Category: Fun Stuff

My Time with Richard Simmons

Richard Simmons is the most motivating person I ever met! He got me off the couch and started me on a lifelong, on and off again, love affair with exercise!

RIchard Simmons
RIchard Simmons, Natick, MA

I first encountered Richard Simmons when I traveled out to Los Angeles in the summers of 1982 and 1983. I always struggled with my weight and when I found out that I could attend the Richard Simmons Show tapings at KTLA in Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance! I don’t remember  that much about the episodes other than one taping had the then current Miss America, Debbie Maffett, as guest host. I remember how motivating Richard was both on and off camera.

Not long after I returned from California, I was cast as Simon Bliss in the Noel Coward play, Hay Fever.

 

Scott Fisher, Nancy Fox, Hay Fever

In the cast was an actress named Carol Van Lingen, who was close to my age and we became friends during the run of the play. Carol told me about auditions that were coming up for aerobic instructors for the Richard Simmon’s Anatomy Asylum in Natick, Massachusetts. She told me that she wanted to audition, but wanted some moral support and asked me to come along.

Now my idea of exercise was a large pizza and a Diet Coke, but remembering the fun that I had working out with Richard Simmons on his television show, and being a big fan, I decided to tag along to the audition. The audition required us to perform a routine and speak a little motivational speech. To both our surprise, Carol and I were accepted as new employees of the Richard Simmon’s Anatomy Asylum! We still had to go through a rigorous training program though first. When the first day of training finally arrived, Carol Van Lingen was nowhere in sight! Carol decided she didn’t want to become an aerobics instructor after all, while I decided that I really wanted to!

The training was rigorous, and I was very out of shape, but I really took to it. It was like performing and helping people at the same time!  One of the nice things about Richard Simmon’s Anatomy Asylums was that they hired some instructors that were overweight. These overweight instructors were hired to teach the overweight classes, or OWA classes as they were known.

Scott Fisher, Leading a class at Richard Simmon's Anatomy Asylum
Scott Fisher, Leading a class at Richard Simmon’s Anatomy Asylum

This was a great concept for those that didn’t feel comfortable in the gym, and they could lose weight along with their instructor… a great idea!  I really took to teaching aerobics, having struggled my whole life with my weight. It was great to be able to build a safe environment for myself and my students. I loved all my coworkers and we had a great time together. I even got to play Richard on one occasion at our club’s Halloween party.

Scott Fisher, Halloween Party at Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum, Natick, MA
Scott Fisher, Halloween Party at Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum, Natick, MA
Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum Saugus Opening
Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum Saugus Opening

Richard would come out to teach at our club once in awhile, or to open another club in Massachusetts, and we would all have a great time. Some of our club members and I appeared once with him on a local television program, The Good Day Show. Fun times!

Richard Simmons, The Good Day Show
Richard Simmons, The Good Day Show

My ultimate goal at this time however, was to become a professional  actor. I had been performing in local theatre in the evenings, and at the age of 21, decided to move to Los Angeles. I was accepted into the American Academy of Dramatic Art, a prestigious and rigorous actor training program, then located in Pasadena, California. Because of my association with Richard Simmons in Massachusetts, I was able to arrange to continue my job with the Asylum at the Glendale Richard Simmon’s Anatomy Asylum.  I would also teach in the Woodland Hills Anatomy Asylum, as well as several other locations. At one point, I even won the company’s, Positive Attitude Award, and Richard presented me with the award at a ceremonial dinner. It was a great place to work! At the same time I would occasionally attend Richard’s class at the Beverly Hills Anatomy Asylum. His classes was always well attended and he became friends with many of the participants.

As much as I like to be like light-hearted, I should also mention that this was the first time in my life I have ever experienced sexual harassment on the job. The manager at the Woodland Hills Anatomy Asylum, for whatever reason, took a real liking to me. He would follow me into the men’s restroom while I changed into my workout clothes. From outside the stall he would talk about how we were going to be together, and that if I didn’t sleep with him, he was going to get me fired. I just made light of the whole thing, but he kept going on and on. I have to admit it was really uncomfortable having one your managers keep making passes at you, especially when they were not wanted. At this time in my life, I was struggling with my sexuality and this experience made it all the more difficult. But I digress, let’s get back to Richard Simmons!

At one point during my time at the Anatomy Asylum in California,  I heard that Richard was casting for a new exercise video called, Get Started with Richard Simmons. While the auditions were open to the public, it was also mentioned that he would be casting some employees as well.  Since I loved performing and I loved teaching, I thought that this would be a great experience. I remember very little about the audition, except that there were maybe over a hundred people at the casting call. Eventually, I think it got down to about 10 of us and we were asked to perform the learned routine just for Richard. To my great excitement, I was cast along with three others to appear with Richard in the video. This was my first big break, or so I thought, and  I knew it was going to be a lot of fun!

Cast of Get Started with Richard Simmons
Cast of Get Started with Richard Simmons

See a Clip

Now attending the American Academy of Dramatic Art came with certain rules, and  one of these rules was that you couldn’t miss a lot of classes. The second rule was that you could not act professionally while attending the program. Though I didn’t consider appearing in an aerobics video as acting, I still thought I should let the school know that I was going to participate in the video. When I told the director of the school that I was going to do the video, he informed me that I would have to drop out of school. I argued that since I worked for Richard Simmons already, that the video could be considered part of my job, and was not the same thing as performing in a play or a movie, I shouldn’t have to drop out of class. The director was adamant… if I wanted to do the video, I would have to leave class.

I was 21, starstruck, wanted to do the video, and so thus ended my association with the American Academy of Dramatic Art!

Rehearsals began at Richard’s studio, Slimmons, in Beverly Hills. The video was conceived to introduce the concept of low impact aerobics. Richard was very excited to implement this new program, as he thought it would help a lot of people who maybe could not do a lot of the high impact exercises that were out there at the time. I don’t remember a lot about the rehearsals other than Richard was more serious and professional than usual, as he really wanted to get this video out there to help people. His mom, Shirley, came to rehearsal one day and I remember she was just this really sweet person. I could see that they had a really close relationship. I remember one day we were practicing the abdominal routine on the floor. We were lying on our backs and reaching between our legs in a sit up position. I’ll never forget Richard said to,  “pretend you are reaching for Treat Williams thighs!” As I said, I was not really out of the closet just yet, so I had to volunteer that thought did nothing for me. Little did I know!

Eventually the day of filming was upon us, and we were set to film at a soundstage in Culver City… I believe it was once part of the MGM lot. I was so excited, all of my favorite movies were made at MGM, and here I was heading to Culver City!

The filming was interesting because we did not perform our routine to music, but to what is known as a click track. Basically a metronome sound is played on the set and the music would be added later. Early on during the filming it became obvious that the director was getting frustrated because everyone was not on the same beat. The director took us aside and told us to count out loud along with Richard to keep everyone on the correct beat. Richard did not really seem that happy that we were doing this, but that is what the director wanted so we complied. I remember from the shoot that the lunch was catered by Sikhs and the food delicious! When we finally filmed our last shot, Richard broke down and started crying. He really hoped that this video would help people. He really cared that much! 

In contrast, I remember once during rehearsal I was driving home from the exercise studio and Richard pulled up beside me at the traffic light in his convertible Mercedes with his novelty license plate, YRUFAT. I looked over at him and said, “Hi.” He replied, “ I don’t  talk to anyone outside the studio.” I felt 2 inches tall.

I had heard that there was going to be a wrap party at Richard’s home to celebrate the completion of the video. I drove to his home in the Hollywood Hills and waited in my car for a bit. I did not see any other cars outside. I only saw one visitor come to the home with a bouquet of flowers and no one else arrived. I was afraid I had the date wrong, so I went home.

I only worked for the Anatomy Asylum a few more months after the video, before taking another job at Disneyland. It wasn’t till several years later in the late 80’s when I was shopping at at a local Los Angeles department store that I ran into him again, and we exchanged greetings.

In 2000, I had gained a lot of weight and was feeling sorry for myself. I wrote Richard and said he probably didn’t remember me, but that I was grateful for all the motivation he had given me and so many others. To my surprise he wrote me back and said that he wanted me “back on track” and was going to send me his “Move, Groove, and Lose” kit. Although I never actually received the kit, but I was so grateful that he took the time to actually write me back and was so kind and encouraging.

In more recent times, it has been reported that Richard hasn’t been seen in public for several years, and has cut off himself from friends and fans.  Many theories for this disappearance are presented in the excellent podcast, Missing Richard Simmons. While I know that there has always been a public Richard, and a more serious private one, his total “radio silence’ has made this world a rather foggy and dull place without his bright beacon of light!

Richard Simmons is the most motivating person I ever met! He got me off the couch and started me on a lifelong, on and off again, love affair with exercise. There has never been an aerobic instructor/guru who could make exercise actually fun, the way Richard does! He has helped so many people, and I am honored to have worked for, and alongside… this wonderful man.

Kellogg’s Danish Go-Rounds

danish_go-rounds.jpg

Recently, Mike and my sister-in-law, Mary Beth, were sitting around the table remembering a favorite breakfast toaster pastry. We remembered what they looked like, but could not for the life of us remember what they were called. Well, thanks to the internet, we were able to identify them as Kellogg’s Danish Go-Rounds! I really loved these! They must have had the same ingredients as Pop-Tarts, but the shape was so much fun to eat! I remember eating my way around this “braided rug” to the center! My favorite flavor was frosted strawberry!

Here is the commercial!

100 Things I’ve Learned from Watching Televison and Movies

1. The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No one will ever think of looking for you in there, and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.
2. You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home,
3. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it is not necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do.
4. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds. That will finish in a sex scene.
5. If staying in a haunted house, women must investigate any strange noises in their most diaphaous underwear, which is just what they happened to be carrying with them at the time the car broke down.
6. If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.
7. If someone says, “I’ll be right back”, they won’t.
8. Computer monitors never display a cursor on screen but always say: “Enter Password Now”.
9. It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations. And none of your friends have to knock when they come for a visit. In addition, every front door can be opened from the outside without having to use a key.
10. Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.
11. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.
12. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
13. If you decide to start dancing in the street everyone around you will automatically be able to mirror all the steps you come up with and hear the music in your head.
14. Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
15. When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.
16. Any bullet from a handgun has enough force to throw a full-grown man ten feet back.
17. Characters will always find a parking space right in front of the building they’re going to even in a large metropolitan city where parking is basically impossible.
18. Characters at a bar or at a restaurant table will always get the attention of a server at the exact moment they need to order.
19. When a gift/present is given, the top is wrapped separately from the rest of the box and it lifts straight off so that there is never any ripping or fumbling with wrapping paper.
20. A chase scene on foot in a city always has a shot of one of the characters running into the street, nearly being hit by a car screeching to a halt at which point the driver flails his arm out the window and yells an expletive.
21. Anytime a character in an awful rush confronts another character curious about his predicament, the first one says, “There’s no time to explain,” and then explains anyway.
22. No matter how slow zombies walk they will always catch up.
23. The bad guy will always throw his gun at you to indicate he has run out of bullets.
24. A candle or table lamp can light a whole room and at night time, it’s blue.
25. If the main guy is in love with the main girl, he will always get her in the end, even if she’s married. If she is married, her husband will always say “oh well, if it makes you happy”… and he’ll never go to beat the crap out of the other guy.
26. If you are in a film, it is easy for you to master the skill of controling any vehicle you need, weather it be landing a plane, for example.
27. Everybody when needing a computer can type supper fast and never need to hit the space bar!
28. Computers never freeze or crash, unlike in the real world.
29. The computers have super duper graphics programes which can zoom into blurs in fotos to make them super clear!
30. The best way to get laid is to put on some slow jazz music.
31. Everytime the “hero” is sneeking into the bad guy’s room, checking secret files on the computer:
1a. The password is already typed in.
1b. The password is very simple.
2. There appears a very slow bar saying “copying”, “deleting” or “printing” and it is finished just before the bad guy, the security guard or the mexican cleaner comes in.
3. In addition to your non-booting computer, they are also turned off in a flash.
4. All the characters, even the blonde bimbo’s put in to lure us to the cinema, became all-knowing super-mega-nerds once behind a computer. They always know what to do and how to avoid things.
32. Good guys never panic, they stay cool at point black range, and bluff their way out with the “you could surely use me in your plan” crap.
33. Heavy guns, for example on helicopters, cause cosmetic damage to the hero’s transport, but one bullet makes the chopper blow up.
34. Text appearing on a computer monitor appears letter by letter and making a sound as if it was produced by a typewriter.
35. You can find whatever you want on the net in a matter of seconds.
36. If in a battle scene a bad guy actually manages to shoot a good guy, the good guy’s friend has the time to listen to his friend’s dying speech. Once dead, the friend stands up and shoots the correct bad guy (amongst a whole host of bad guys). The bad guy has apparently been sitting around just waiting to be shot!!
37. No Australian movie is complete without one of this:
1. A Kangaroo.
2. A Boomerang.
3. Ayers Rock.
4. A Koala.
5. All of the above.
38. When someone uses a TV remote it makes a clicking sound that is impossible to replicate by existing remotes.
39. When gunfire erupts in public places and cops respond instantly to it, they’re usally killed by the first shots.
40. When gunfire erupts in public, where there are no cops, they take forever to arrive, but they can still chase the gunmen.
41. Detectives can watch a drug deal (carried out furtively in a shop doorway) go down from a distance of five yards away by the simple expedient of sitting in a car with a newspaper raised to eye level.
42. Cats always make a noise. If someone is creeping into a house and is momentarily scared by a cat, it always has to meow before running off.
43. A woman being chased by a murderer will always fall over, either because she’s running in stilettos or is ridiculously clumsy.
44. Serial killers never just die… they will remain still for ages so that the hero is fooled and walks right past them… at which point the killer grabs their ankle and then keeps fighting.
45. It is possible to drive safely for long periods with your head turned completely away from the road ahead, either in conversation or looking at a map.
46. People brush their teeth before eating breakfast but not afterwards, at which point they run out the door with a piece of toast in their mouth.
47. Aussie accents in American films always sound like a mix of Cockney, South African and New Zealander. And they say things like “Streuth!” and “Blimey!”
48. The bad guy’s sexy girl will try to seduce the good guy, then when that fails will beat him up using martial arts. That while wearing skintight leather, lycra and stilettos.
49. Women can never find their car keys while being pursued by a killer. Once they do find them, it takes them ages to fumble the keys into the ignition, giving the killer enough time to reach the car and pound on the window.
50. Somehow cars take several turns of the key to start but only when someone is chasing you.
51. Every bad guy knows how to tie really complicated knots… which somehow the good guy manages to untie.
52. A person investigating strange noises in their house always finds that the lights don’t work, then stumble around in the dark rather than getting a torch. At least one of the noises they hear will turn out to be made by a cat.
53. When a cat eats a fish, it leaves the skeleton perfectly reserved and intact.
54. Dogs always bark at ghosts.
55. Vicious guard dogs can be easily distracted with a piece of steak.
56. Mice can somehow fashion a perfectly semi-circular entrance to their dwelling.
57. A small goat is capable of propelling a fully grown man through the air by butting him in the ass with it’s horns.
58. Many animals, when they consume alcohol, will take on human drunken characteristics, usually to the sound of a trombone being played.
59. Anytime a person is expecting a bad guy to jump out at them, often they’ll sigh in relief when it’s just the cat, or the wind, or a tree branch against the window. But as soon as they let their guard down and laugh at their “silliness”, they’re going to be attacked by the bad guy that really was there after all.
60. When someone puts a baby down to bed, that baby coos and smiles, and then just goes right off to sleep. It’s amazing.
61. If someone jumps off a bridge into a river, lake, etcetera, the water will always be deep enough to keep them from getting hurt. But when a bad guy falls from a river, he/she’s good as gone.
62. Police officers never wait for back-up.
63. The only time people do say hello on the telephone is when it turns to be the bad guy on the other end of line calling to torment them.
64. Bad things usually happen to women who are alone in the house on stormy nights.
65. If you are driving somewhere on any other route other than a city roadway, you will probably have that road all to yourself and will not pass or be passed by another vehicle.
66. In the movies everyone seems to have some odd “L shaped” sheets on their beds able to cover a woman up to her neck and her partner up to his waste.
67. Being around a bomb causes time to slow down.
68. Bad guys die instantly, good guys die slowly.
69. When the good guy is being attacked by a gang, they will run at him one at a time while the rest stay (in the case of ninjas, dance) around in a menacing manner, allowing him to kick all of their asses by the time the scene is over.
70. Most of police investigations will require at least one visit to a strip club.
71. You can jump from a tall building and land on mattresses, a pile of boxes, or a dumpster full of garbage and, though you might groan and be a little slow getting up, you will not sustain any serious injury.
72. It’s very easy to fool the security guards at highly top secret government institutions.
73. It’s very easy for a computer hacker to break a security code and find just the information he’s looking for in less than a minute.
74. If you’re a criminal mastermind, you cannot just shoot the hero in the back, you have to tie him up and wait for some diabolical machine to finish the hero off and you can’t wait around to make sure it works, which allows the hero a chance to escape, which he always does because apparently no bad guy ever got his knot tying badge in the boy scouts.
75. When an ugly girl takes off her glasses, gets a haircut, and puts on nice clothes she is suddenly very hot.
76. No matter who you are calling, no matter what time you are making the call, the person you’re calling will always answer the phone, usually after only one or two rings. Of course, this assumes you aren’t running from a killer while trying to make a call on a cell phone, in which case there is a 100% chance that either the battery will be dead or you won’t be able to get a signal.
77. Whenever you put on a seatbelt, you will get into an accident.
78. The good guy always has the cooler cell phone.
79. If you chase someone through a park you will never step in dog poop or chewing gum, but you will always step on someone’s picnic.
78. No matter how crowded the bar is, there are always extra stools available right in front of a bartender who is just standing there waiting for someone to order.
80. People who oversleep and get woken up by phone calls go straight to work without making the bed, but when they get home at night, their bed is made.
81. People in movies rarely have to shave, and whenever a guy does shave, he will be interrupted while half finished, and will wipe the remaining shaving cream off with a towel. Of course, even the part he didn’t get to shave will be perfectly smooth.
82. When a good guy enters a house, he/she will avoid every shot of machine gun fire while killing a lot of bad guys. He/she doesn’t need to reload his pistol until he runs out of ammo, which coincidentially happens when the main bad guy appears, at which point he fights him/her hand to hand.
83. In battle, a normal peon soldier is shot with one bullet and instantly drops dead to the ground, while the protagonist in said battle can be shot in various places by multiple shooters, and survive with a few bandages and a cast.
84. It doesn’t matter who you call, if they choose not to answer their phone you will get their voicemail in less than 1.5 rings.
85. A devious villain will immediately shoot a non-important character whenever needed without hesitation. However when he finally has the chance to kill the hero seeking to craft his doom, he will undoubtedly hold a firearm trained on said protagonist for at least 90 seconds while performing a well-written soliliquoy. This delay is all the hero needs to escape.
86. When a woman is being pursued by a scary serial killer that she knows is in her house, she will always run upstairs instead of out of the house.
87. You can break into any house or door with a credit card.
88. The bad guy will always tell the good guy every detail about his masterplan instead of just shooting him.
89. Whenever a guy and a girl hop into a bed together in three seconds the girl will start moaning and will be close to climaxing. Plus the guy will always put a minimal effort, after all she will still be screaming and moaning away.
90. When someone has stopped breathing and has no pulse, simply breathing into her mouth twice and looking extremely distressed while screaming “DON’T YOU DIE ON ME!” will bring her back to life immediately.
91. In a TV episode where someone will probaly die, there’s always an extra character that no one has ever seen before to kill him.
92. Aliens will always have more advanced techonology than us.
93. When you turn on the tv, the news will always be on.
94. People never obey warnings.
95. There’s always a corrupt police officer.
96. Movie theatres and drive-ins only show classic horror movies.
98. If you meet a member of the opposite sex, and you both hate each other… don’t worry… you’ll eventually fall in love with each other.
99. Major disasters always happen in New York.
100. The President is always very considerate and well-spoken. Not to mention he always is able to fly a jet fighter when needed.

Kudos: tv.com, elpaquilloloco

Favorite Cookies

I have great memories of cookies I ate as a child. One of my all time favorites was called Gauchos by Burry Foods. It was an oGauchosatmeal cookie with a peanut butter filling. I have found that the Girl Scouts are putting out a cookie that is almost identical in look and taste.

Burry Foods must have had me in mind when they were baking, because I have fond memories of two of their other products, Scooter Pies and Fudge Town cookies. Scooter Pies were sort of two graham crackers sandwiched together with marshmallow and covered in very cheap chocolate.  Fudge Towns were chocolate cookies with a chocolate middle. I used to love pushing the chocolate out with my pinkie from the cookie’s center hole.

 Scooter PiesFudge Town

 

  

 

 

 

 

And so my weight gain began!

                       Now to find some Girls Scouts!