Richard Simmons‘ death was accidental, his brother, Lenny Simmons, has confirmed.
The fitness guru was found dead on July 13 by his long-time housekeeper, one day after celebrating his 76th birthday. The Los Angeles Police Department said “there is no foul play”, but the cause of his death was originally deferred as additional testing was needed.
In a statement released on Wednesday (August 21), the Simmons family spokesperson, Tom Estey, confirmed that the workout icon died due to complications from recent falls, with heart disease also being a contributing factor.
“This morning, Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny, received a call from the LA Coroner’s office,” the statement read (via PEOPLE). “The Coroner informed Lenny that 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. The Family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss.”
Earlier reports stated that Simmons had fallen in his home on July 12, after feeling dizzy, and that he had told his housekeeper he would seek medical care the next day, if he still felt unwell.
Simmons first rose to fame in the 1970s with his vivacious and colourful exercise videos. Since then, he’s been enshrined in American pop culture as a flamboyant fitness personality, having opened gyms, promoted health products, and appeared in film and television as himself or in acting roles.
In March, Simmons issued a letter to fans via X/Twitter – it began with “Please don’t be sad. I am ….dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death.”
He followed it up with a Facebook post on March 19, revealing to the public that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.
Mere hours before his death, Simmons posted his final tweet, accompanied by a picture of himself dressed as Liza Minnelli: “Hello gorgeous! Please don’t rain on my parade.”
The post Richard Simmons’ cause of death revealed by brother Lenny appeared first on NME.
