Richard Simmons’s staff have slammed Pauly Shore for claiming the late fitness guru didn’t write his own social media posts – days after his shock death aged 76.
Simmons was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, July 13 after suffering a fall in his bathroom the night prior. The manner of death is still pending an investigation.
Simmons, who stepped away from the spotlight back in 2014, only occasionally took to social media to share inspirational posts with his followers but Shore, 56, who wants to make a biopic on the star – cast doubt on the authenticity of the posts.
Messages shared on X by Richard’s staff read: ‘Pauly Shore has recently made comments to Entertainment Tonight concerning his attempts to proceed with an unauthorized movie about Richard. You’ve seen here on Richard’s account what he had to say about the biopic.
‘We’d also like to share the following statement from Richard’s brother, Lenny. “Dicky absolutely wrote his own posts. He worked on them a week in advance, going over and over them to get the right message.
Richard Simmons ‘s staff have slammed Pauly Shore for claiming the late fitness guru didn’t write his own social media posts – days after his shock death aged 76 – pictured 1992
Simmons, who stepped away from the spotlight back in 2014, only occasionally took to social media to share inspirational posts with his followers but Shore, 56, who wants to make a biopic on the star – cast doubt on the authenticity of the posts; seen in January in Park City, Utah
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“He would often read them to Cathy and I beforehand. What he has NOT done was to text, email or call Pauly with anything; not even to wish him “Good Luck” as Pauly has stated many times.”‘
On Monday Shore told TMZ he was still determined to get his biopic made – despite Simmons’ objections.
He said: ‘There’s a pitch, we’re trying to get the money’ and added he wanted ‘5-10million dollars’ to finance the film.’
He said of Simmons: ‘He wanted me to do it, I don’t even know if that was him tweeting the whole time to be honest… I don’t know who that was.’
Pauly portrayed Richard in a short film titled, The Court Jester, which was written and directed by Jake Lewis. The 10-minute project premiered in Park City, Utah earlier this year in January – and received a standing ovation from the audience.
Jesse Heiman also starred in the short film, with the premise taking place backstage during a high-profile talk show strongly resembling The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
‘I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world. We all need this biopic now more than ever,’ Shore said at the time in a statement, per Variety.
‘Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self!’
Messages shared on X by Richard’s staff read: ‘Pauly Shore has recently made comments to Entertainment Tonight concerning his attempts to proceed with an unauthorized movie about Richard. You’ve seen here on Richard’s account what he had to say about the biopic’ – pictured 2013
He added, ‘Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time.’
In January, following the short film’s critical acclaim, Shore made yet another public plea to change the mind of the reclusive aerobics guru.
‘Richard, what’s up buddy? It’s me again, sorry. Listen, watch the short,’ Pauly told TMZ. ‘Watch it with your open heart.’
‘Don’t watch it coming into it like, “I don’t want to do this!” Watch it with your open heart and just be vulnerable. What do you think of it? And if you feel that it’s still messed up and that doesn’t track with your integrity, then let us know.’
Pauly added, ‘But in the meantime we’re going to try to move forward with this piece. We’re going to look for writers. Let us know what you think of the short.’
Shore went on to fantasize about he and the former fitness expert having matching director’s chairs with ‘Richard’ emblazoned on the back.
‘Yeah I would love to have Richard Simmons be a part of the feature film, physically to be there with me on the set,’ the former MTV VJ gushed.
‘And we can kind of hold hands and have our bagel and lox every morning. He’ll be like, “No! I didn’t say it that way. I said it this way, you stupid f***!” And I change it. You know what I mean? We want him there.
‘Ultimately, we would love, love him there. But if he doesn’t want to do it then I still have to [share] his message. It’s my mission to get his message out there to save lives.’
Pauly portrayed Richard in a short film titled, The Court Jester and openly pleaded with Richard to endorse a biopic
‘I have never given my permission for this movie. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support,’ Simmons wrote
Richard took to Facebook and said, ‘You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore.’
‘I have never given my permission for this movie. I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.’
One day earlier, Simmons added, ‘I wanted you all to know that I am fine and I am happy. I have had a lot of people ask me for interviews.’
‘But right now I don’t want to do them. It is a gray and rainy day here in Los Angeles, but my heart is filled with your kindness towards me.’
This comes after Simmons’ long-time housekeeper Teresa Reveles detailed the moment she found his body.
She discovered him in his bedroom and suspects he died from a heart attack as his hands were balled up into fists.
‘When I saw him, he looked peaceful,’ she said. ‘That’s why I know it was a heart attack. I had a heart attack a few years ago, and my hands did the same.’
On the morning of his birthday, Reveles remembers Simmons telling her after he suffered a fall: ‘Teresa, I can’t go down, my legs hurt a lot.’
She recalls replying: ‘Let’s go to the hospital. Maybe you broke your leg.’
‘No, Teresa. Not on my birthday. Why we don’t wait and we do it in the morning,’ she recalls him replying.
‘But in the morning it was too late,’ Reveles said.
In her People profile, she corrects misconceptions that she was his housekeeper and described herself as Simmons’ ‘companion.’
‘His housekeeper is someone else, she’s worked here for 40 years,’ she explained. ‘August 9th is our 36th anniversary,’ she added.
Simmons passed on July 13 – just one day after his 76th birthday.
Simmons’ preliminary cause of death has since been revealed by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
It was announced via a statement that Simmons had died of ‘apparent natural causes.’
‘On July 13, 2024, at 9:55 AM, the LAFD responded to a Suspected Death Incident at the 1300 block of N Belfast Drive,’ LAFD Captain Erik Scott told Entertainment Tonight.
‘Upon arrival, one rescue ambulance discovered a 76-year-old male who was pronounced deceased on-scene by firefighter/paramedics due to apparent natural causes. As a result, no hospital transport was necessary,’ he concluded.
Although a preliminary cause of death is now available, it’s not the final word on how Simmons died, as the matter is currently being probed by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police officials confirmed to People that the fitness expert’s death at his home in Los Angeles was under further examination, and that the case had been deferred by the Medical Examiner’s Office, which calls for a further probe and tests to be conducted, according to the outlet.
The examination can span as long as three months until an official ruling is issued, the outlet reported.
There was reportedly no foul play involved in his death. ‘The LAPD are not pursuing the investigation as if foul play was involved at this point,’ a law enforcement source told PEOPLE earlier this month.
Last week, he was laid to rest and his grave was heaped with pink roses in exclusive pictures obtained by DailyMail.com.
His staff took to X on July 20 to share Simmons’ last photo – which showed the star with gray hair and wearing an orange, Nasa uniform.
‘From Richard’s staff: Hello everyone, Richard worked very hard on his posts for you,’ they began.
‘He had many ideas and would work ahead… going back to each one making changes until he had it just like he wanted before posting.’
After winning a legion of fans with his infectious enthusiasm and positivity, Simmons stepped away from the limelight in 2014; seen in Los Angeles in 2013
His staff continued, ‘As you know, on the weekends, he would just share a photo with a caption. He always chose his photos and wrote his captions for the upcoming weekend by Friday.’
‘So we have the post Richard planned to share with you last Sunday. We thought you’d want to see it.’
Simmons was interred at the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary, where stars including Kirk Douglas and Marilyn Monroe are buried.