Richard is living his life the way most older introverts would love to. He's got a beautiful home, all the money he'll ever need, wants for nothing, and he's just decided, he can do whatever he wants. He wants to be himself! That's not lonely. It's an old introverts dream! It doesn't hurt that he knows he is still much loved. Good on ya, Richard! ❤
Richard appeared in Toledo Ohio many years ago...my girlfriend and I went to see him. He shook everyones hand and hugged all the folks. When he found out it was my friends birthday, he gave her a HUGE glass vase full of flowers from his set on the stage! I'll never forget that and niether has she. God Bless ya Richard and boy, you deserve a life to yourself! xoxo
Really appreciate you uploading this. I don’t have TV channels and was curious about him since he’s not in public anymore. Felt this was a well balanced story considering TMZ did it. Richard deserves his privacy now and many of us fans still love him.
Sounds like he gave everything of himself to others. He most have been drained and spent. As an intervert myself I often want to be home and safe, it's my happy place. I hope he's happy, enjoying life, and giving his energy to his needs.
Fairly good program until Harvey Levin's very last comment about Richard Simmons. When Levin declared Simmons to be lonely, Levin revealed he didn't get Richard or the documentary. This was not about Richard "being lonely," or not. In fact, at several points in the "documentary," Richard , Dr. Phil and other friends, did their best to explain that he dropped out of society so he could be himself. Richard knew how to go out when he wanted to do so. In fact, he stated he's not lonely. Frankly, it is hard to assume the pain and burdens of all you meet. Richard could no longer be an emotional sponge for his overweight public. He wanted to be in a room with himself and not 1000's of strangers tugging at his heart. That's not being selfish, lonely or arrogant. Rather, it is prudent and incredibly healthy. Richard Simmons owes the world nothing more. He is feeding his own soul. And, in doing so, giving his world the greatest lesson in how to nurture yourself. Harvey Levin should be so lucky.
In my humble opinion, if the man says that he's OK and content with living his life out of the spot light, then I for one think we should just leave him be... 😁
SUMMARY: Richard retired into seclusion due to knee problems (he walks with a cane). He wants to be remembered as the vibrant energetic character; not a frail old man who walks with a cane. He still goes out in public but is a master of disguise.
Well, if that's what he has to do to find peace in his life then so be it. He gave us so much motivation and encouragement. Good luck to you Richard! You are truly missed.
Just for the record, many people are what is called “social introverts” - people who love being with others but then really need to replace all they give socially by being alone. It doesn’t mean that being a flamboyant, social butterfly, and generous joy machine in public then a recluse away from them makes it “all a lie.” Humans are complex creatures and balance is important and is achieved in different ways. Much love to beautiful Richard🦋
Unlike most Hollywood celebs, Richard Simmons is the real deal - he cares deeply about people and he took on their hurt to help them, for years. Over time that can be traumatic emotionally. Maybe it’s his time now, time to take care of himself.
Richard Simmons has a special place in my heart. In the very early 80s I was 9-10 years old. My stepmother abused me and had been since my dad married her. My dad was never around rather he was there or not. My life sucked. I was was a young boy well acquainted with depression, anxiety. Richard Simmons TV show had just come out and his voice, humor and the genuine love he radiated was so comforting and felt like home. A few years later in 1985 I was rid of the stepmother who my dad divorced the following year. By then I was living with my mom and her new husband is one of the best step parents I have ever had. I went on to get married, have kids, became a cop and did tons of macho manly stuff, but I never really forgot about Richard. He would be on TV or something and that warm feeling would still rise in me for a short time. Of course I laughed along with the comedians and talk show hosts who made jokes about him. I'm guilty, but hands down. Richard Simmons was there for me for an hour a day back in the early 80s. Thank you.Mr Simmons
He has already said why & how he felt. No one seemed to listen. As a extroverted introvert, I get exactly why he’s doing what he is. I couldn’t imagine how exhausting it must have been to do it for that long.
Richard is very handsome & he has a great singing voice 👈 He just needed vocal lessons ❤ He is a bright light for all people & l'm glad he's still here on Earth 😇
TMZ, As much as you get trashed for fake journalism and nonsense celebrity scoops-- you did a great job on this story! Thank you for giving this man the respect and empathy that he deserves. I always hated the way that Letterman and others made fun of him and wondered why he allowed it.
It is sad that he has decided to stay out of the public, but given his knee problems and the decades he spent in the spot light I don't begrudge him one bit for leading a private life.
I feel bad when I was a kid I made jokes about him when he'd be on tv, but then he became part of my childhood and I learned his story and how he really wanted to help everyone that he could. He's a great man. I don't know if he's got a walk of fame star he should
Wow this wasn't too bad considering the way TMZ can't talk about a celebrity without burying them. The TMZ "reporters" seem so over animated and insincere
Unbelievable what people on this show say! Like they all have some big credential that give them the right to say he was fake, he was this, he was that! He helped more people than dr Phil could ever help! And he did it from a place of love!
I was really surprised, I didn't think TMZ would put on such a sensible special that actually computes. I thought for sure it was going to be sensationalist garbage. However, the logical arguments they put forth make a lot of sense. And if Mr. Simmons wants to stay out of the public eye for WHATEVER reason, he's absolutely entitled to do so. And I don't blame him. He's a very empathetic man and I can see where that would really wear one down.
Im not a "fan" but i know, when someone is compassionate to the degree as Mr Simmons is/was then he has me admiration . Strength is kindness, even when the world has only ever been cruel, especially when its only been cruel ☮☮☮☮☮☮🕉🕉🕉🕉🕉🕉
34:18, Richard looks so different without the big ‘fro lol. That must have been right when he first opened the studio in 1974. I also have his book from 1999 which also includes some older pics.
Susan Somers said at least 3 times, “I made fun of him!” Is that something she should be proud of to be repeatedly saying in the open??? Everyone whom made fun of him shame on them! He only tried to help people regardless, if it was an act. Making fun of anyone is hurtful. Praying that he is ok.
He reminds me so much of Robin Williams as far as the public personality. Both of them have over the top personalities. I wasn't surprised about what ultimately happened with Williams. I hope Simmons finds a better way to deal with any personal problems❤
Thank you Richard, for these fabulous years of your loving nature and good heart ❤ ❤ Hope your living your best life and have some privacy. We love you and miss you ❤❤
I get that people have been concerned about his sudden disappearance from public life but why does everything have to be some big conspiracy? Let the guy enjoy his peace and quiet. People are allowed to retire.
Some of his interviews on Howard stern were fantastic. He had a pretty close relationship with Howard’s family. And they were respectful but funny at the same time. I really hope that we don’t get some random new story that he died. And that he died alone
love you Richard Simmons , when i was younger i was not comfortable with my sexuality , i had problems accepting you, i am so sorry , i really love you now and all the love you put into the world , i hope you are be alright . thank you for helping me except myself .
He weighed 11 lbs less than me at 5 yrs older. I was 211 at age 10. Around 5'6" already...second fastest kid in the school though...at 15 i was 245 playing 3 sports...still only around 5'7...hormones and genes will jack you up sometimes. But i've got strong bones so....hey, you win some you lose some. In the 4yrs after the death of my 24yr old sister when I was 16 (back in 04), i got up to 400lbs but lost it in 08...now for most of my adult life i've hovered around 270-280. Someone would think it's strange to say that's a normal weight, but for me...i guess it is.
Richard was on the soaps when i remember first seeing him as a young kid. I ended up meeting him randomly in California and he was the nicest person ever, he talked to me for 10 minutes or more and i felt like i was talking to an old friend at the end. I hope he is happy with whatever he is doing, he deserves it, im glad he isnt stuck in the spotlight now, social media would either make him 100x more popular if possible or it would have eaten him up with how easy it is to communicate with people, that poor man would be in 34,000 conversations trying to help
I always wonder why none of these bio/docs about Richard mention that he partnered with a travel agency to do "Cruise to Lose" and would do about 4 cruises a year, usually out of L.A. on Carnival Cruises. His group would have hundreds of people who would pay extra to be in his group.
I also wonder what exactly happened to Richard on that very day in 2014. He must have just had a major emotional breakdown that lasted for a while, and was probably just up all night. Who knows. We may never know what exactly went on that night.
I think that when the footage of his "last public appearance" appears, where he's in the yellow suit, it looks like the background is green screened and his image there was just that, a non-corporal CGI. Look at the eyes. They don't look natural or normal. I think it's been a long time cover up of his demise, be it by natural causes, misadventure, or maybe criminal homicide. Edit: 26:27 Even in the other night shot (maybe "at the event" described earlier) though he seems to be laughing it up next to some people, this too physically looks strangely off to me. Maybe stop the video at that timestamp and look at the awkwardness.
I hope he is happy and enjoying himself. I just wonder if he didn't realize that the sudden and unexplained withdrawal form the pubic eye would have the opposite effect he was hoping for.
I never thought of it that way that the The loud obnoxious Richard is just a phony façade, and the real Richard is obviously the kind that is very soft spoken and doesn’t like to go out, and likes to spend time just alone. I also don’t blame Richard one bit for just Being like “I’m done.” he did it for 40 years and barely had any time to spend for himself, and he had to keep up a super energetic persona like … all the time. I definitely believe that the combination of his dog dying and him having to make a decision about the surgery was all a very very very difficult and emotional decision and I’m glad that he is living the way he wants to now. I probably would’ve also not wanted people to see me as somebody who is just an older guy who isn’t the way he used to be, plus people would be disappointed that it’s not the same me. I totally get it. He definitely Is a master of disguise if nobody has spotted him at all … he walks with a cane! But nobody’s supposedly spotted him?
Is it just me or does the image on Bruce's T-shirt look like James Charles? Lol I know it's Alice but not gonna lie I genuinely thought it was James 😂🤣😂 Also Dr Phil is as much as a psychologist as Bill Nye is a science guy 🙄... But as far as Richard Simmons goes he's proof that America is a very open and giving nation✌️ that will love you as much as you love it! Betray it though, by bullying those, you feel should accept you, even when you spit in their eye and you will only tolerated for a little while! Know WHY? Because the way, some of you behave today🤨 means we would have never had a Richard Simmons!!! You're too busy searching for the thought crimes in others to understand y'all would've torn him apart and he never would have been there, to help so many people! His💗 is a story of surviving painful moments and coming out of the other side stronger than before, but today's crowd is being brainwashed into weakness and unhealthy lifestyle's, stupidly believing everything that excuses your behavior as some new woke way of enlightenment! And while you're having your HiSsY-fIT MeLtDowN trying to destroy every single aspect of their life from jobs education to housing all because your feelings are hurt is playing right into the hands of those trying to end us! They're nurturing the smallest part in you, into the biggest, then turning it outwards, as they're filling you full of even MORE hate and pain.... and using it/you to destroy the strongest nation on earth, because what's the best way to take down your enemy if you can't through brute force and without sacrificing your own son's and daughters? You do it through your enemies own children and all I can say is some of our nations greatest citizens, would be cancelled in a second if they tried speaking today.....MLK Frederick Douglass Booker T Washington, Sarah Ludington, along with Mother Teresa, Gandi, Winston Churchill and the list goes on and on and it's heartbreaking! But especially when you're being taught to now consider the cross and rosery as symbols of HATE and WS🙃 despite the vast majority, of the worlds christian population are brown skinned and some of our darkest brothers are said to be the protectors and keepers of the holy grail and as hundreds upon thousands are no longer oxygen tolerant, violently removed from this world into the next😒 you are worried about pronouns..... tell that to the 90,000+ the thousands of the LGBTQIA community who found their wings because of TRUE INTOLERANCE!!! Richard Simmons no longer fits in his own country and would be cancelled before he even said a word because in your world he should have stayed overweight and because he didn't,in your woke world makes him fat phobic and that's one of your unforgettable sins..... To anyone reading this please know I am not saying this to the people who uploaded the video or the majority of you watching the video so please don't take it that way! My comment is directed to those Hall monitors, the BiGoT brigade and the neener neenering witch hunters who search for thought crimes where context has no place because in THAT world Richard Simmons can't exist and that's unbelievably sad considering he has made so many souls finally smile from the heart, feel lighter within and that's a beautiful thing .......... he is too beautiful a light to be put out by selfish angry meat puppets who are nothing but tools for the King makers Remember to 🙏 4 ✌️ AlWaYs
19:16 after hearing this I'm thinking he HAS to be a cancer- and after looking up his birthday July 12, yep July cancer just like me..😂 sounded too familiar
I have no clue who this man is. He comes over on this programme as "its all about me" me , me , me, Just like Megan Markel. you can see through him like a piece of glass Money , money, money suckers.
Harvey should know = they were ALL apart of the TERRIBLE 80's, where there were "0" rules involved in their lives & they did whatever evil thing entered their mind first #DemonSquad
A star? Superstar? Based on what, ( for all these years )? What is Richard Simmons' "talent"? What is his, so-called, stardom about? I don't see an entertainment "skill set".
Not entertainment. He was a precursor to today's "influencers",without the superficiality. He reached a lot of people , changed their lives, because he had heart. That was his talent. Entertainment?? Not really. A talent/niche no one else had? Yes
@@LindaC616 Yeah... You'd have to look at it that way, to find any value in what Richard Simmons used to do. I didn't see any entertainment value in it either. He was, sort of, like a "gay whisperer", years before the "whisperer" terminology was coined. Everyone uses the cliche', saying, Simmons reached a lot of people. Yeah, but doing what, exactly? Polio, and aids reached a lot of people too.
@@russellbarbee9606 I just responded the same thing to your other response 🙂. I certainly don't think he was harmful in the way that polio and aids were. I think that he definitely has reached a lot of people in a way that other fitness instructors previously could not. If you and I are from the same generation then you remember Jacqueline preceded us preceded us. He did not inspire the same number of people to get up and lose the amount of weight that Richard has. Not saying that the system was perfect or wonderful and I don't know his statistics but I'm sure he has helped a lot of people. Having someone who "gets it", who has been there, is extremely important
@@sandcastle1417 I don't 'hate' him/it/whatever he is portraying, on any given day. I'd never hurt him. I have no desire to harm him. I don't 'hate' him. Have I made myself clear? I simply gave my honest assessment of what I see there. No entertainment value. Just a fellow human being. That's about it. Even he knows it. That's probably why he's depressed nowadays. All he had going for him, over all those years, was a good agent, public relations firm, and publicists. They had to wrestle with the challenge.... How do you sell the public a carton of milk, with no milk in it? Well, with Richard Simmons they found a way, ( for a time ). I compared Simmons to Elton John, who actually had something to offer. A super talented, world class musician. An icon. Elton John's sexual preference was not a central element of his act. Simmons cannot say the same.
A gay guy, pretending to be, ( closeted ). Ahead of his time? What does that mean? He was bold enough to expose himself to the public, so many years ago? He turned it, ( for a time ), into an industry? Only a foreshadowing of how outrageous things have become, in our society, today. Nothing to be proud of. By comparison, Elton John had something to offer, and simply being "gay" was not part of Elton John's act. Huge difference.
@@LindaC616 Yes, I was alive in the 1970s. I remember Elton's flamboyant days. I was young back then. I didn't like it very much, but like millions of others, I loved his music. Nowadays, I love Elton, period.... But, as I was saying, ( at least, I thought I said this. ), Elton John had something 'more' to offer. Elton John, a super talented, world class musician. An icon. The fact of his sexual preference, ( although he wore it on his sleeve for awhile ), was not a "central component" of his act. Richard Simmons cannot say the same.
@@russellbarbee9606 I see what you're saying now. But you know, while it's not "entertainment " in the true sense, he does have a talent. First, he pulled from his experiences and from observation that there was a space needed where obese people could work out and not be made to feel less than. And routines that they could do that, while not terribly challenging for the average person, were great to get their heart rates up, getting them to sweat, but to have fun while doing it (which made them stick to it). So, no, not an entertainer, more of an entrepreneur or one of the first "influencers", if you will.
@@russellbarbee9606 Wait, is it plausible that you begrudge him an undeniable popularity with his fanbase because he never publicly declared his sexual proclivity? 🤷
This is like giving me another life, thanks sir for your great work #drbanlogun, life is all about give and take stay alive.Legit and trust on RU-vid channel and Instagram
