Richard Simmons had a long and memorable history with David Letterman, dating back to the early 1990s. The fitness guru always suspected he was one of Letterman’s favorite guests, and for good reason; in less than a decade’s time, Simmons made a whopping 30 appearances on the Late Show alone. Audiences loved the bickering between the two of them and the pranks they would pull on one another, which always made for good ratings. However, Simmons and Letterman had a falling-out in November 2000, which kept Simmons away from the show for years.
According to an old post from the official CBS website, Simmons nearly fainted after Letterman sprayed him with a fire extinguisher one night. As a result, he had to be taken to the hospital. Simmons explained years later that he didn’t just come close to fainting; he’d had an asthma attack following the incident, which is why they had to call for an ambulance. Apparently, the extinguisher wasn’t being used for a prank, either; according to Simmons, he’d touched Letterman’s shoulder knowing that the late-night host didn’t like being touched, and was subsequently sprayed from head to toe for doing so.
Since footage from the night in question isn’t available online, we decided to reach out to Letterman archivist Don Giller to get some additional information. The missing piece of the puzzle here, as Giller points out, is that Letterman injured his neck in a car accident somewhere around the late ‘80s, and that part of his body has been sensitive ever since. Simmons grabbed Letterman’s neck during an embrace and refused to let up, so Letterman broke out the extinguisher to get him to stop, cursing him the whole way through (even letting out a “f–k you” while the cameras were rolling).
Simmons didn’t understand why Letterman was so upset at the time, and it’s not clear if he ever found out. Either way, after the incident, Simmons wouldn’t be seen on The Late Show for six years. He made just two more appearances after that—in 2007 and 2008, respectively—despite Letterman continuing to host the show until 2015. The biggest mystery that remains is whether it was Simmons or Letterman who was responsible for his absence from the show in the wake of the whole asthma thing. Interestingly, GIFs of Simmons on a previous Letterman show are out there, revealing him not only getting sprayed with a fire extinguisher…
…but letting loose on Letterman with one as well. It would’ve been pretty hypocritical of Simmons to hold a grudge against Letterman considering his actions, but what the truth of that matter is, we may never know.
The post The Incident That Kept Richard Simmons Away From David Letterman’s Show for Years appeared first on VICE.
