RICHARD Simmons’ last posts on social media have been revealed just hours after his death.
The fitness guru died at the age of 76 on Saturday.
Police were reportedly called to his home in Los Angeles around 10 am when the housekeeper discovered Simmons on the floor, according to TMZ.
He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Investigators said they did not see any signs of foul play, although they confirmed that he had a fall last night that could be related to his death.
Police are looking at the case as a natural death.
Best known for his colorful fitness classes shared on tapes and DVDs during the 1980s, Simmons was beloved for his cheery outlook on life and boundless energy.
Simmons received a cancer diagnosis earlier this year and shared the devastating news with fans in March.
BRIGHT UNTIL THE END
In his final social media posts before his death, he was cheery as ever.
“Hello gorgeous! Please don’t rain on my parade,” read his last comment on Facebook on Saturday morning.
The day before, he celebrated his birthday and received several messages of well wishes.
“Thank you… I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” he wrote in response.
“I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday. Love, Richard.”
He shared a photo of himself as a young boy alongside the birthday posts, happily blowing out a candle on a big cake.
A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Simmons announced that he was “dying” in a Facebook post — which scared some fans — but characteristically told everyone to keep enjoying their lives nonetheless.
“I have some news to tell you,” he wrote.
“Please don’t be sad. I am… dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we are all dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death.”
“Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life and to the fullest every single day,” he said.
He later gave more details about his Basal cell carcinoma — the most common form of skin cancer.
Simmons said he went to see a dermatologist after finding a bump under his eye that wouldn’t go away.
“Now I am getting a little bit nervous. He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. ‘You have cancer,'” he recalled.
“I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basal Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”
OUT OF THE LIMELIGHT
Despite his huge popularity in the ’80s and ’90s, Simmons eventually took a break from public appearances around 2014.
Rumors have circulated at decades about what could be the cause, culminating in a 2022 documentary entitled, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons?
The film claimed that Simmons suffered from a birth defect in his foot that affected him physically and mentally, requiring him to slow down.
Despite the cancer diagnosis, Simmons still had big plans for the upcoming year.
He had already begun work on a Broadway musical with acclaimed producer Patrick Leonard who previously worked with stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson, according to Fox News.
