Celebrity Death Comes in Threes: Richard Simmons, Shannen Doherty, and Dr. Ruth
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The Celebrity Beat!
Richard Simmons passed away on Saturday, which was a day after his 76th birthday. His rep says he celebrated it the day before. There’s no word on the cause of death.
Richard’s brother Lenny said, quote, “I don’t want people to be sad about my brother. I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote, and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help. So don’t be sad. Celebrate his life.”
Simmons became a talk show staple, thanks to his message of fitness, healthy eating, and positivity. He also had his own talk show, “The Richard Simmons Show”, from 1980 to 1984. And of course, there were his workout videos, most notably 1988’s “Sweatin’ to the Oldies”.
Simmons was an obese child, but he turned his life around at 16, when someone left a note on his car that said, “Dear Richard, you’re very funny, but fat people die young. Please don’t die.”
Simmons had been out of the public eye for years, but in recent months he upped his social media presence, including a message in March saying, quote, “I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am…dying.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Pauly Shore goes through with the biopic he’s been planning and which Richard did NOT want him to make.
In an Instagram tribute, Pauly said, quote, “I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens. They broke the dolphin shorts when they made you. Rest in peace, my friend. Rest in peace.”
SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter
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Shannen Doherty lost her battle with cancer on Saturday. She was only 53 years old.
Shannen was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but went into remission two years later. But during a court battle with her insurance company in 2020, she revealed that she was “dying” of stage 4 breast cancer.
Just over a year ago, she revealed that it had spread to her brain. But a few weeks ago, she said she was “hopeful” about her upcoming chemo treatment.
Shannen started acting as a child, landing her big break on “Little House on the Prairie” from 1982 to ’83. That led to a gig on the family drama “Our House” from ’86 to ’88, and the dark comedy “Heathers” in 1989.
Shannen became a household name the following year, thanks to “Beverly Hills 90210”. But she earned a reputation for being difficult, and left the show after its fourth season.
Her other credits include the movie “Mallrats”, and the TV series “Charmed”…which she left after the third season, reportedly due to tension with co-star Alyssa Milano.
And…
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex expert who made a career out of looking and sounding like your kindly European grandma while talking about sex is no longer with us.
Dr. Ruth died at her home in New York City on Friday… She was 96 years old.
Her rep said, quote, “She was restful when she passed away. Her son and daughter were with her and holding her hand at that moment… It was as peacefully as she could possibly go.”
Dr. Ruth became a media icon in the ’80s, thanks to her frank and open discourse about sex. But her life before that was even more interesting.
She was born in Germany, but in 1939, when she was 10, her family sent her to Switzerland to escape the Nazis. At 16 she moved to Palestine, where she was trained as a SNIPER for the Israeli military.
In 1948, she was injured in the War of Independence. Then she moved to Paris to study psychology.
SOURCE: USA Today
So THEY SAY Celebrity Death come in threes? But if we count Shelley Duvall, that’s FOUR well-known people who died within three days of each other: Shelley was on Thursday, Dr. Ruth on Friday, and Shannen Doherty and Richard Simmons on Saturday. Like, what’s the cutoff? How many days have to go by before it resets?
Also, how famous does a person have to be in order to count? Because former Baltimore Ravens star Jacoby Jones died yesterday. He was a Super Bowl champion. We also lost James B. Sikking from “Hill Street Blues” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” on Saturday. So I guess celebrity death came in SIXES this time around… Our thoughts and condolences go to out to all of their families, friends, and fans.
