Richard Simmons died at the age of 76

2:46 p.m. PT — Was said Simmons fell in the bathroom of his house, but it is unclear whether the housekeeper found him there.

The LAPD’s elite Robbery and Homicide unit responded to his home because it was a high-profile death, although they still do not suspect foul play.

2:10 p.m. PT – Law enforcement sources say Richard fell last night, which may be related to his death.

Richard Simmons – the legendary fitness guru – has died at the age of 76… TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that police and firefighters responded to a call from his housekeeper just before 10 a.m. Saturday and pronounced him dead at the scene. We’re told no foul play is suspected at this time and police are investigating the case as a natural death.

Amazingly, RS recently made several posts on Facebook… including one thanking his fans for all the birthday wishes he has received.

Simmons was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1948 and later attended Florida State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in art before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s.

Simmons started out as a waiter in Beverly Hills and opened a series of gyms for clients who weren’t already in incredible shape.

He opened The Anatomy Asylum – later renamed Slimmons – which originally included a salad bar… since a major part of Simmons’ training philosophy was healthy eating. Slimmons closed in 2016.

He has released dozens of fitness tapes and DVDs, including favorites such as “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” “Party off the Pounds,” “Blast Off,” “Pump and Sweat,” “Tonin’ Uptown,” “Tonin’ Downtown,” and many more.

Simmons also made the leap into the mainstream acting world… often appearing as himself in series, such as 72 episodes of “General Hospital” – a recurring role he held for about four years starting in 1979. He returned to the series in 2013 with a cameo appearance.

Richard’s other well-known works include What Women Want, Hercules: Zero to Hero, All My Children, Evening Shade, The Larry Sanders Show, and more. Richard was also a prolific author, publishing a number of healthy eating cookbooks.

Fans were drawn to Richard because of his positive, flamboyant energy… although he became more withdrawn in later life due to the need to maintain his personality in the spotlight and because he had had both of his knees replaced – topics we covered in our documentary. “TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Richard Simmons?”

The police came to his house to Welfare check in 2017… but later issued a statement saying the star was fine and just wanted to be left alone so he could go about his business.

Still, Richard never stopped helping fans. We broke the story in May… Simmons told us on the phone that he was Return hundreds fan emails per day and 15 to 20 phone calls to help fans who were in trouble.

This happened a few weeks after Richard posted an audio message for the fans to hear his voice again after so many years away from the spotlight… He added that he had found the meaning of his life – helping people.

Richard has been using social media more frequently in recent months… especially when it comes to the biopic Pauly Shoreis working on about Simmons’ life. Remember, in January Richard said he was not interested in his collaboration on the film biography and emphasized several times that he was not involved.

Shore later said Richard wished him luck on the project… well, it’s unclear what exactly Richard was thinking about it in the last months of his life.

The last time we met Richard was on the street in 2014… and he had plenty of helpful tips for our viewers on how to get fit.

Richard was 76.

REST IN PEACE