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. 

Newspapers: Are They Evolving, or Devolving?

In the 1990s, my hometown newspaper ("The Sentinel") which I delivered to my neighbors as a kid, was acquired by a larger daily newspaper.  Before long, virtually all of the journalists and editorial staff were let go, and the paper ceased to exist, instead being folded into the bigger daily publication which promised "improved" local coverage under the new arrangement.  Needless to say, the local coverage after being folded into the other paper was practically non-existent, and if the paper has one article a week about the town where my parents live, that would be a huge deal.  Most people in town voted with their dollars, subscribing to a different daily paper which had better local coverage.

Then, in 2009, The Sentinel was resurrected.  A brand new version, completely digital, emerged.  The get it off the ground, several grant foundations helped pay for the initial expenses.  The editor is based locally.  They learn of stories the way local newspapers did once upon a time (the old way), by hearing about things from townspeople, attending town meetings, etc. although they do use new tools, too.

According to my parents, the local coverage is far better than the big city daily that acquired the old paper.   Although my parents live in an area that has 3 larger daily papers covering the region, along with several weeklies that cover the town, there's something to be said for getting the news as it happens, and the new version has the added benefit of coverage as the news happens.

The Switcheroo

Much has been written about the death of newspapers.

A lot of articles seem to suggest that technology is primarily responsible for the death of much of the newspaper industry, suggesting that electronic publishing is the wave of the future.

However, that's a bit of a misrepresentation of the facts.

Yes, many newspapers are struggling these days, and the industry is in a profound, seemingly neverending crisis.  But the death isn't due to smartphones, its because the underlying business model changed.  The thing that once paid their bills was advertising, and local newspaper advertising is struggling as companies like Google now offer the ability to target residents of a given city with local advertising, and giant online sites like Craig's List gobble up local classified ad dollars.  Indeed, during one quarter last year, more than three-fourths of Google's profits were derived from advertising.

Indeed, at least one major U.S. city's daily newspaper has figuratively stopped publishing: in the fall of 2012, the parent company of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Newhouse Media, stopped printing old-fashioned newspapers (see http://nyti.ms/NZyvCZ for more), turning New Orleans into the largest U.S. city without a daily newspaper (although a number of smaller cities have already gone that route).  I suspect New Orleans won't hold that title forever.

To be sure, The New Orleans Times-Picayune hasn't completely disappeared, but you won't find any copies on local newsstands anymore.  To read it, you'll need a computer, tablet device or smartphone (the news of it's digital migration can be read online, visit http://bit.ly/JUKFfg for details).  The Times-Picayune had won Pulitzer's for it's photography of the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina.

Most of the journalists and editors for the Times-Picayune were "let go".

New Orleans is unique in that the city celebrates death like few other locations on earth. Needless to say, when the last print edition of the Times-Picayune rolled off the presses, there was a big party.  But it wasn't really a celebration, it was more like a memorial service.  With a staff of more than 200 employees, ranging from reporters to the guys who operated the printing presses all losing their jobs, just WHO is gathering the news stories for the new Times-Picayune is unclear.  Critics say the coverage isn't what it used to be, and few believe there will be more Pulitzer's for the publication.


But as John McQuaid editorialized for Forbes (see http://onforb.es/KitGzS) wrote:

This sounds ... sort of okay. But while there's a lot on corporate reorganization, there’s nothing on how this will work in practice. "Combining the award-winning journalism of The Times-Picayune and the strength of NOLA.com" is basically what they've been doing, or trying to, for years now. And that signals a problem, because it hasn't worked all that well.

So, if the business model is dead, a few organizations believe they've found a way to make it work ... sort of.

On June 29, 2012, NPR's "This American Life" producer Sarah Koenig reported on a company called Journatic [formerly at http://journatic.com/], that claimed to be producing local journalism in a new way.  What was their secret? They hired people in the Philippines to write about local news in small towns across the U.S.  Churning out content with no context.

They noted that an article at Poynter.org added details to the story.  You may listen to the story below, or by visiting This American Life's website at http://bit.ly/MYuf2q:

They talked in the story about a Chicago suburb known as Flossmore.  Journatic and its client Tribune Local claimed Flossmore didn't have any local coverage.  But that was not true, either.  Flossmore had a weekly known as The Southtown Star.

The NPR story closes with an appropriate question:

"Is it really journalism?"

Judge for yourself.

Author P.S., August 16, 2013:  Hyper-local news was seen as a way for companies to make a killing as hometown newspapers disappeared nationwide.  Unfortunately, even big players have not found that to be a revenue generator.  The NPR program "On the Media" featured a segment called "Patchy".  That comes from Patch, which was supposed to be AOL's hyper-local reporting site.  Unfortunately, Patch announced it was cutting its staff of 1,100 nearly in half.  Brooke Gladstone talked with the Wall Street Journal's Keach Hagey about what that development means for local reporting and about AOL CEO Tim Armstrong's snap firing of an employee during a Patch-wide conference call.  Listen to that by visiting http://www.wnyc.org/story/312949-patchy.




Syndicated Advice Columnist Dear Abby Dies

While I'm on the subject of newspapers, we lost a cultural icon a few weeks ago:  Pauline Phillips, who wrote a popular syndicated newspaper column under the pen-name "Dear Abby" (Abigail Van Buren), who died on January 16, 2013.  Her real name was Pauline Esther Phillips and she died at age 94, although she had been ill for a number of years with Alzheimer's disease.

Speaking of her mother, daughter Jeanne Phillips wrote:

"Over the past quarter century, Alzheimer's disease has stolen away bit by bit her remarkable intellect, but she battled her illness with courage and dignity. She was my best friend who can never be replaced." She signed off as Jeanne Phillips, aka Grieving in Minneapolis. The strength of "Abby" gave way to the human vulnerability and grief which all Alzheimer's Disease families share.  In that letter, Jeanne also gave special recognition and thanks to her mother's long time caregivers who tended to Pauline 24/7 for over 11 years, a task certainly not all are cut out for.

In fact, Pauline had not been writing the column for a while.  In December of 2000, Pauline's daughter, Jeanne, now age 70 herself, joined her mother in her work.  Then, in August of 2002 the Phillips family announced that Pauline had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and Jeanne officially took over the role and title of "Dear Abby" since her mother was unable to manage the responsibility in her later years.  Today, the "Dear Abby" column is carried on by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who owns the legal rights to the pen-name "Dear Abby".

Pauline Esther Phillips (Dear Abby) and sister Esther "Eppie" Lederer (Ann Landers)

For a period in the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, Pauline and her twin sister Esther "Eppie" Lederer, wrote a very similar syndicated column under the pen-name "Ann Landers", dishing out very similarly-themed letters from the public along with their terse responses.  Pauline's sister Eppie passed away in June 2002.  At the time of Eppie's passing, her daughter Margo Howard said that the "Ann Landers" column would end in accordance with her last wishes.

The Brady Bunch: Harried and Hopeless

The "Dear Abby" column really became a pop culture icon.

It was featured (under the name "Dear Libby") on "The Brady Bunch" in which the newly-blended family reads the "Dear Libby" advice column in the newspaper in which an anonymous person is in the same situation as Mike and Carol, but the person is unhappy, leading Marcia to conclude that either Mike or Carol wrote the letter. She later shows the article to the other kids and they devise a plot to keep their newly formed family together.  The advice columnist's name was changed to "Libby" to avoid copyright issues (that particular episode can be watched online at http://www.tv.com/shows/the-brady-bunch/watch/dear-libby-4630/), although the most relevant part of the whole episode was at the end, in which the columnist visits the Brady household to respond to seven letters she received from the same address.  That clip can be viewed below, or by visiting http://youtu.be/HmNKdBntasc:



Dear Abby Endures As Newspaper Publishing Changes

"Dear Abby", however, has continued, and it remains one of the most-widely syndicated columns published (her daughter Jeanne Phillips continues the tradition), yet the newspaper industry has changed significantly during that time.

But readership for syndicated columns like "Dear Abby" aren't what they used to be.  For the record, "Dear Abby" has an "official" website where you can read the column online at:

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby

NPR featured a nice remembrance of this American newspaper legend.

Remembering Pauline Phillips, A Woman With A Sharp Pen, http://n.pr/WG75lS: