There he was, very active, in hot pants and in all his glory.
It’s 2003, and Ellen DeGeneres, the new comedian and host of her popular new talk show, braces herself as she introduces her next guest. “Fasten your seatbelts and clap as fast as you can for this one-of-a-kind show…Richard Simmons!!”
Wide-eyed and full of energy, the charismatic fitness guru high-fived the crowd and jumped into the arms of a man.
Everyone was laughing with him — To him – and he joined in on the joke.
The iconic Ellen episode has been recreated in a new 10-minute short film released last week, starring 90s actor Pauly Shore, 55, as Simmons, and has already been adapted into a feature-length biopic. Plans for a movie are also underway.
The short film imagines touching behind-the-scenes moments between Simmons, now 75, and Ellen, an undervalued and overweight production assistant.
“I understand that you want to disappear,” Shore’s Simmons tells the desperate man.
And it’s precisely that glorious, supernatural empathy that turned Simmons and his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” workout tape into a global sensation.
But in recent years, America’s beloved bubbly and optimistic man has become a shell of his former self.
No longer the boisterous fairy, Simmons begs to be left alone after completely disappearing from public view for nearly three years in 2014, but then the National Enquirer’s shocking It has become the target of extensive media coverage. Simmons is said to have secretly undergone sex reassignment surgery.
Now, this devout individualist is back in the spotlight. And Simmons’ longtime friend tells DailyMail.com exclusively that Simmons fears another humiliation.
He feels “cornered” by Hollywood’s sudden attempt to exploit his life story, sources say.
And considering his history of being betrayed by those he trusted, no one can blame him.
On February 15, 2014, Simmons stopped attending the Beverly Hills exercise classes she had taught for more than 40 years, and she almost fell off the face of the earth.
His disappearance made headlines around the world: “Richard Simmons: Missing for 1,000 Days.”
There was a food frenzy in the media. What could suddenly make one of America’s most extroverts become a recluse?
The Daily News then reported outlandish claims from Simmons’ former masseuse, a Brazilian named Mauro Oliveira, that Simmons’ housekeeper used “black magic” to imprison him in his home. It was reported that it was.
Simmons was finally forced to publicly say, “I was not kidnapped,” in a phone call with Entertainment Tonight.
“No one is holding me hostage in my house,” he declared. He simply needed to “take some time alone.”
But then things got even worse.
A few months later, in June 2016, the National Enquirer and Radar Online reported that Simmons had secretly undergone gender reassignment surgery to live as a “soft-spoken” woman named “Fiona.” insisted.
It is claimed he underwent breast implants and hormone therapy over a two-year period.
The report also included a series of images of Simmons cross-dressing, wearing white fur-lined women’s lingerie, thigh-high boots and a wig.
In one photo, Simmons is shown lying on the side of a bathtub, her legs spread, her nails painted silver, and wearing a diamond ring and bracelet.
As it turned out, the photos were sold to the publisher by Mauro Oliveira, a Brazilian masseuse who Simmons once employed.
Simmons subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit in 2017, but lost, and the court ordered him to pay the publisher $130,000 in legal costs.
Simmons has always maintained that he is not transgender, but the ordeal only pushed him further inward and away from the cruel world that made him a punchline.
Perhaps it felt too familiar.
As a child, Simmons struggled with her weight. “I came out of his mother’s womb with a fork,” he wrote in his 1999 memoir, Still Hungry After All These Years.
By the time she was a teenager, Simmons weighed 238 pounds and was bullied relentlessly at school.
“I went through a lot of hurt as a child,” he said in an interview. “I went to my first Halloween party on the couch. They made fun of me. I felt so bad about myself.”
After moving to Los Angeles in his early 20s, Simmons decided to change his life and opened a gym in Beverly Hills in 1974 called Slimmons, which catered to overweight clients.
This quickly became a revolutionary hit. Mainly because most fitness facilities at the time served people who were already in good shape.
By 1988, his first VHS tape, “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” became the best-selling home fitness video of all time, grossing over $200 million and making him a household name. I did.
Dressed in hot pants and a flashy tank top, Simmons quickly became a common character on late-night TV, especially during his many appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” where he was often seen as a good-natured teaser. They were often targeted.
But even as Simmons laughed, the joke clearly started to take a toll.
In the months before Simmons’ sudden disappearance, gym attendees described how Simmons often broke down in tears during class.
“He was always looking for an identity and trying hard to please everyone,” a source close to Simmons told DailyMail.com.
No wonder Hollywood wants to tell this most fascinating life story.
As reported on Thursday, Shore, who is currently facing assault and battery charges for allegedly attacking a security guard in 2022, told People magazine last September that he was the one who inspired him to star in the viral meme. said. An image of two people side by side.
The caption read, “Someone will write a Richard Simmons biopic and Pauly Shore will win an Oscar.”
No doubt Shore’s 10-minute short film had already been produced.
And earlier this month, it was reported that Warner Bros. is working on a feature-length biopic with Shore.
Just hours after making the announcement, Simmons, 75, issued an unusual public statement on Facebook.
“Hello everyone! You may have heard that there might be a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given the green light for this movie. Don’t believe everything.”
Still undeterred, Shore, best known for his role in the 1993 comedy “Encino Man” and for his last blockbuster, “Biodome,” which premiered in 1996, is undeterred and announced last week at Sundance. His 10-minute short film “The Court Jester” was screened during the festival. Utah.
‘tonight, [Simmons] Shore messaged me and said, ‘Good luck with the show.'” Shore told the audience, “So let’s give it up for Richard Simmons!”
A source from Simmons’ camp told DailyMail.com that they felt they had no choice but to wish Shore well.
“Richard felt cornered because he knew the show would go on with or without him. He reluctantly gave his approval,” a source said.
“Richard really cares about his fans, but he’s very worried about becoming the butt of a joke.”
Director Shore said he “comes from love” and his goal is to make a film that “honors” Simmons.
“He said he didn’t want to hurt Richard,” said a source close to Simmons.
Only time will tell whether the former Eternal Sunshine star will be humiliated again.