“I hope he felt the love so many were sending him these last years,” wrote Fonda, recalling their last meeting.
Jane Fonda is remembering Richard Simmons after the 80s icon passed away on Saturday.
The Grace and Frankie star took to Instagram to memorialize Simmons — who, like Fonda, was a staple of the ’80s workout craze — by posting a picture of the two smiling together.
“Simmons always wanted people to feel good and be happy. He would go out of his way to make people happy.” Fonda began. “I often wondered if maybe nobody had made him happy when he was a little boy.”
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Richard Simmons’ Brother Tells Fans Not ‘To Be Sad’ After Fitness Guru’s Passing: ‘Celebrate His Life!’
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The two were known for their aerobics exercise videos, including Simmons’ Sweatin’ to the Oldies. Simmons, who passed away at 76, also hosted the four Daytime Emmy award-winning Richard Simmons Show, which covered health and fitness from 1980 to 1984.
The 86-year-old actress recounted a few sweet moments they shared, describing as him being “generous” including when he “popped out of a huge cake” at one of her Jane Fonda Workout events.
Fonda continued, “He found out I was in a store where he was so he quickly bought some small trinket and ran across the store, shouting at the top of his lungs in that unmistakable voice, to let me know he was coming. That was generous.”
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She also remembered the last time she saw him, though didn’t reveal when that was; Simmons lived most of his later years out of the spotlight. Fonda said she met him for lunch at the Polo Lounge and, after that, she “never saw or heard from him again.” She added, “like many thousands of others, I’ve mourned his absence from my life.”
Per TMZ, despite him stepping away from the limelight, he was still committed to helping people. He said that he would “get up every morning and email people” and revealed that he responded to 200 emails in a day.
Fonda concluded her caption saying “I hope he felt the love so many were sending him these last years. I hope it made him happy. I read he died peacefully in his sleep in his very white home. Rest in Peace, Dear Richard.”
See more tributes to the late star here.
