Tuesday night in his Los Angeles home, Richard Lewis, one of the most adored and respected stand-up comedians in America who also portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, passed away from a heart attack. In age, he was 76.
Jeff Abraham, his publicist, confirmed his death. In April 2023, Lewis disclosed that he had been afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. “Abraham’s wife, Joyce Lapinsky, requests privacy at this time and thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support,” the statement read. It took some time to obtain complete information about the surviving.
Born in Brooklyn on June 29, 1947, and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, Richard Philip Lewis eventually made his way into the comedy scenes of New York and Los Angeles in the 1970s after graduating from Ohio State University.
Lewis would later characterize his upbringing as challenging. He immediately established himself as a favorite of late-night programs like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson there, joining soon-to-be stars like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer, and Elayne Boosler.
Before long, he established a distinctive theatrical persona almost as dark as the all-black attire he loved. It’s best to characterize his stand-up shows as a cross between therapy and humor. Mel Brooks, the legendary comedian, is quoted on Richard Lewis’ website as saying, “Richard Lewis may just be the Franz Kafka of modern-day comedy.”
Lewis was a unique comic who could match his longtime friend and Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Larry David’s sardonic yet incredibly relevant sense of humor. He was self-deprecating, razor-sharp, and brutally honest about his addictions and neuroses.
Lewis made his acting debut in the 1979 NBC special Diary of a Young Comic, a 90-minute film that ran during Saturday Night Live. Over the following 20 years, Lewis’s national profile increased significantly as talk show hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Howard Stern on radio embraced and celebrated his edgy observations.
His first Showtime special, aptly named I’m In Pain, debuted in 1985 and was followed by TV comedy specials. After appearing in comedy specials on HBO in 1988, 1990, and 1997, he rose to prominence.
He costarred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis on Anything but Love and Don Rickles on 1993’s Daddy Dearest for several seasons in the late 1980s and early 1990s, despite the fact that his humor was not a good fit for sitcoms at the time. He played alongside Kevin Nealon in the sitcom Hiller and Diller in 1998.
He acted as Prince John in the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights and in the 1995 film Drunks. That year he also starred in Leaving Las Vegas. Lewis was cast by his childhood friend Larry David on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2000, which marked the beginning of what would undoubtedly be his hallmark role—based, fittingly enough, on himself.
Ten years later, the two New Yorkers, who had first bonded at summer camp when they were twelve, rekindled their connection on the New York comedy scene. “We are heartbroken to learn that Richard Lewis has passed away,” HBO stated in a statement on Wednesday. He had unrivaled talent, wit, and comedic brilliance.
Richard will always be a treasured part of the HBO and Curb Your Enthusiasm families. We extend our deepest sympathies to his friends, family, and all the fans who relied on Richard to make them laugh.
Despite having mainly stopped performing after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he nonetheless made occasional appearances on Curb, most recently during the current (and last) season of the show.
Lewis wrote two memoirs, The Other Great Depression (2000) and Reflections From Hell: Richard Lewis’ Guide on How Not to Live (2015), co-authored with Carl Nicholas Titolo. In addition to spending many years performing in comedy clubs across the country, he called his seemingly never-ending tour the Tracks of My Fears Tour.
A Bundle of Nerves, a two-DVD box set, compiled his career’s highlights across a forty-year period, and Concerts from Hell, a DVD box set, included three of his early HBO and Showtime specials.
A lifelong battle with anxiety and a difficult road to sobriety following decades of alcoholism and drug abuse were both touched within Lewis’ unrelentingly honest and insightful comedy. Early in his career, he adopted the moniker “Prince of Pain,” which he accepted with humor and self-awareness.
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