New Orleans share memories of native son Richard Simmons

Zoom in: Before he was a fitness icon, Simmons grew up in the French Quarter and attended the St. Louis Cathedral School and, later, Cor Jesu (now Brother Martin High School) according to the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Bryan Batt, the "Mad Men" TV star and New Orleans socialite, called Simmons "a kind and [generous] soul" in a Facebook post.

• "I only met this fellow NOLA native a few times at various show biz events, but he came in our shop December 2005 after buying his brother and sister-in-law a new home after theirs was [destroyed] in Katrina and proceeded to buy them and random shoppers Christmas gifts," Batt wrote.

Cyndi McRae, an Axios New Orleans reader, told us she lived in Los Angeles in the late 1970s when a friend told her "about a great workout class with a screaming clown."

• It didn't take any more convincing for McRae to check out the class.
• "I walked in and spoke to the clown guy to register for his class. He said, 'You're from New Orleans aren't you?' I said, 'Yes! How did you know?' He said, 'A YAT always knows his own!'" McRae told us in an email. "He hugged me. It was Richard Simmons before fame!"
• And yes, McRae says, "The class was so much fun too!"

Singer and performer Deb Ursin replied to Batt's post saying she once met Simmons on a flight.

• "He took my address and actually mailed me a Christmas card. I still have it too," she wrote.

Former Times-Picayune photographer Eliot Kamenitz wrote that he once met Simmons during a Mother's Day event.

• "He asked me what my mom's phone number was. He called her later that night to wish her a happy mother's day," Kamenitz wrote. "She was thrilled. A good man has gone."

Go deeper: Read more of the tributes and memories on Batt's Facebook post.