 He led the sweat into the oldies exercise videos, created the deal-a-meal diet plan, wrote best-selling books, and hosted the Emmy-winning daytime talk show, The Richard Simmons Show. When I'm sitting there with a woman and she's very overweight and her family doesn't understand and she's not treated with any respect, that saddens me. I see my overweight persona in other people. And when someone is sad, I share in that sadness.