Richard Simmons was buried in his iconic 'tank top and shorts,' his brother says
Richard Simmons was buried in his classic workout clothes, according to his brother.
Richard Simmons' brother, Lenny Simmons, revealed the information while delivering a eulogy for his brother during a celebration of life at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Saturday, according to representatives for the family.
"I want to let you all in on a little secret: Richard is wearing his tank top and shorts underneath his clothes just in case God's final plan for him is to get all the angels and saints in Heaven into shape," said Lenny Simmons, at the end of his speech, which was obtained by ABC News. "Richard Simmons will forever be ‘Sweating with the Holies.'" he finished.
Lenny Simmons spent most of the speech summarizing the life of his brother and the family he was born into, describing his parents' journey to each other and the childhood he shared with his brother.
"Dicky and I had a happy childhood," said Lenny Simmons, adding a bit of background to Simmons' life, "Dicky decided that he had a vocation to become a Catholic priest. He said wanted to help people. But before he went to the seminary, he changed his mind."
Lenny said after a few career changes, his brother found success as a charismatic waiter at Derrick's Second Floor, an Italian restaurant.
"His infectious personality and humor brought in more customers to the little restaurant. They all loved Richard Simmons," he wrote.
That job led to his first acting role on "General Hospital" according to Lenny.
Lenny said his brother's life mission became clear at 26 years old.
"At the age of 26, Richard Simmons finally knew what God wanted him to do. He wanted Richard to help people, motivate people, encourage people to get healthy and lose weight and get fit and have fun doing it," said Lenny.
Simmons rose to prominence in the 1980s with his massively popular line of fitness videos, inspiring a nationwide fitness trend. His videos, including the famed "Sweatin' to the Oldies" series, became some of the most popular workout videos of the era.
Simmons died on July 13 at 76 years old.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to Simmons' home on July 13 after a 911 call from his housekeeper and found Simmons dead, according to police sources.
