Richard Simmons: Former Fitness Guru Tries to Enjoy Retirement (Without Media)

For people who grew up in the 1980s, Richard Simmons was kind of a staple of daytime television, with his own syndicated TV show known as "The Richard Simmons Show" (which ran in syndication from 1980-1984; in 1981, the show was nominated for an Emmy Award) and all-too-frequent appearances on the daytime television circuit including various talk shows of the day such as those hosted by Phil Donahue, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin.  He also appeared on TV game shows like Hollywood Squares, he was on TV’s Circus of the Stars, and he even guest-starred on the top-rated soap opera “General Hospital” -- as himself!  He represented the idea that people could do pretty much what he did; lose weight (as a formerly obese guy) by using his self-help methods, and maybe feel good about themselves in the process.

1982 People Magazine Cover

Mr. Simmons was somewhat unusual during the era he was in his prime.  For example, his faith background was/is atypical.  His father was Episcopalian and his mother Jewish; but Simmons later converted to Catholicism for reasons that are unclear.  But the story he likes to tell is that he grew up in the French quarter of New Orleans (where he says lard was a food group and dessert was mandatory) and he weighed 268 pounds when he graduated high school.

After starting college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, he later transferred to Florida State University. While enrolled there, he studied as an exchange student in Florence, Italy. He graduated with a BA in Art.  After graduation from college, he moved to New York City where he worked in advertising, as a waiter and for the Revlon and Coty cosmetics companies among other things.  In 1973, he then moved to Los Angeles, and his persona and his fitness business grew by filling a previously unmet need in the market, namely fitness for people who weren't already thin.  The now 67-year-old Beverly Hills fitness guru taught not only fitness, but also self-acceptance and personal empowerment.

Richard Simmons said in 2010 that he had kept off his own 100+ pound weight loss for 42 years, had been helping others lose weight for 35 years, and that during the course of his "fitness career" (as he calls it), he estimates that he helped humanity lose approximately 12,000,000 pounds (see the Dr. Oz story at http://bit.ly/1mrB3wW for more).

Sweatin' to the Oldies

Mr. Simmons later rode a wave of VHS (and later still, DVD) home videos, perhaps most famously producing "Sweatin' to the Oldies" along with some of his peers like Jane Fonda whose workout videos were best-sellers back in the day, and even sold a direct-mail innovation called "Deal A Meal" which gave users a deck of special meal cards in which people would play cards representing things they eat throughout the day and when their hand had been fully played, their eating for the day was done.  In 2013, The New York Times observed (see http://nyti.ms/13MtUgd for details) that Richard Simmons was known as many things: "... author, pop culture war horse, late-night talk show piñata, dyed-in-the-wool eccentric, motivational speaker, survivor of nearly four decades in the spotlight."

However, in the article, the NYT also observed "Like a lot of older people in show business, Mr. Simmons has been kind of slow to fully grasp social media.  He got famous the old-fashioned way: he released VHS tapes and DVDs (65 in total), gave radio interviews and trotted the talk television circuit.

Hollywood does it quite a bit differently now.

The web is increasingly where new stars are minted and aging ones are rejuvenated. Mr. Simmons and his shtick haven’t changed, but the way that fan bases are cultivated has.

But if his [relatively] new William Morris Agency endeavor and his new social media managers have their way, he hopes to add another line to his voluminous resume: 'Internet star.'"

Indeed, until quite recently, Mr. Simmons had never completely disappeared (in spite of his age now making him eligible for both Social Security and Medicare) from the pop culture scene, and his relatively new online persona did bring the aging star back into the spotlight again, even if it wasn’t on syndicated or cable television as he was accustomed.  One of his first online videos (on YouTube) was known as “Hair Do” in which Mr. Simmons appeared -- in drag -- to promote himself in the daring new (to him) world of social media, and the new jam was all about hair, which ironically enough, Mr. Simmons seems to be losing these days!  Check it out below, or by visiting http://youtu.be/XEbVq8pb3QE.

Yet the reality is that Mr. Simmons, at age 67, is hardly the picture of the future anymore, or even the present.  He’s a picture of the past, in spite of how relevant that past may be today with American obesity levels now at record highs.  True, nostalgia is still a viable option, and although it's hard to analyze the profile of someone’s followers without data, at least a few are, well … older folks themselves.  However, that group is very, very large — Baby Boomers alone constitute one of the largest demographic cohorts now in existence.

The money that Mr. Simmons spent with the William Morris Agency seems to have helped him to accomplish at least some of what he was seeking; staying (at least somewhat) relevant with a newer audience (as of the date I am writing this posting, he counted more than 229,400 followers on his YouTube channel).  By adopting social media, he’s also managed to gain almost all of his new followers on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, but beyond that, exercise classes at his Beverly Hills studio, which in recent years had seen a shortage of new patrons, are now filled again (he isn’t necessarily teaching the classes himself anymore, but more on that in a minute).  Even more important, social media seems to be a way for him to connect with a new audience, the Millennial population who never witnessed him in the early years on TV, as well as his loyal older fans, and in that regard he brings something valuable to social media, where he combines comic value with genuine values.

Interestingly, in June 2013, around the time of his social media launch reported by The New York Times, he abruptly stopped teaching classes personally at his Beverly Hills studio and he has been shunning public appearances.  Evidently, the Beverly Hills police conducted a welfare check at his home in January 2015 and they confirmed that he was perfectly fine — he was just taking a break from being a celebrity and enjoying the solitude.

"I just want to spend time with myself," he reportedly told them at the time. He said he keeps in touch with the people who matter most, and that the staff at his fitness studio are more than capable of running the show in his absence. "I don’t need to be there," he said.

He's "happily living life outside the public eye," the rep told TMZ (see http://bit.ly/1RqY1ku for details on that), adding that Richard is working "behind the scenes" on charity projects and is committed to helping the "obese and overlooked."

Richard Simmons Today

Interestingly, in spite of avoiding public appearances (such as TV), his William Morris Agency investment is still being used.  Richard remains very active on social media even if he’s staying out of the limelight, he's Tweeting to people and commenting on and doing Facebook posts, with particular interest in people who are trying to do what he did: lose weight.  His online social media involvement takes place almost daily.

Just how relevant Mr. Simmons is online is unclear, he certainly isn't as big as some of the younger YouTube stars, for example, but the important take-away is that he, like many others, sees the future is online.  For example, before she passed away, comedienne Joan Rivers (see my post on her at http://goo.gl/0oP59 for more) had her own YouTube channel (the archives are still available online) and a very entertaining YouTube show called "In Bed with Joan [Rivers]".  Mr. Simmons joined the ranks of other former stars who found new life on the internet, including sex guru (who once hosted a top-rated syndicated radio show, and later a television show) Dr. Ruth Westheimer (see http://www.youtube.com/drruth), who now counts several hundred thousand followers of her own on her own YouTube channel (more on her some other day).

As for Richard Simmons, he seems to be trying to enjoy his retirement, although his presence on social media proves that he isn't quite ready to disappear completely.

Author P.S., October 21, 2016: People magazine, TMZ and other media outlets are reporting that Richard Simmons is closing his famed Beverly Hills exercise studio on November 19, 2016.  The studio first first opened in 1974.  Simmons confirmed news of the closing on Facebook and Twitter Friday writing, "Some of you may have heard that Slimmons will close next month. While it is true, it has been an amazing part of my life to teach, meet and support people from all over the world."  He concluded, "I want to thank everyone who has come through those studio doors to laugh, cry and sweat with me! Remember to keep sweatin’, keep movin’ and most importantly go out and Vote! Love Richard xo"

Author P.S., March 1, 2017:  A new and popular podcast known as "Missing Richard Simmons" emerged by filmmaker Dan Taberski which chronicles how Richard Simmons seemingly disappeared, and what may have become of him.  Includes a lot of great interviews with friends of Richard Simmons, various audio clips of Richard Simmons' decades in the public spotlight, and more.  The podcast's website can be found at https://www.missingrichardsimmons.com/, on Apple iTunes its at http://apple.co/2o9QDTe, and on Google Play its at https://goo.gl/2GYCgO while the website contains a few other podcast platforms as well.

Author P.S., July 14, 2024: On July 14, 2024, there was news that celebrity fitness guru Richard Simmons had died at age 76. Rather than list all of the detail here, I will refer you to my post on that event found at https://hgm.sstrumello.com/2024/07/celebrities-out-richard-simmons.html. 

TV on the Net

On March 4, 2013, the New York Times featured article entitled "Don't Touch That Remote: TV Pilots Turn to Net, Not Networks" which can be found at http://nyti.ms/15ydEwf. It was how the traditional model for show pilots over the airwaves had been disrupted by the internet with new players like Netflix now playing an important role. In that article, the Times wrote:

"Internet-delivered TV, which until recently was unready for prime time, is the new front in the war for Americans' attention spans. Netflix is following up on the $100 million drama "House of Cards" with four more series this year. Microsoft is producing programming for the Xbox video game console with the help of a former CBS president. Other companies, from AOL to Sony to Twitter, are likely to follow.

The companies are, in effect, creating new networks for television through broadband pipes and also giving rise to new rivalries - among one another, as between Amazon and Netflix, and with the big but vulnerable broadcast networks as well."

However, at its core is something I've been saying since I began this blog: Internet-delivered content, combined with the dramatic reduction in content production costs (inexpensive, high-definition video cameras, for example, can be had for a few hundred dollars these days) could soon challenge big media's dominance of TV. Indeed, what we think of as TV may already be changing. These days, many people watch shows on their tablet computers, phones, and just maybe, a traditional television, though that is not as common as it once was.

Content quality for stuff distributed online, on the other hand, is literally all over the map. Some stuff is truly phenomenal, while other things are utterly disposable. Then again, the same can be said about stuff on traditional TV (I have almost no use for so-called “reality TV”). What has changed is that instead of content we watch being firmly controlled by its self-anointed gatekeepers at big media companies, there's been a much-needed democratization of sorts. Today, anyone can produce content and post it on YouTube. And, you can probably watch it on your TV if you really want. Or your laptop, tablet, smartphone or iPod (which many more are doing anyway).

Incidentally, the trend of WHERE we watch TV being redefined isn't limited to the U.S. Sweden, the European country perhaps best known for progressive taxes and the one with the highest quality of life in the world (not to mention the highest levels of affluence in the world, including the über-wealthy Wallenburg family), has taken the bold step of having the TV tax assessed on taxpayers to fund Swedish state television not only on physical television sets, but now includes mobile devices like iPads and tablet computers (see http://on.wsj.com/14uSJHX for details) in recognition of the fact that more and more so-called “TV content” is now being consumed on those devices. That’s unlikely to ever happen in the U.S. where there is hardly any public support for state-funded television (PBS being a notable exception, and what exists doesn't fund anywhere near the network’s full operating expenses), but the point is that we’re no longer required to watch content on TV sets anymore. The Swedes rely on an honor system, but the fact that the Swedes are now including devices suggests where things are going.

While I'm not sure we can yet say that Netflix is necessarily the next ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or CW, we can say that we’re approaching a point where "broadcast" no longer means over the airwaves exclusively. As the lines between TV and online content blur with new TVs and devices like Roku players, we may also soon reach a point where content could be managed from our desktops rather than our cable boxes. We’re not quite there … yet.

"These are the very first lab tests in a very grand experiment," said Jeff Berman, the president of BermanBraun, a media company that makes programming for NBC, HGTV, AOL and YouTube, among others.

As he suggested, the competition from online content has really only just begun, but the distributors are companies including Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft and maybe Google's YouTube.

To be sure, it's still pretty early. At this point, I can safely say that managing all that online content is still a VERY, very cumbersome process, and frankly, Apple's “Apple TV” device does nothing to make managing all that content any easier, it’s just another TV input and it does nothing to help organize all of the disparate content on DVDs, DVRs and online. Google did a bit better with its inexpensive Chromecast dongle (priced at just $35), but a host of others including Intel and Amazon are pursuing similar set-top box (or plug-ins) concepts.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013, the NPR show "The Takeaway" with John Hockenberry had an interesting show entitled "More Reasons to Cancel Cable" about how soon, Netflix would have more competition from the likes of Amazon and Microsoft's X-Box (although Microsoft’s studios in Hollywood later shut down), as well as other providers. It discusses the aforementioned New York Times article and more. That can be listened to below, or by visiting http://bit.ly/ZgMy7w:



Brian Stelter, media reporter for The New York Times, says that online programming is very likely the future of television -- and that cable networks should be very wary. (Note: one of my previous posts featured an interview with Brian Stelter, see http://goo.gl/3Ic0S for details).

What streamed content offers is a few things, including no need to worry about editing content that would be unable to be broadcast, as well as programming length. For a half-hour broadcast sitcom, they must allot for several minutes of commercials, which means that the programming is limited to 22 or 28 minutes. That limits what can be covered in each episode. Pay cable programming offered a way around that, and now streaming does, too.

That’s one reason many top producers are actually drawn to do programming online on services like Amazon Prime or Netflix. Co-creator and producer Marta Kauffman said that was one of the things she really liked about doing a series for Netflix (her previous work includes the sitcom 'Friends'). She was speaking about the Netflix series 'Grace and Frankie' (which stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterson and the series was just picked up for s second season, catch my blog post on that at http://bit.ly/1BvWByS for more background)

"What's lovely and what worked so well being able to work at Netflix is if a story can only bear 28 minutes that's fine, and if it needs 37 minutes that's fine. So it allows the story to tell you what it wants. That's pretty awesome, that's a great way to be able to write. I'm sure novelists have that ability to be as long as they need to be (see the interview at http://ow.ly/OB9zX for more details). 

The other thing is that content can be more refined to reach particular audiences. That’s created a whole new environment where niche programming can be created cost-effectively without even having a network. No longer limited to traditional confines of television production, the web has enabled a variety of shows to find audiences that way, ranging from immigrant groups, to religious groups to lesbian and gay audiences.

Leon Acord who produces the web series 'Old Dogs & New Tricks' which is now entering its fourth season, told Huffington Post reporter Brad Liberti (see http://huff.to/1I8t8MT for the article) that the experience of doing a web series had its origins in regular television, but the validation was that producing a web series' had fewer of the restrictions than regular TV does, which makes it very alluring for would-be content producers. That suggests we are still in early stages for web series generally.

Acord had been watching a lot of TV comedy with his father, something they’d often bonded over when Acord was just a kid. We loved 'All in the Family.' Now it was 'Two and a Half Men' in particular that his dad enjoyed, and while the Chuck Lorre half-hour comedy wasn't exactly known for its diversity and or sophistication, it did affirm one thing for the budding writer: "I had fantasized about doing a web series, but I guess I always, in the back of my head, thought, 'No, this kind of stuff you couldn't get away with,' and then watching 'Two and a Half Men', I was like, 'Oh, my god, this is raunchy and on network!'"

In the meantime, sifting through all of this disorganized digital content grows ever more challenging every day. So far, Apple has done little to enlighten or turn this around. Apple TV is, at best, an Apple-branded Roku box offering no major advantages but has its characteristic higher prices. For the moment, a basic PC seems to be the best way to manage content. Maybe we’ll see some innovation in the future. However, the good news is that there’s no shortage of exciting new TV content out there for viewers.

Rhinestone Cowboy Takes on Alzheimer's Disease

Glen Campbell, circa 1970

Anyone old enough to remember the late 1960s and early '70s is probably old enough to remember Glen (Travis) Campbell.  His radio hits included such famous melodies as "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Southern Nights," and the "Wichita Lineman" to name just a few.  His roots, of course, are in country music.  Yet he was also one of the first artists to crossover from country to pop, landing hits on both Billboard charts.  As of 2015, Glen Campbell was 78 going on 79 years old, and he’s still alive as I write this, but he has completely left public life and he’s also left the recording industry which made him famous.



Its perhaps no small irony that in the 2015 Grammy Awards, Glen Campbell also won a sixth (and in all likelihood, final) Grammy of his career, as he was honored with Best Country Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, which is the presentation of the off-camera categories not included in the  regular broadcast. "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," is a bittersweet tune he co-wrote with Julian Raymond for a 2014 documentary called “Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me”, and his new song managed to trump songs by Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw with Faith Hill.

What happened to Mr. Campbell may well be his most enduring contribution to pop culture.  Before I get to that, some basics on who this man is or was may be relevant.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Glen Campbell was relatively good-looking, being both clean-shaven and clean cut (the antithesis to where popular culture was in those days, and especially among fellow country artists at the time), perhaps a comparison could be made to someone like today's country star Luke Bryan.  Campbell was native of Arkansas, so could make a legitimate claim that he had country bona fides, plus he was also a high school dropout, not uncommon among country music artists of that era.  But he left Arkansas (and more than 10 brothers and sisters) at age 16, staying for a time in New Mexico before settling in Los Angeles, where he struck it big in the music business.  Note that I previously addressed country crossover artists in a post I did on Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton which you can catch at http://goo.gl/9Lstp.

Remember, this was in the days before country had gone mainstream.

Before Kenny Rogers.

Before Tim McGraw.

Before Keith Urban.

Before Blake Shelton.

Aside from Patsy Cline, who became more famous posthumously than she ever did when she was alive, hardly anyone in country had even considered going mainstream.  Only a handful achieved crossover success (and usually by accident), including Johnny Cash.  It was kind of an unspoken rule of Nashville music producers (and record labels went along -- as long as artists were selling records) that crossing over was not something the country music industry saw as appropriate or supported.

But Glen Campbell didn't let any of country's traditional taboos stop him.  In the process, he won five (now six) Grammy awards, seven Academy of Country Music awards, and three American Music awards, and sold over 50 million records worldwide.  He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.  He may well be one of the first crossover artists, and was unapologetic about that, unlike some country "purists".  He even once had a TV show "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour", in which he used his commercial clout and down-home Arkansas charm to give face-time to lesser known artists he personally admired, such as Willie Nelson, who was best known for his scrappy beard and generally unkempt appearance.

As part of his crossover appeal, Mr. Campbell once toured with The Beach Boys, and even acted in a few movies – including 'True Grit' with screen legend John Wayne.  But over the years, his story was more one of tabloid fodder, including multiple failed marriages.  In fact, in the late 1970’s, Campbell and rising teen country singer Tanya Tucker began a tumultuous affair which did not end happily if the tabloids were correct.

But in 1982 Campbell married Kim Woolen, who helped lead him to sobriety and stability, though he suffered a relapse in 2004 when he was arrested for drunk driving and sentenced to ten days in jail. His problems with alcohol and drugs became headlines for tabloids like the National Enquirer back in the day, but ultimately, he found a spouse who got him to clean up his act.  Supposedly, that also caused him to find God, whatever that means - "finding God" has become a true cliché that many celebrities use, so its unclear what that means.

A Diagnosis With Alzheimer's Disease

In 2011,  in the liner notes to his then-new album, entitled "Ghost on the Canvas", Glen Campbell wrote that this is "the last studio record of new songs I ever plan to make."  At the time, some industry observers noted that listeners could tell his voice really wasn't what it used to be, and that he was showing signs of age.  But they were missing an important part of the story.

When he did his national farewell tour, Mr. Campbell had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, therefore he fully expected he'd be unable to record or perform his music ever again.  Today, Glenn Campbell is living in a Nashville long-term care facility that has people on staff who can care for him around the clock.  Like all Alzheimer's patients, he likely has brief periods of recall, followed by long periods where he doesn't remember anyone or anything at all.  Most famously, former President Ronald Reagan also had Alzheimer's at the end of his life.  In 2004, wife Nancy Reagan said famously at a dinner sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF):

"Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him. Because of this, I'm determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this."

Mrs. Reagan was, of course, speaking about embryonic stem cell research, something both she and the JDRF both supported.  The term "embryonic" is a misnomer; it involves blastocysts that are created in-vitro (in a laboratory), many created for the sole purpose of reproduction, but which are ultimately discarded as medical waste, usually because the fertilization procedure was successful, although some owners may choose to donate them for the explicit purpose of research.

Mrs. Reagan was extremely critical of then-President George W. Bush's decision to limit Federally-funded stem cell to a only a dozen or so stem cell lines, some of which proved to be unusable, created by the arbitrary date that he announced the policy, but he and his advisor Karl Rove was eager to make a key voting constituency happy.  That type of restriction was championed by social conservatives, yet it retarded a promising scientific avenue.  (California voters took matters into their own hands by starting the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine [CIRM] http://www.cirm.ca.gov/ which is not dependent on the vicissitudes of Federal policy driven by political ideology, but is funded by the State of California, which ranks as the world's seventh largest economy in its own right).  Those initial research restrictions placed on cell lines President Bush were subsequently expanded a bit after President Barack Obama took office, but because this type of research remains controversial in the eyes of some, it remains in a precarious situation because of politics, not because of the science.  For the record, I don't believe Mr. Campbell ever went on record as to what his view on the issue of stem cell actually were.

Back to Glenn Campbell's Alzheimer's diagnosis ....

Glenn Campbell was not shy in acknowledging his new reality, so he felt his farewell tour was bittersweet, both for him and his fans.  Knowing his diagnosis, in his farewell tour, Mr. Campbell allowed cameras to follow him throughout the tour, including behind the scenes.  The result became a feature-length movie called "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" [http://glencampbellmovie.com/] which opened on October 24, 2014.  The trailer can be viewed below, or at
http://youtu.be/LAtgraWN5-I:



Interestingly, I suspect Mr. Campbell's (and his family’s) transparency about his diagnosis with Alzheimer's could be an even more enduring societal contribution.

During his final tour, he agreed to let cameras follow him to show how Alzheimer's was impacting his day-to-day life, the result being a movie which was released in late 2014.  For example, during that tour, the lyrics were put on a teleprompter so he didn't have to worry about forgetting them.  The movie was created by filmmaker James Keach, with his and his family's permission, and aims to use Glen's illness as a platform to campaign for more and better Alzheimer's research.  While the movie is meant to be a biography of sorts, it spends a great deal of time discussing his new reality which includes Alzheimer's Disease.

In 2012, the Federal Government announced several plans to try and address Alzheimer's, including a move by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to launch a broader BRAIN Initiative, which is a large-scale effort to equip researchers with fundamental insights necessary for treating a wide variety of brain disorders including Alzheimer's, as well as autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and traumatic brain injury.  Its not limited to Alzheimer's, but that is an important part of it.

Under the program, four federal agencies — NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Food and Drug Administration and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — stepped up to a "grand challenge" and committed more than $110 million to the Initiative for fiscal year 2014. Planning for the NIH component of the BRAIN initiative is guided by the long-term scientific plan, "BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision" [http://www.braininitiative.nih.gov/2025/index.htm] that details seven high-priority research areas.

Keep in mind that none of this is likely to help Glen Campbell himself, who has been checked into a long-term care facility in Nashville where his family is still able to visit him regularly but is cared for around the clock, but the publicity and the attention this has brought to Alzheimer's Disease may help people in the future, much as Mr. and Mrs. Reagan's public disclosure did a number of years ago.

For their part, Mr. Campbell and his family seem to be taking things in stride and are not allowing the diagnosis to bring them down too much.  Although Mr. Campbell is now living in a care facility that has people on staff to care for him all the time, the movie, which launched on October 24, 2014, could well do for Alzheimer's what other celebrities including Melissa Etheridge did for breast cancer.

Author P.S., August 8, 2017: On August 8, 2017, the celebrity news of the day was that Glen Campbell had passed away at age 81.  According to Tim Plumley, his publicist, the cause was Alzheimer's Disease.  As noted, in 2011, Mr. Campbell and his family announced that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and they even created a movie about the impact that had on his final days as a musician.  Obituaries were published in most major news outlets, including Billboard magazine (see HERE) and the New York Times (see HERE).  His passing marked the end of a fabled career that began with country music, but morphed into one of the earliest known crossover artists (catch my post about that HERE).