Richard Simmons - Biography

Last Editor: graham				Richard Simmons Biography -   Name : Richard Simmons Profession : Actor Born : July 12, 1948 (1948-07-12) (age 60)[1] New Orleans, Louisiana,[1] U.S. Residence : Beverly Hills, California Occupation : physical fitness expert Height : 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m)

Richard Simmons Trivia -

Famous for always appearing in public in candy-striped Dolfin shorts, and tank tops that have been hand decorated with Swarovski crystals. Has not appeared on the "The Howard Stern Show" (1990) since November 1992, though he was once a regular guest. During his last appearance on the show, he ran out of the studio in tears after Howard told him "Your belly hangs like your nuts." Much of his hair fell out due to losing weight in an unhealthy manner. He then had to have hair transplants, moving some of his own hair from the back of his head to the front. He urges others to lose weight in a healthy manner so they won't have the same problems he did. He runs his own workout studio, Slimmons. He opened it over 30 years ago,in Beverly Hills, California after finding that established gyms and exercise studios tended to favor already fit people while discouraging beginners and the overweight. As such, he endeavored to create an encouraging environment for that previously neglected clientèle. He still teaches three days a week when he's in town. Loves Barbra Streisand, Broadway musicals, and one of a kind Art dolls, and Art Glass...having been an Art Major in college himself. He owns a vast of Art Dolls. Much of his Art Glass collection was destroyed by the Northridge Earthquake. When appearing with two of his weight-loss clients on the "The Howard Stern Show" (1990) in 1990, Stern taunted his clients by waving food in front of their faces using a fishing pole. A large roasted chicken was lowered from the ceiling as well, to the shock and dismay of Richard's clients. One of those clients, Michael Hebranko, later ballooned to over 1,000 pounds and had to be rescued from his New York brownstone by 20 paramedics, policemen and firemen. Though he quickly dropped much of the weight he had regained, three years later Hebranko again had to rescued from his apartment after gaining the weight back. He was initially motivated to lose weight when he received an anonymous note, left on his car, reading, "Fat people die young. Please don't die." His top weight was 268 lbs before he learned to control it. Briefly studied for the priesthood.

Richard Simmons Detailed Biography -

Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons (born July 12, 1948), born, is a fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through a line of aerobics videos and television programs. He is known for his humor, flamboyant personality, heightened energy and big puffball hairstyle. Richard Simmons was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Simmons was raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, and attended Cor Jesu High School (now Brother Martin High School). He was an obese child, weighing 268 pounds at the time of his high school graduation. His first job, in New Orleans, was selling pralines. Simmons also briefly considered becoming a priest. After starting college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, he transferred to Florida State University. While enrolled there, he studied as an exchange student in Florence, Italy. He graduated with a BA in Art. With his Art degree, Simmons worked in advertising in New York City and also for Coty Cosmetics and Revlon. During his time in New York he also worked as a waiter. Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons worked as the Maître d' at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. He became interested in fitness, but was dissatisfied with the unhealthy fad diet methods and established gyms and exercise studios of the day which favored the already fit customer. Although he was overweight in his younger days, after becoming interested in fitness, Simmons eventually lost 123 lb (56 kg/8.8 st). He later opened his own exercise studio, originally called The Anatomy Asylum, where the emphasis was placed on providing encouragement on healthy eating in proper portions and enjoyable exercise. The business originally included a salad bar restaurant called "Ruffage," (a pun on the word Roughage) that he eventually removed in favor of focusing on exercise. The establishment, now called Slimmons, continues to operate in Beverly Hills, California, and Simmons teaches motivational classes and aerobics throughout the week. With his business proving highly successful, Simmons began to draw media attention, beginning with an appearance on the television show Real People where he was shown at work and introduced customers whom he had helped to lose weight. Positive viewer reaction landed Simmons a recurring role as himself on the American soap opera General Hospital , over a four-year period. This in turn led to further media focus as well as personal appearances in shopping malls, where he taught exercise classes. For a time in the early 1980s, Simmons even had an Emmy Award winning talk show, The Richard Simmons Show, where he focused on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. Simmons has appeared as himself on numerous TV shows, including Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CHiPs and Saturday Night Live. He has also appeared on an episode of Arrested Development called "Bringing Up Buster". He hosted a short lived TV show called DreamMaker in 1999. Simmons has been featured in commercials for Sprint, Yoplait, and Herbal Essence Shampoos. In Canada, Simmons has appeared on television advertisements promoting Simmons' mattresses in Canada (the company is a division of the US-based Simmons Bedding Company) although Simmons has no business connection with the company other than through advertisement (strictly based on his name). The company has stated that they hired him purely on name and that he appeals to their target audience of women over 35. He currently has a show on Sirius Stars, Sirius Satellite Radio channel 102, called Lighten Up with Richard Simmons, Sundays 3pm - 6pm ET live, with replays of the previous week before the live show, and the current week replays airing after the live show. Toward the end of 2007, he appeared in a "This is SportsCenter" commercial on ESPN as the show's "conditioning coach." Recently, Simmons has begun a push to get physical education incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act . He reports having met with U.S. Representative George Miller, the chairman of the House education committee, in hope of winning the Democrat's support for a plan to have elementary schools provide 150 minutes of PE each week. Simmons is scheduled to testify before the House Education and Labor Committee on July 24, 2008. Simmons is notable for his high-energy, motivational demeanor, an attribute he often uses to help encourage people to lose weight. His trademark attire is candy-striped Dolfin shorts and tank tops decorated with Swarovski crystals. Simmons is also known for his flamboyancy. Simmons has always been known for his "personal touch," interacting at a personal level with the people using his products. This began when he started personally answering fan mail he received while a cast member of General Hospital. As a self-described devout Catholic, Simmons still personally answers emails and letters, and makes hundreds of phone calls each week to those who seek his help. He also talks to people on the air during his radio show, and holds weekly live chats in the "clubhouse" area of his website. His appearances also include a "meet and greet" time, so that people can speak to him one on one. Simmons claims to have few friends saying, "I don't have a lot to offer one person. I have a lot to offer to a lot of people." Aside from his three Dalmatians and two maids, Simmons lives alone in the Hollywood Hills. In September 2005 Simmons appeared on Entertainment Tonight to discuss the effects of Hurricane Katrina on his family in his hometown of New Orleans and his involvement in aiding those affected by the hurricane. On August 29, 2006 Simmons appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto while making a return visit to New Orleans one year after the flooding, a visit he repeated on March 2, 2007, now talking about his recent trip to Washington DC to promote and raise awareness about The Strengthening Physical Education Act of 2007 (bill HR 1224). Simmons has become well known throughout North American culture, to the point that he has been referenced in many culture-based shows, be they animation, live-action or talk shows: