, the goofy clown prince of fitness who turned his passion for weight loss into riches and fame as a Hollywood celebrity, has died. He was 76. Simmons died Saturday, the day after his birthday, law enforcement sources , which reported that police and fire personnel responded to a call from his housekeeper at his home just before 10 a.
m. reached out to the LAPD, which said it responded to a call at that time and address and that “an investigation is still being conducted.” The star of his own syndicated TV exercise show in the sold millions of aerobics “ ‘ to the Oldies” videos and DVDs.
At his peak, Simmons, who sported too-short shorts and a sparkly tank top with Swarovski crystals during his workouts, flew around the country making motivational speeches and conducting fitness classes for rapt fans. In 1980, he published , a huge best-seller that had chapters like “Coming to Grips With Your Hips” and “How to Eat Out and Not Pig Out.” Simmons went on to appear as himself on such series as , , , and and was a frequent guest/foil on and on David Letterman’s late night talk shows.
Later, he voiced the character Coach Salmons on the 2010-12 Disney Channel animated series . Simmons was born Milton Simmons in New Orleans on July 12, 1948, grew up in the French Quarter and sold pralines on the street. He was overweight as a kid and said he weighed nearly 270 pounds when he graduated high school.
After spending some time in Europe, he said that he found an anonymo.