Richard Simmons obituary

American fitness instructor and weight-loss expert who became a popular television celebrity

The fitness instructor and weight-loss guru Richard Simmons, who has died aged 76, parlayed the popularity of his Hollywood fitness studio, Slimmons, into a television show and early success in the burgeoning video market, becoming a household presence in the US.

Dressed in skintight shorts and tank tops festooned with Swarovski crystals, with his high-energy prancing and upbeat patter Simmons encouraged his unfit audience to think of exercise as fun. More importantly, he helped them feel better about themselves by shedding the paralysing self-consciousness Simmons himself knew from his own adolescence.

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