Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Simmons was the son of a builder and former football coach of Davidson College.

He competed for the United States in the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, England in the decathlon where he won the bronze medal.

He repeated this feat four years later in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, where he again won the bronze medal.

[3]In addition to competing in sports Simmons was contracted to Universal Pictures alongside Rock Hudson and John Gavin.

as Allan Quatermain in Watusi[4] and was signed to play Mr. Roberts in a Joshua Logan television series of the same name that was unmade.