Richard Simmons’ family ‘distraught’ and ‘grateful’ for support after death

The family of Richard Simmons has shared a new statement following the late fitness guru’s death on Saturday, July 13. He passed away one day after his 76th birthday.

Richard’s longtime publicist, Tom Esty, issued a statement to People magazine on Tuesday, July 16, on behalf of the Simmons family: “The Simmons family is so grateful for the love you have shown our beloved Dickie. He is smiling down on you all.”

The statement added: “There will be no further comment from the family at this time other than to ask the media to respect Richard’s memory and give us the time to grieve as we so desperately need to do.”

Hours after news of his death broke, Richard’s brother, Lenny, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about his late brother’s life and legacy.

“I don’t want people to feel sad about my brother,” Lenny told People. “I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote and emailed thousands of people throughout his career offering to help.”

“So don’t be sad. Celebrate his life,” Lenny continued.

“He was so excited about all of his upcoming projects that he was working on,” Lenny told People magazine, adding, “We are in shock. Please respect the family during this difficult time.”

Two days before his death, Richard spoke exclusively to PEOPLE magazine in a rare interview — published Friday, July 12 — and revealed his plans to celebrate his 76th birthday on Friday, noting that he wanted to keep things simple.

“But the candle might be on the zucchini. You know, I’m a vegetarian,” he said before adding that he would try “maybe one Pepperidge Farm Milano cookie.”

“I feel happy! I’m grateful to be here, to be alive for another day. I’m going to spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is helping people,” the late star added elsewhere in the interview.

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Although Richard has maintained his relationship with fans, he has been completely out of the public eye since 2014. Years later, he and Lenny made it clear that he wanted to take time off to rest.

Estee also addressed the rumors in 2017, telling PEOPLE that Richard had simply decided to step out of the spotlight.

“Richard has made a decision. He wants to live a more private life. And if he decides to come back, he will come back,” Estee said.

In his last interview, Richard told PEOPLE magazine that he missed everyone and was aware that people missed him while he was out of the spotlight for the past decade.