Marc Summers is among the many people mourning the loss of the fitness guru and personality. Richard SimmonsThe pair, who each starred in their own TV series, have built a friendship that spans decades.
In a new interview with ET, Summers revealed that he hadn’t spoken to Simmons in over a decade, but that doesn’t change his feelings for his late friend, who chose to live the final years of his life out of the spotlight. Simmons died on July 13th.He was 76 years old.
“I hadn’t seen Richard for over 10 years and sadly tried to get in touch with him but [he] “He wasn’t talking to anybody,” Summers told ET’s Kevin Frazier. “We had mutual friends and they knew him better than I did, and he just chose not to come back out in public, and I don’t know what he was doing other than kicking back and relaxing.”
“I believe he spoke to his publicist regularly, but apart from that I’ve heard he lived alone,” he continues. “I believe his brother is still alive, but I don’t know if he’s met him. I don’t think he had much interaction with people, maybe just a phone call. But it’s been over 10 years, and I never had any interaction with him. I was really lonely.”
Summers doesn’t know exactly why Simmons chose to live out of the spotlight, but he has a theory, given how much of himself Simmons gave at the height of his fame.
“He would go out of his way to approach strangers and ask how they were. He cared about other human beings,” Summers said. “And when I heard he’d been withdrawn towards the end, I understood why. And I’ll tell you why. Nobody puts in 120 percent like Richard did. I think he was exhausted from all the time he put in and he just needed his own time. And I was so glad that he did. We all missed him and we all wanted to socialize, but he needed his own space.”
He continues, “He was always thinking of others. If you’re in a crowd, you know he’s there, but he would go up to people and ask, ‘Where are you from? Tell me about your life.’ He was more interested in other people, he wanted to know their personal stories, and it was genuine. When he called regularly, every day, it wasn’t a one-off call. He was in touch with these people on a regular basis. He made a lot of money, which was good for him, but he spent a lot of money on other people, flying to their homes, treating them in different ways, holding their hands, talking to them, being genuine, looking them in the eye. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person of that character, and I don’t think there will ever be a stronger, more important person on this earth than Richard.”
As for Simmons’ legacy, Summers said it will be much more far-reaching. Work up a sweat with some oldiesand her work as a comedian on late-night shows and television appearances. Simmons will be remembered for her honesty and kind heart.
“The kindness he showed in the way he interacted with other people in hotel lobbies and airports — no one goes up to a stranger in those places and starts a conversation, but Richard Simmons did. He was compassionate and somehow he had a sixth sense that people needed him,” Summers told ET. “And he sensed it and he approached them, and all of a sudden he was having a 20-minute conversation with a complete stranger, getting their phone number and saying, ‘I’ll call you.’ I don’t think most people would have believed him. He was genuine and honest, and like I say, I can’t think of a single person that I can compare him to.”
If Summers could say one last thing to his late friend, it would be, “I love you, and I appreciate all the things you did, all the people you helped, and thank you for applauding him.”
Another person who worked closely with Simmons was Patrick Leonard, who collaborated with him on songs for a show about Simmons’ life.
“The film is all very autobiographical and there’s a real desire to tell the story from his perspective,” Leonard told ET. [It was] “The beginning, the early days of creating his own space to start his own exercise program. And how he felt about it, how people felt about it. His love of records, his love of listening to records, how that inspired him.”
Though Leonard never met Simmons in person, he said, they spoke daily, and the musician fondly recalls those early collaborations as heartwarming moments when he realized who Simmons really was.
“What was interesting and fascinating and just beautiful was that from the beginning he said, ‘I will never call you anything but Mister Leonard.’ I never heard him call me by my name. He just called me Mister Leonard and my wife Lady Anna,” he said. “It was beautiful because it felt like that was his wish, and it was. He’s a great guy, a great human being.”
Leonard told ET that Simmons’ legacy is in the lyrics they wrote together, and that he hopes one day the world will hear and see his story.
“People know what he gave because they can see it’s palpable and real,” he says. “I think we’ll just have to wait until we put it down on paper. I think the consensus among everyone in this inner circle is that it should continue because it was his dream. I’ve found myself in a position where I’m confident that I won’t be collaborating any more to keep the flame of this incredible man’s legacy going.”
Leonard’s latest album, “It All Comes Down to Moon,” will be released on July 26th.
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