Podcast Probes Fitness Guru Richard Simmons' Bizarre Disappearance
Feb. 25 2017, Published 8:49 p.m. ET
The new podcast Missing Richard Simmons shows his friend, Daily Show producer Dan Taberski, looking for answers on why the fitness guru hasn't been seen in public for three years. One of those mysteries concerns Simmons' relationship with his housekeeper, who was accused of allegedly abusing him. Click through RadarOnline.com's gallery for more on how the lovable exercise maven, 68, has disappeared and has sparked worries about his whereabouts.
Taberski's podcast features interviews with those who knew Simmons before he fell off the fitness map. The star, 68, hasn't been publicly spotted since 2014. Last year, Simmons denied reports that he was a victim of elder abuse at the hands of his housekeeper, Teresa Reveles, telling Entertainment Tonight, "I am not kidnapped."
On Friday, photographers captured Reveles picking up a newspaper from the front of Simmons' California home. But as usual, Simmons was nowhere to be seen!
As RadarOnline.com reported, the National ENQUIRER found in 2015 that Simmons was reclusive, "frail, weak and spiritually broken," and "in desperate need of help," his ex-personal assistant Mauro Oliveira said. The year before, the frizzy-haired fitness guru had stopped returning phone calls and closed his famed Beverly Hills fitness studio.
In the first episode of the podcast, "Where's Richard?" Taberski shows how he first befriended Simmons by taking his exercise classes. In the second, the producer is sweating that he can't find the "Sweatin' to the Oldies" star when he visits Simmons' home.
Former personal assistant Oliveira told The ENQUIRER that the last time he saw Simmons in April 2014, a month after he stopped working for him, "I thought he was suicidal!"
After elder abuse was reported by an anonymous friend of Simmons last year, Los Angeles cops visited his home and reportedly were satisfied with his condition. Still, questions remain in the mind of Taberski and others. As RadarOnline.com has reported, other reports have surfaced that Simmons was allegedly undergoing a sex change transformation.
Housekeeper Reveles appears to still be taking care of Simmons at his property, as recent photos show. Rumors flew that she was allegedly holding him hostage, a claim shot down by police—and Simmons himself.
Taberski plans on releasing six podcasts exploring the odd disappearance.
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