I then created walking tape cassettes. I began with Take a Walk. Then I did Take a Hike. Then Walk Around the World , Walk Across America and Take a Classic Walk.
These cassettes had a map enclosed. On the back of the map were the warm ups and cool downs for your legs. I sat in a studio and recorded them. They were a little hard to do because I had to read everything from my legal pads …all the directions and the places we visited.
Every year I would do a different infomercial. I began receiving letters and before and after photos from people who used my program. Sometimes we would fly them in and other times we would go and visit them.
One year I did a show from Slimmons. My brother had lost a few pounds on my program and he came into LA with my mom Shirley. We all sat on the floor and chatted. Lenny told me how much the program meant to him.
Then Shirley said something that I will never ever forget. She said “honey your mind controls your body.” She was a smart lady.
Ed was not only my director but he flew planes. For another one of my shows he leased a small plane. This plane had propellers. Ed sat in the front and I sat in the back. We both had helmets on. I was wearing a navy blue jumpsuit with American flag patches.
He started the engine and we began flying. I don’t know about you but I am not a very good flyer. This plane was small and old.
Once we got up in the air, Ed decided to turn the plane upside down. I began screaming. And of course Ed was laughing hysterically. I almost lost my breakfast and lunch… I didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day.
I couldn’t believe some of these success stories. You know that you look different when you lose 70 or 80 or more pounds. For another show we flew to San Francisco. The success stories kept pouring in.
Some knew I was going to interview them and others it was a total surprise. They chatted about moving those cards over in the Deal a Meal program, cooking my recipes, and dancing with me.
After losing weight, one lady decided to start an exercise program at her church. I thought she was going to faint as I walked up to her and gave her a kiss. I was so proud to have created my programs.
One day American Telecast asked me to come to Pennsylvania for a meeting. I thought we were going to discuss a new workout video or cookbook.
When I walked into the office I was summoned to see John M. He had a serious face on. “Richard…we don’t think you can make any more money for us.”
He then told me that he sold me to another company….sold me… like I was a piece of property…He did not shake my hand nor did anyone come out of the offices to say goodbye. I went to the airport…thinking “what did I do wrong?” I felt close to the whole family… now I felt abandoned.
I went to New York to meet my new partners. This company was called Goodtimes. It was owned by three smart brothers…The Carey brothers.
When I walked out of the elevator everyone greeted me including Andy G and Lynn H. We went to the massive board rooms and had our meetings. Andy asked “ What video would you like to do next?”… and I said “Disco Sweat.”
I was still using Barbara M to clear all my music. I never saw such a set …There was a bar filled with people who were all saying “How ya doin’”… the set was filled with colorful neon. The ceiling of the club went up and down and spun around.
There was a man acting like he was spinning records. Just a few weeks ago he emailed me and told me he had so much fun being on the set. He said he now lives in Las Vegas and is doing well.
The first song was Disco Inferno. I posed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Michael Sembello, Grammy winner, did all the music. He was quite a character. He created sounds like I never heard before. He would come to the set and watch us tape.
We did the song Carwash. On the floor was a long black tube with holes in it and on the ceiling there was another black tube with holes in it. While I was doing the car wash hands I walked forward and it was raining …I stuck my hand in the rain and you could see my hand was all wet.
We danced to I Will Survive. One of my favorite songs ever. We also did Last Dance…last chance for love. To be continued…
