posted on October 18, 2000 04:27:38 PM new
I really think he's very entertaining, and that he has done a lot for the overweight people in this world. I enjoy seeing him on QVC. Did you know he has his own line of dolls? They're pretty darned funny, too! Many of them are old people dolls.
posted on October 18, 2000 05:22:06 PM new
I like Richard in small doses. I have his walking tapes and they are terrific...very entertaining & affirming.
However, I think he does go a bit over the top, but that is also what has made him the name he is. And I do think his heart is in the right place. He's definitely an inspiration to lots of people.
posted on October 18, 2000 05:49:29 PM new
I used to like him, but as I get older I find that he becomes more irritating.
Also, I would like to tell him "for Pete's sake, put on some clothes! The shorts and tank tops don't do a thing for you especially in the dead of winter".
posted on October 18, 2000 06:20:54 PM new
Like Njrazd, I like him in small doses. But it just goes to show you--there are careers ourt there for hyperactive kids! He reminds me of a hummingbird, always in motion & moving at top speed.
posted on October 18, 2000 07:11:49 PM new
I used to think Richard Simmons was just a silly, peppy, kind of irritating guy. Then I heard about his own story and those of some of the people he's helped. Wow, did he ever turn his life and health around, and inspire many others to do the same! I now admire him greatly. He has helped so many people to care about themselves, repair their health, and gain a lot of self-esteem.
posted on October 18, 2000 08:13:27 PM new
fruit of the loom. Really, before the PC Police come down on me, that's what he did when he was first getting started in show business. He was one of the "fruits" in Fruit of the Loom commercials. I can't remember which one, though.
posted on October 19, 2000 05:04:43 AM newHe was one of the "fruits" in Fruit of the Loom commercials
I thought that was just my faulty memory telling me this!
I agree with RB that "He has helped so many people to care about themselves, repair their health, and gain a lot of self-esteem" - and I also think he's still one "silly, peppy, kind of irritating guy"
posted on October 20, 2000 04:24:50 PM new
I am cracking up over this one. Richard Simmons is intensely irritating, but I love him anyway. Kind of reminds me of some of my beloved "regulars" at the drag queen bar I used to work at.
The funniest thing I ever saw him do was one day when he was on a talk show with that snotty fashion arbiter Mr. Blackwell. It was Blackwell's turn to talk and he was showing pictures of celebs in their silly dress-up clothes and making his usual snide remarks about Cher, Madonna et. al and Richard Simmons kept breaking in and interrupting saying "I think she looks FABULOUS! You're just jealous!" and "We should ALL hope we look that good at 50!" "I think she looks great! oooh I love that dress!" I was choking with laughter because Mr. Blackwell was obviously furious at having his scripted schtick interrupted. But lil Richard stole the show.
There's also a hilarious bit about him in Howard Stern's autobiography, Private Parts. I can't repeat it in a family forum, but it's funny. Howard and Richard are friends, which seems wild to me, but go figure.
What I can't understand is how he keeps warm in those short-shorts and tank top. I mean, I live in California too, but there are days when even we Southern Cal people have to put on sweatpants or a jacket. I doubt Richard owns a pair of pants. I'd like to see what he wears to the Oscars (if he ever went.)
posted on October 28, 2000 10:37:05 PM new
He annoys me, but I can deal with him in small doses, like others have said.
I DO like the fact that his excercise videos are all *real* people, so if you are overweight yourself you watch someone twice your size doing what they're doing and you know you can, too. The music (to all of them!!) makes me ill but my best friend and I just do the tapes with the sound down and turn on our own music (Richard Simmons and the Ramones.. weird combo for sure but it works)... it's better than other videos I have (like Tae Bo, for example,which is GREAT if you can get through it and you have balance, which means if you're signifigantly overweight it is HARD to do, or heck, even if you're a "topheavy" woman!) where the assumption is you are already "thin" and can keep up and have no balance issues.
posted on October 30, 2000 07:35:32 PM new
Personally, I find the guy awfully annoying. But...
A good friend of mine in Southern CA credits him with saving her life. She weighed something like 500 pounds at one point, and has been going to his West L.A. gym every day for years now, has managed to keep her weight down to a much safer level. She says he runs that particular gym at a loss but keeps it open anyway. Pretty decent thing to do, even if he is irritating.
My mom went on a Richard Simmons cruise with a friend of hers who has been on several of them. My mom got enough doses of Richard on the first day alone and spent the rest of the cruise ticked off, put out, and cranky. Hmmm, wait. That's her natural state.
I do think that irritating as he can be, he appears to be sincere. And I agree, the guy needs to find some new shorts!
posted on October 31, 2000 01:38:35 PM new
I just remember watching QVC once when the Two Fat Ladies were on just after Richard Simmons, and Jennifer said (with her inimitable style) "Oh, that horrid little man."
