1. Richard Simmons AMERICAN FITNESS PERSONALITY

2. Milton Teagle Simmons (born July 12, 1948), better known as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality and actor. Simmons promotes weight-loss programs, prominently through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and energetic personality. Simmons began his weight-loss career by opening a gym called Slimmons in Beverly Hills, California, catering to the overweight, and he became widely known through exposure on television and through the popularity of his consumer products. He is often parodied and is a frequent guest of late night television talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman. Simmons continues to promote health and has broadened his activities to include political activism, notably in support of a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in public schools as a part of the "No Child Left Behind" Act. 3. Simmons was born Milton Teagle Simmons in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 12, 1948, the son of Shirley May (ne Satin) and Leonard Douglas Simmons, Sr. Simmons was born to show business parents and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He was obese throughout his adolescence and by the time he graduated from high school, he weighed 268 pounds. As a young man, he considered being a priest. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Simmons explained he adopted the name "Richard" after an uncle who paid for his college tuition. His first job in New Orleans was selling pralines at Leah's. After starting college at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, he 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, Simmons moved to New York City where he worked in advertising, as a waiter, and for cosmetics companies Revlon and Coty Cosmetics. 4. Upon moving to Los Angeles, in the 1970s, Simmons worked as the Matre d'hotel at Derek's, a restaurant in Beverly Hills. He developed an interest in fitness, but was dissatisfied with the unhealthy fad diet methods[clarification needed] and the established gyms and exercise studios of the day which favored the already fit customer. It was his interest in fitness that helped him lose 123 lb (56 kg). Simmons later opened his own exercise studio, originally called The Anatomy Asylum, where emphasis was placed on healthy eating in proper portions and enjoyable exercise in a supportive atmosphere. The business originally included a salad bar restaurant called "Ruffage," the name a pun on the word roughage (dietary fiber), though it was eventually removed as the focus of the Asylum shifted solely to exercise. Now called Slimmons, the establishment continues operations in Beverly Hills, and Simmons teaches motivational classes and aerobics throughout the week. Simmons stated 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 in the course of his fitness career had helped humanity lose approximately 12,000,000 pounds. Simmons now uses the web as a method of outreach by running his own membership based website, and also indicates on his home page that he has established official pages on numerous social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube. 5. Simmons began to draw media attention due to the success of his health club that began with him on the television show Real People where he was shown at work. He introduced customers whom he had helped to lose weight. He later made guest roles on the celebrity game shows: Battlestars; Body Language; Super Password; Win, Lose or Draw; the ABC version of Match Game; the syndicated version of Hollywood Squares; and Nickelodeon's Figure It Out. Positive viewer reaction landed Simmons a recurring role as himself on the American soap opera General Hospital, over a four-year period. This in turn led to further media notoriety, as well as being in shopping malls, where he taught exercise classes. In the early 1980s, Simmons hosted two shows; Slim Cookin, and an Emmy Award-winning talk show, The Richard Simmons Show, in which he focused on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. 6. Simmons is noted for his energetic motivational demeanor; an attribute he uses to help encourage people to lose weight. His high energy level is always featured in his workout videos. His trademark attire is candy-striped Dolfin shorts and tank tops decorated with Swarovski crystals. 7. On August 29, 2006, Simmons was on Your World with Neil Cavuto while making a return visit to New Orleans one year after the flooding, a visit he repeated on March 2, 2007, now talking about his recent trip to Washington, D.C. to promote and raise awareness about The Strengthening Physical Education Act of 2007 (bill HR 1224).Click Play- 8. Simmons is known for interacting at a personal level with people using his products. This began by personally answering fan mail he received as a cast member of General Hospital. Simmons still personally answers emails and letters, and makes hundreds of phone calls each week to those who seek his help. He also talked to people on the air during his radio show, and holds weekly live chats in the "clubhouse" area of his website. His appearances also include a "meet and greet" time, so that people can speak to him one on oneClick Play 9. Richard is still promoting health to this day. He has even made commercials regarding Health Care. Facing a $78 million budget shortfall, Californias ObamaCare exchange has spent $1.37 million to fund an outreach video featuring exercise guru Richard Simmons gyrating on the floor and hugging a contortionist who is kneeling with his buttocks in the air. 10. Still fighting the fitness battle with humor and enthusiasm, Simmons vows to never give up and promises that he will continue his crusade until its time for him to teach classes at the Pearly Gates. 11. Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Simmons