Editing Richard Simmons (section)

===Personality===
[[File:Richard Simmons 2007-08-15.jpg|thumb|right|Simmons in 2007]]
Simmons used his energetic, loud, and motivational demeanor to encourage people to lose weight. His high energy level was always featured in his workout videos. His trademark attire was tank tops decorated with [[Swarovski]] crystals and candy-striped [[Dolphin shorts]].<ref name="tbt"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=6940049#.T-qkY9mkBpQ|title=The Real Richard Simmons: 'Still Doin' It' at 60|author=Chris Connelly, Steven Baker|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=February 23, 2009|access-date=June 27, 2012|archive-date=December 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204030653/http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=6940049#.T-qkY9mkBpQ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Simmons interacted at a personal level with fans and people using his products. This began by personally answering fan mail he received as a cast member of ''[[General Hospital]]''. As late as 2008, he personally answered emails and letters and made hundreds of phone calls each week to those who would seek his help.<ref name="pang">{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-simmons--0604jun04,0,1865034.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606235114/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-simmons--0604jun04%2C0%2C1865034.story |archive-date=June 6, 2008 |author=Pang, Kevin |title=The many secrets of Richard Simmons |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=June 4, 2008 |access-date=June 4, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He claimed to have few friends, saying, "I don't have a lot to offer to one person. I have a lot to offer to a lot of people." Aside from his six [[Dalmatian (dog)|Dalmatian]]s and two [[maid]]s, Simmons lived alone in [[Beverly Hills, California]].<ref name="pang"/> Although his persona inspired speculation about his [[sexual orientation]], he never publicly addressed the subject.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/12/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-12-12-99-counter-culture-not-a-straight-story.html?pagewanted=4|title=The Way We Live Now: Counter Culture; Not a Straight Story|last=Sullivan|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Sullivan|date=December 12, 1999|work=[[The New York Times]]|page=§6 p.4|access-date=April 5, 2009|archive-date=September 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929025310/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/12/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-12-12-99-counter-culture-not-a-straight-story.html?pagewanted=4|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Garelick|first=Rhonda|date=September 1995|url=http://www.iath.virginia.edu/pmc/text-only/issue.995/pop-cult.995|title=Outrageous Dieting: The Camp Performance of Richard Simmons|journal=Postmodern Culture|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|volume=6|issue=1|doi=10.1353/pmc.1995.0038|s2cid=143735265|issn=1053-1920|access-date=April 5, 2009|archive-date=July 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704151101/http://www.iath.virginia.edu/pmc/text-only/issue.995/pop-cult.995|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Kendall|first=Lori|date=March 22, 2008|title=James Bond, Peter Pan, and A Sticky Night of Love: irony and masculinities in amateur animated videos|journal=The Journal of Men's Studies|volume=16|issue=2|page=124|issn=1060-8265|quote=The montage of Gay Peter Pan's phone contacts includes out celebrities like Richard Simmons and Rosie O'Donnell|doi=10.3149/jms.1602.124|hdl=2142/18806|s2cid=144617297|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Heroes are hard to find when the're hiding|last=Rinaldi|first=Ray Mark|date=April 23, 2000|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|page=F3|quote=We've always allowed gay men on the tube – did anyone besides my grandmother really think [[Liberace]] was heterosexual? What about [[Paul Lynde]]? Richard Simmons? — but the rules are clear. It's all right to be a flamer as long as you agree to keep it secret.}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal|last=Wieder|first=Judy|date=January 21, 2003|title=The real Rosie: 365 days of amazing challenges and feisty decisions turned America's sweetheart into the fighter she's always been—and The Advocate's leading lady for 2002. (Person of the Year)|journal=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|issue=15|page=52|issn=0001-8996|quote=When Kathy Kinney came on my show and outed Richard Simmons, I didn't try to "in" Richard Simmons. The gay community accused me of in-ing Richard Simmons, like I was trying to make people think that he was straight. I will tell you this: If Richard Simmons ever wants to discuss his private life with me on national TV, he's welcome to do so. It is not anyone else's right to do that before he decides it's time. That's the reason I said to Kathy Kinney, "We'll be right back with a commercial." I'm simply saying that that right belongs to him. [Loudly] And no matter what community you feel he's a part of or what he represents to you, it is not as relevant as his own truth.}}</ref> After his death in 2024, [[Jane Fonda]] stated she had last seen him for lunch at the [[Polo Lounge]], when he was accompanied by his new boyfriend.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sloop|first=Hope|title=Jane Fonda Pays Tribute to Richard Simmons After His Death: 'I Hope He Felt the Love So Many Were Sending Him'|work=Entertainment Tonight|date=July 14, 2024|url=https://www.etonline.com/jane-fonda-pays-tribute-to-richard-simmons-after-his-death-i-hope-he-felt-the-love-so-many-were|access-date=July 17, 2024}}</ref>

In a 2012 interview with ''[[Men's Health]]'', he was quoted:
{{blockquote | When the king gets depressed, he doesn't call for his wife or the cook. He turns to the little man with the pointed hat and says to the court jester "make me laugh". And I am that court jester.| Richard Simmons | ''Men's Health''<ref>{{cite magazine | title=The MH Interview: Richard Simmons | author=Spitznagel, Eric | date=April 25, 2012 | magazine=Men's Health | url=https://www.menshealth.com/guy-wisdom/richard-simmons | access-date=December 15, 2017 | archive-date=December 11, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211162426/https://www.menshealth.com/guy-wisdom/richard-simmons | url-status=live }}</ref>}}