Richard Simmons left a big mark on his General Hospital costars, and Lynn Herring still has one of his gifts in her closet.
Herring, who plays Lucy Coe on the long-running soap, spoke about Simmons, who died in July 2024 at age 76, in an article published by Michael Fairman TV on May 20. Beginning in 1979, Simmons appeared in more than 100 episodes of General Hospital as a fictionalized version of himself. Herring first appeared on the show from 1986 to 2004, and when she returned in 2012, she took over as perennial host of the Nurses’ Ball, the annual event that started to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS.
In 2013, Simmons returned to play himself in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary. He choreographed dancers for that year’s Nurses’ Ball — and clashed with Lucy.
“Lucy generates an energy that I think sometimes can combust too much. Richard was very manic and hyper,” Herring said. “He would be Lucy’s energy on steroids times 10. He comes to work though with the same joy of wanting to entertain. Richard wanted people to feel his love and acceptance and warmth and that’s the first thing you see.”
“I just admired Richard so much, because whatever he was going through, he would put that aside and wanted to be a true performer and really engage with all of us,” she said. Herring also remembered that Simmons left her with a gift, too.
“We spent several days together, obviously, and then the last day he had this beautiful jeweled dress that he had gotten at an auction, or an art house, and he gave it to me,” she remembered. “I told him, ‘Richard, I don’t need a gift, but I will keep that and treasure it,’ because it just represents everything he gave everybody.”
She continued, “It was so fun in our scenes, because he would try to get so mad at Lucy, and we would be doing our nemesis stuff and then we would crack up. We did have to do several takes occasionally.”
Back in July, Herring remembered her GH costar in a conversation with PEOPLE. “Richard Simmons meant a lot to so many folks including me,” she explained. “When Richard walked on our General Hospital stage it would sizzle with his life force, his wicked sense of humor, his joy of entertaining and his love for us all.”
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Richards’ original appearances on GH helped him crossover from quirky Los Angeles fitness instructor to household name. Only after those appearances did he record his first fitness video, and he became a frequent presence on TV beginning in the 1980s. His General Hospital gig in 2013 was one of his last before he retired.
