you to know that by that age, most people have heart disease. But you're all ancient so you don't want to accept that.

I also have to wonder if he had much joint damage from the aerobics workouts. Yes, I know he was always in jogging shoes, but even with supposed 'low-impact' your joints can take a beating.

He was teaching several classes a day for many years.

You just have to look at dancers - most have issues in their 60's and 70's.

What about reports that he was dealing with skin cancer?

R31 He didn't retire according to plan. As I recall he had dropped out of public view very abruptly. Some assumed he had a stroke or some other debilitating health issue.

Has Rachel Ames released a statement yet?