Richard Simmons said he was “grateful” to be “alive” in an interview published just one day before his sudden death.
“I feel good! I am grateful that I’m here, that I am alive for another day,” the iconic fitness instructor — who died Saturday just hours after his 76th birthday — told People magazine in a rare interview released on Friday.
“I’ll spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is to help people.”
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He even said he might be naughty and indulge in “just one” Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie. Simmons, of course, was a health-conscious vegetarian who was mindful of what he put in his body.
The star — who rose to fame in the 1980s as a flamboyant fitness instructor and health advocate — was reportedly found unresponsive by his housekeeper and pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived.
Foul play was reportedly not suspected and he appeared to have died from natural causes.
Reps for Simmons did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment regarding the reports surrounding his death.
He last posted on X Saturday morning and shared a sassy-looking photo of himself. “Hello gorgeous! Please don’t rain on my parade,” he captioned the post.
The day prior, he thanked fans for their birthday wishes.
“Thank you…I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” he exclaimed. “I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.”
In March, Simmons revealed he had skin cancer removed from his face after getting a bump under his right eye evaluated.
His cancer revelation came a day after he concerned fans by claiming he was “dying.” He later clarified that he was simply exemplifying the fragility of life and encouraging people to live their lives to the fullest.
“Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me. I am not dying,” he penned on Facebook.
“It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion.”
In 2016, he was hospitalized for dehydration and again in 2017 for “severe indigestion.”
He lived a private, reclusive life after teaching his final workout class at his famed Slimmons studio in February 2014. He shuttered the gym completely in 2016.
While he had not made a public appearance in over a decade prior to his death, he kept in touch with fans through social media.
