Originally published on 10/07/24

Nearly three months after Richard Simmons’ passing, the beloved fitness mogul was laid to rest in his iconic workout gear. The heartfelt celebration of life took place in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 5, at the St. Louis Cathedral.

“I want to let you all in on a little secret,” Simmon’s brother Lenny Simmons said in his eulogy. “Richard is wearing his tank top and shorts underneath his clothes just in case God’s final plan for him is to get all the angels and saints in Heaven into shape. Richard Simmons will forever be ‘Sweating with the Holies.’” 

Lenny also took time during his brother’s eulogy to say, “When my wife Cathy and I were flying back home to New Orleans from Los Angeles after attending his funeral with only eight people at the service, we made a promise to my brother that we would have a Celebration of his Life in his own hometown.” 

“We are all so grateful and humbled for the outpouring of love and support that you are giving my brother.” 

What to know about Richard Simmons death 

Richard died on Saturday, June 13, 2024, at age 76, with the Los Angeles Police Department opening an investigation into his cause of death two days later. This came after Tom Estey—who is the Simmons family spokesperson and Richard’s longtime publicist—revealed that “no foul play” was involved in his passing.  

Then, on Wednesday, August 21, Estey confirmed to PEOPLE that the Los Angeles  Coroner’s Office called Richard’s brother, Lenny Simmons, to tell him, “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 the medication Richard had been prescribed. The Family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss.”   

As of August 30, a new medical report detailed that Simmons did have the antidepressant trazodone, the antihistamine diphenhydramine and the insomnia pill zolpidem in his system at the time of his death. However, the report detailed that “these do not appear to have contributed to the cause of death.”

Instead, his death was caused by a “ground level fall” that caused a “sequelae of blunt traumatic injuries.” They also noted that his “arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease” also served as a contributing factor in his death.

They believe his fall was caused by “an episode of dizziness” that led him to end up “collapsed on the floor on the evening of July 11, 2024. He was found the next morning on July 12, and spent the day in bed. On the morning of July 13, he was found unresponsive on the bedroom floor. His death was pronounced at the scene.”

Authorities also noted that the fitness guru had “a fracture of the left femur … There were incidental bilateral renal cortical cysts and a gallstone.”

All of this led authorities to believe that “given the history and circumstances as currently known by me in the setting of the findings by examination and ancillary studies, the manner of death is classified as an accident.”

A closer look at Richard Simmons’ life before his death  

Richard — best known for his workout classes, DVDS and weight loss cruises — had been out of the public eye for more than a decade prior to his death.  

Last seen in 2014, the fitness guru originally took a break from public appearances to recover from a knee injury before deciding to step away from life in the spotlight completely.  

“I’ve taught, like, thousands and thousands of classes and, you know, right now I just want to sort of just take care of me,” Richard revealed in 2016. “I just really don’t want to do anything. I just don’t want to be traveling anymore. It certainly has taken its toll on me.” 

Even when he wasn’t in the spotlight, Richard actively posted on his Facebook and even did so the morning of his death, writing, “Hello gorgeous! Please don’t rain on my parade.”  

The fitness star often turned to Facebook as a means of communication with fans and followers. However, he refrained from posting photos of himself. 

Richard Simmons’ battle with skin cancer 

Aside from offering his fans life updates, Richard also detailed his skin cancer scare on Facebook by writing, “There was this strange looking bump under my right eye. I had a tube of Neosporin, which I would put on in the morning and the evening….it was still there. It was time to call my dermatologist. I sat in his chair, and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror. He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous. He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer.”  

His cancer did not play a part in his death, according to the L.A. Coroner’s Office.  

Inside Richard Simmons’ final days  

Just one day before his death, the fitness star turned 76 years old, telling PEOPLE,  “[I’m] grateful that I’m here, that I am alive for another day. I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people.”  

He also joked that instead of having a cake for his birthday, he was planning to have a zucchini instead or, “Maybe one Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie. But just one.”  

Richard’s  death was confirmed one day later, with Estey saying, “The world has truly lost an angel.”  

May Richard Simmons continue to rest in peace.  

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/richard-simmons-cause-of-death-revealed-what-the-family-says