Falls and heart disease cited as causes of Richard Simmons' accidental death, family says

Fitness guru Richard Simmons died as a result of a recent fall and heart disease, a spokesman for his family said on Wednesday.

Family spokesman Tom Estey confirmed the cause and manner of death and referred NBC News to a statement initially obtained by People magazine announcing Simmons' cause of death.

The statement quoted the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office as saying that Simmons' brother Lenny was informed of the news on Wednesday.

Toxicology tests showed that Simmons' body only contained the drugs that had been prescribed to the fitness guru, Estey said in the statement.

A spokesman for the medical examiner's office said information about the cause and manner of death would be released once Simmons' autopsy report is complete, but no specific date or time was given.

Simmons was found unconscious in his home in the Hollywood Hills, a neighborhood overlooking Los Angeles, on July 13, one day after his 76th birthday, two law enforcement sources said at the time.

The guru rose to fame after struggling with his own weight and health, turning 268 pounds into 156 – and a reason to fight obesity throughout his life. He said that in the early 1970s in Los Angeles, he found it difficult to find a gym for people who weren't already fit.

Simmons opened his own gym, SLIMMONS, in 1974 and his own restaurant, Ruffage, and adjoining gym, Anatomy Asylum, the following year. They attracted celebrities, and that in turn attracted television and video productions and Simmons' own fame.

His conversion to fitness also included mass media products such as the Richard Simmons Show on television and Sweatin' to the Oldies on VHS.

On March 20, Simmons shared on social media that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, and later announced that the disease had been resolved after three treatments with a cancer specialist.