Following the death of Richard Simmons, Hollywood finds itself mourning another positive figure.
One tribute came from Pauly Shore who according to Deadline developed biopic of the late fitness legend before he died, which Simmons had objected to at the time. “I just got word like everyone else that the beautiful Richard Simmons has passed,” he began in an Instagram post on Friday. “I hope you’re at peace and twinkling up in the heavens.”
TMZ first reported Simmons’ death after his housekeeper called the Los Angeles Police Department to his home in Hollywood, according to Deadline. He is believed to have died there of natural causes.
After a campaign for Shore to play Simmons in a biopic, the actor starred in The Court Jester which premiered in Park City, Utah in January. Shore had expressed his desire to play Simmons before stating, “definitely can morph into this guy.” Now the feature is in development at The Wolper Organization, a subsidiary of Warner Bros.
Yet after initial enthusiasm after the January screening, Simmons disapproved and distanced himself from the project in a post saying “Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read. 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.”
In April, Jordan Allen-Dutton was chosen to write the untitled script, currently described as “a dramatic and heartfelt feature in the tone of Little Miss Sunshine.”
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