Richard Simmons refuses medical care after falling in his bath the day before the fitness guru died at the age of 76

Richard Simmons reportedly refused medical treatment after falling in his home's bathroom the day before he was found dead.

According to TMZThe fitness guru and TV star collapsed in the bathroom of his West Hollywood home Friday night after feeling dizzy.

But when his housemaid came to his aid, she told Simmons to go see a doctor.

He reportedly didn't want to go see the doctor because it was his birthday and told her he would think about going to see the doctor on Saturday.

But at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, the housemaid found Simmons dead on the floor next to his bed.

Police responded to the housemaid's call but he was pronounced dead at the scene with no visible or external signs of injury.

On the same day of his bathroom collapse, Simmons posted a message to his fans on Facebook to celebrate his birthday.

His message read: “Thank you… I have never received so many birthday messages in my life! I am sitting here typing emails. I hope you have a wonderful Friday. Love, Richard.”

Simmons also revealed his fun birthday plans on Friday in a very rare interview. “But the candle might be on a zucchini,” he told People magazine. “You know, I'm a vegetarian.”

Speaking about turning 76, he added: “I feel happy! I'm grateful to be here, to be alive for another day. I'm going to spend my birthday doing what I do every day, which is helping people.”

Simmons, who grew up in the French Quarter of New Orleans before settling in California, weighed 268 pounds when he graduated from high school, according to his website.

His own story of struggling to lose weight, where he tried everything from fad diets to laxatives before settling on exercise and better lifestyle choices, has inspired millions of people to do the same.

Simmons has become an expert in many forms of media, sharing his hard-earned weight loss tips as host of the Emmy Award-winning daytime show “The Richard Simmons Show” and bestselling author of the book and diet plan Deal-A-Meal.

He also opened exercise studios and starred in exercise videos, including the hugely successful “Sweatin' to the Oldies” line, which became a cultural phenomenon.

Simmons' daytime show was shown on 200 stations in America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and South America. His first book, “Never Say Diet,” was a bestseller.

He was known to offer advice to obese people, including Rosalie Bradford, who held the record for being the world's heaviest woman, and Michael Hebranco, who credited Simmons with helping him lose 700 pounds.

After winning legions of fans with his infectious enthusiasm and positivity, Simmons took a step back from the spotlight in 2014.

Simmons revealed he had been diagnosed with skin cancer in an emotional Facebook post in March after discovering a “weird looking bump” under his right eye.