Grab the remote and a sweatband while you’re at it: Richard Simmons is having another moment in the spotlight. “The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special” airs Tuesday, May 12, at 9 p.m. EDT on ABC, and will be available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day on May 13.
The hour-long documentary offers a long-awaited look at the life, decade-long disappearance and unexpected death of one of America’s most enduring fitness personalities. Sawyer’s team gained rare access to Simmons’ inner circle and to the Beverly Hills home where he spent his final years. The special promises to give the fullest portrait yet of a man who shaped how a generation thought about exercise, body image and self-acceptance.
The special traces Simmons’ improbable arc from a New Orleans kid who struggled with his weight to a Beverly Hills fitness guru who built an empire on enthusiasm, glittery shorts and a sincere belief that overweight Americans deserved kindness and understanding, not shame.
Simmons Had a Fun & Wholly Unique Career in Hollywood
GettySimmons launched his Beverly Hills studio, later known as Slimmons, in the mid-1970s and famously never turned away anyone who couldn’t pay. He sold millions of “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” tapes, popped up on “General Hospital” and earned a new fan following with his near-40 appearances on “Late Show with David Letterman.”
He also had a syndicated daytime show in the early ‘80s, which won four Daytime Emmy Awards and cemented him as one of TV’s biggest bursts of pure energy.
But in February 2014, he vanished from the public eye entirely and rather abruptly. Theories spiraled — kidnapping, illness, captivity, depression — and a 2017 podcast about his disappearance became a cultural sensation.
So, what really happened, and did Simmons plan to leave Hollywood forever? That’s where Sawyer’s special gets very interesting.
Diane Sawyer’s Richard Simmons Special Suggests He Was Planning Major Comeback Before His Death
According to Sawyer, Simmons quietly began planning a return after nearly 10 years of silence. He chose Sawyer as his confidante and sent her dozens of flowers with a handwritten note reading, simply, “I Trust You.” Plans were in motion for a sit-down interview.
But on July 13, 2024 — just one day after his 76th birthday — Simmons was found unresponsive in his Beverly Hills home. The Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled the death an accident, citing complications from a fall combined with heart disease.
After he died, Simmons’ older brother, Lenny, invited Sawyer and her team inside the home Richard had spent a decade hiding inside. The special promises a look at what life there really looked like, including interviews with longtime house manager Teresa Reveles, who worked for Simmons for 35 years and has rarely spoken publicly.
Reveles, the last person to see him alive, describes their daily routine, his diminishing mobility and the quiet drives around Los Angeles they took so he could see how the city had changed without him.
Whether Sawyer’s hour truly solves the mystery of why Simmons walked away — and what those final years really looked like — remains to be seen. But for the generation that grew up sweating along with him in living rooms across America, May 12 is must-see TV.
