Remember me
To the outside world, Richard Simmons was a campy caricature of health.
The fitness personality became a household name for his flamboyant workout costumes (including bedazzled tank tops in jewel tones and short shorts) and his outrageous TV exercise programs.
But Dan Berman, a Los Angeles-based photographer, saw a decidedly different side of Simmons when he photographed the fitness icon at his Beverly Hills home in May 1996.
Over the course of a ten-hour photo shoot, Berman saw firsthand how Simmons lived his life out of the spotlight and discovered that the flashy and ebullient persona that the public saw was drastically different from the intensely private and introverted person he encountered on the shoot.
'Out of all the people I've photographed, he was definitely the shyest in the beginning,' Berman told the Daily Mail. 'He was two different people in the home and out the door.'
Berman, 68, was commissioned to shoot Simmons's home for an editorial in McCall's.
The photos were last seen in the magazine in the '90s and were never syndicated or digitized, until now, appearing exclusively in the Daily Mail.
But if Berman had expected to be welcomed by an exuberant showman – in tiny shorts and glittering tank tops, dancing and singing as Simmons famously did in workout tapes like Sweatin' to the Oldies - he was disappointed.
Over the course of a ten-hour photo shoot, Berman saw firsthand how Simmons lived his life out of the spotlight
He discovered that the flashy and ebullient persona that the public saw was drastically different from the intensely private and introverted person he encountered
Instead, the fitness guru sported a plain sweat suit and a shy demeanor, while his home was genteel and subdued.
Berman recalled: 'He wanted no bright colors, no noisy prints. He had shades of peach, cream, blue, coral and lavender to cover the walls. He was very picky and decorated everything himself.'
According to Berman, Simmons was highly concerned about his privacy and insisted that there would be no photos of the outside of his home, to ensure that his address would not be revealed.
Berman revealed that it took Simmons about an hour before he loosened up and felt comfortable speaking with him.
'He was very private in the beginning,' Berman said. 'It was difficult. He did not want any fans knowing where he lived. He was very protective of his privacy, extremely protective. Later, he became very talkative and was even singing once he felt comfortable with us.'
Simmons's extreme fixation on privacy wasn't the only surprise that Berman would encounter that day. Upon entering Simmons's home, he was greeted by the exercise enthusiast's extensive doll collection, which was displayed on pedestals and shelves all over the living room.
Simmons was a noted collector of over 250 art dolls, many of which were one-of-a-kind and worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Simmons gave the photographer a tour of his dolls in the living room, before telling him that many of the dolls were custom-made for him. And although Simmons had a wide range of dolls, the exercise personality had a clear favorite and wasn't shy about it.
'The Barbra Streisand one was special and definitely his favorite,' Berman said, noting that Simmons told him that he paid $10,000 to have the 28-inch doll made. 'It was in the living room and he said it was given a "place of honor." He told me that he loved Barbra Streisand and even tried to contact her and thought she [might think] he was a stalker…he was obsessed with her.'
'The Barbra Streisand one was special and definitely his favorite,' Berman said
Simmons gave the photographer a tour of his dolls in the living room, before telling him that many of the dolls were custom-made for him
Simmons was a noted collector of over 250 art dolls, many of which were one-of-a-kind and worth tens of thousands of dollars
The exercise enthusiast's extensive doll collection was displayed on pedestals and shelves all over the living room
Following his death in 2024, more than 250 dolls from Simmons's collection went to auction, collectively selling for over $177,000.
Dolls weren't the only things to tickle Simmons's fancy. Berman also shot Simmons's extensive collection of Dalmatian tchotchkes and statuettes, which fully filled the shelves of an entire room (the room also included a Dalmatian print armchair).
Simmons even sported a Dalmatian print apron when they shot pictures in his kitchen. Simmons's obsession with the breed was inspired by his own pet Dalmatians, of which he had eight in his lifetime.
Most of the dogs were named after characters in Gone With the Wind, which was his favorite film.
At the beginning of the shoot, Berman was introduced to four of Simmons's Dalmatians with which Simmons was more than happy to be photographed.
'They were like his children,' Berman said of the dogs, noting that Simmons would often call them to say good night when he was on the road.
'Every room had some kind of Dalmatian statues.' Berman also noted that Simmons showed him the graveyard where he buried his dogs in his backyard.
The photographs along with Berman's recollections of his time with Simmons offer a tantalizing glimpse into a world that Simmons kept very much hidden from public view and into which he retreated for the last decade of his life.
The eccentric star who started his fitness career after losing over 100lbs following an obese adolescence, became famous after opening his own gym, writing books about exercise and weight loss, and launching at-home workout tapes.
According to Berman, Simmons was highly concerned about his privacy and insisted that there would be no photos of the outside of his home, to ensure that his address would not be revealed
Berman also shot Simmons's extensive collection of Dalmatian tchotchkes and statuettes
Simmons even sported a Dalmatian print apron when they shot pictures in his kitchen
In his later years, however, Simmons withdrew from public life, sparking widespread speculation about his whereabouts, so much so that he became the subject of a viral podcast, Missing Richard Simmons.
Berman didn't keep in touch with Simmons, who passed away in his home in July 2024, just one day after celebrating his 76th birthday.
But looking back at those pictures today it is the central and poignant contradictions of the man that stick with him. After all, here was a man whose fame rendered him an icon, yet who retreated from the world.
A man who, Berman said: 'Insisted that he wasn't driven by a need for material possessions.'
But who spent his later years alone, save for his 'two favorite things' - his dolls and his Dalmatians.