TMZ Investigates- What Really Happened To Richard Simmons?

He was scheduled to go on Larry King with Suzanne Somers but he backed out because he thought she would make fun of him. She has no idea why.

His costume designer said he had been talking about retirement for a few years before his disappearance.

January, 2014: A TMZ photographer talked to him while he was waiting for the valet in front of Mastro's. He was as subdued as one can be while wearing a bright yellow jacket. "Count your blessings and enjoy every day that you have." It would be his last public appearance.

February, 2014: Richard didn't show up for the class he taught at Slimmons. He hadn't missed a week since 1974. A sign posted on the door said he was undergoing PT for a knee problem and that he wouldn't be teaching for the remainder of March unless his condition improved.

Months passed with no word. When it came time to shut down the studio, Richard's manager arrived and read a letter from Richard. In part: "I'm making a new beginning for myself, quietly and in my very own special way."

Rumors started spreading about his housekeeper of thirty years and one of Richard's friends filed an elder abuse claim. LAPD went to his house and he was lucid and appeared fine but was limping. He had a beard. On his face. Richard called the Today Show to dispel the rumors.

The Enquirer said he was living as a women named Fiona. Richard sued and lost. Another theory was that it was the death of the last of his eight Dalmatians that sent him into a tailspin. His costume designer said he may have been broken up more by the first one to die, and that dogs had nothing to do with his retirement.

Suzanne Somers: "Maybe he just likes not being in the public eye. Maybe he likes not having to put baby oil all over his body every day. Maybe he likes not having to be this era's Jerry Lewis. It takes a lot of energy."

Harvey Levin: The truth is right under our nose and has to do with one of the oldest principles in show biz—always leave 'em laughing. He wanted to be remembered as a healthy, vibrant man; not an elderly man with medical problems. He wanted to retreat before he was recast as an old man. His knee problems were a huge factor in his decision. He had a right knee replacement a few years prior, and still needed the left one.

Costume designer: The knee thing played into him saying "enough's enough" because if he couldn't do his best, and he didn't want to get his other knee done, and he didn't feel like he could go full-tilt like he always did; I think it was just part of a few different things that made him realize it was time to retire.

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