Richard Simmons (born July 12, 1948) is a fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through a line of aerobics videos and television programs. He is known for his humor, flamboyant personality and heightened energy possibly lending to his ability to motivate people into fitness lifestyle changes.

Richard Simmons (August 19, 1913 – January 11, 2003), also known as Dick Simmons, was an American film actor.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, he started his film acting career in 1937. Many of his roles would be uncredited through 1942, which ironically included an uncredited role in the film The Yukon Patrol, which would later be important as it would lead to his best known starring role. Starting in 1943 he began appearing in credited roles, beginning with his appearance in The Youngest Profession, starring Virginia Weidler. From 1943 through 1949 he would appear in seventeen films, of which seven were uncredited.

The 1950's mirrored the 1940's, with him appearing in several films and television programs, at times uncredited. However, in 1955 he won his best known role, portraying the lead of Sergeant William Preston in the 1950s television series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, a spinoff of The Yukon Patrol. Following the end of the series in 1958, he continued to have a successful acting career, mostly with television series appearances, through 1977, with his last role being in the film Don't Push, I'll Charge When I'm Ready, starring Sue Lyon and Cesar Romero. He was residing in Oceanside, California at the time of his death from Alzheimer's disease, on January 11th, 2003.

Richard Simmons (1737 – 1802) was an English cricketer who played for Kent and All-England in the 1760s and 1770s. He is one of the earliest well-known wicket-keepers.

Simmons, who lived at Bridge in Kent, was also a useful batsman. He probably began playing in the late 1750s and was active until 1779, so the statistical record has caught the tail-end of his career. He is recorded in 13 known first-class matches from 1772.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Richard Simmons later moved to Minneapolis where he attended West High School and then the University of Minnesota. While at university he competed in fencing and swimming and also acted in a few theater productions. He left the Twin Cities in the 1930s and spent several years traveling the world, working on freighters and tankers. Eventually he settled in Los Angeles where, according to one story, Louis B. Mayer saw him breaking in an Arabian horse and immediately offered him a screen test. Simmons played a number of minor parts in MGM movies but finally achieved a degree of fame in the mid-1950s when he starred in the half-hour syndicated TV series, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" (1955). With his horse Rex, and his husky King, Preston brought law-and-order into the 1890s Gold Rush as a member of the Northwest Mounted Police. Each episode ended with Preston hugging his dog and saying: "Well, King, it looks like this case is closed."

Famous for always appearing in public in candy-striped Dolfin shorts, and tank tops that have been hand decorated with Swarovski crystals.

Has not appeared on the "Howard Stern Show, The" (1990) since November 1992, though he was once a regular guest. During his last appearance on the show, he ran out of the studio in tears after Howard told him "Your belly hangs like your nuts."

Much of his hair fell out due to losing weight in an unhealthy manner. He then had to have hair transplants, moving some of his own hair from the back of his head to the front. He urges others to lose weight in a healthy manner so they won't have the same problems he did.

He runs his own workout studio, Slimmons. He opened it over 30 years ago,in Beverly Hills, California after finding that established gyms and exercise studios tended to favor already fit people while discouraging beginners and the overweight. As such, he endeavored to create an encouraging environment for that previously neglected clientèle. He still teaches three days a week when he's in town.

Loves Barbra Streisand, Broadway musicals, and one of a kind Art dolls, and Art Glass...having been an Art Major in college himself. He owns a vast of Art Dolls. Much of his Art Glass collection was destroyed by the Northridge Earthquake.

When appearing with two of his weight-loss clients on the "Howard Stern Show, The" (1990) in 1990, Stern taunted his clients by waving food in front of their faces using a fishing pole. A large roasted chicken was lowered from the ceiling as well, to the shock and dismay of Richard's clients. One of those clients, Michael Hebranko, later ballooned to over 1,000 pounds and had to be rescued from his New York brownstone by 20 paramedics, policemen and firemen. Though he quickly dropped much of the weight he had regained, three years later Hebranko again had to rescued from his apartment after gaining the weight back.

He was initially motivated to lose weight when he received an anonymous note, left on his car, reading, "Fat people die young. Please don't die."

His top weight was 268 lbs before he learnt to control it.

Briefly studied for the priesthood.