Pauly Shore Aiming to Play Richard Simmons in Biopic
In what could be a double comeback for both stars, Pauly Shore has taken to social media in the hopes of portraying fitness guru Richard Simmons, host of the 1980s health-and fitness-shows Slim Cookin and The Richard Simmons Show, who has all but disappeared from the public eye in the last decade. (There is an uncanny resemblance!)
I’ve noticed the reactions to me playing #RichardSimmons in a biopic. I heard he’s living in Big Bear. We’ve been playing phone tag (yes, he has a phone). I’m trying to make it happen, you guys. In the meantime, hit up all the big producers. I’ll see you at @TheAcademy 2025! pic.twitter.com/pG3QaPr95s
— Pauly Shore (@PaulyShore) September 21, 2023
Simmons, a household name throughout the 1980s and 1990s, stopped appearing in public in 2014, worrying friends, some of whom speculated that Simmons was being kept hostage by his longtime housekeeper, as well as inspiring a podcast called Missing Richard Simmons. In 2017, Simmons posted a photo of himself on Facebook with the caption “I’m not ‘missing,’ just a little under the weather.”
Remind In August 2022, in response to a TMZ documentary called What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, Simmons issued a similar statement to the New York Post.
JURY DUTY, Pauly Shore, 1995, ©TriStar Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
Pauly Shore, most well known for playing the lead in a chain of movie flops during the 1990s, including Encino Man, Son in Law, In the Army Now and Bio-Dome, has also flown under the radar during recent years, other than appearing as himself in various films and shows.
A biopic could be great for both careers. However, TMZ has also reported that Simmons is aware of the effort and has already turned down Pauly Shore’s offer. Stay tuned?
