Richard Lewis, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, died Tuesday night of a heart attack.
The news came from Lewis’s publicist, Jeff Abraham, as he announced that Lewis died at his home in Los Angeles Tuesday night of a heart attack. The comedian was 76.
Comedian Lewis, who has been a part of the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm for a long time, revealed about being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last year in April. He was co-starring in the last season of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO when he died.
Richard Lewis is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky, who expressed gratitude for all the love, friendship, and support from everyone and asked for privacy at the time, as was revealed by the publicist.
Larry David, a lifelong friend of Lewis, spoke about his beloved friend as he mourned his death this Wednesday.
David shared their bittersweet moment of life, calling his comedian friend Lewis a rare combination of being both funniest and sweetest person. Concluding it with,
But today he made me sob, and for that, I’ll never forgive him.
Comedian and actor Lewis started his stand-up career in the early 1970s when he tried his hands at stand-ups in New York City. He used to perform alongside Andy Kaufman, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Elayne Boosler, and Richard Belzer before his breakthrough and rise in career graph.
He got into the mainstream limelight after he was discovered by comedian David Brenner. From there on, Lewis started becoming a famous face, and before the middle of the decade, he featured in The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.
Following his unique style and excellent comic skills, he gained popularity and came to be recognized for his all-black getups and for his self-loathing jokes about his addictions and neuroses.
In 1979, Lewis made his TV debut with the 90-minute movie ‘Diary of a Young Comic', but his fame witnessed growth mainly in the '80s and '90s. By that time, he also began doing special stand-ups for Showtime and HBO, along with making special high-profile appearances at Comic Relief charitable fundraisers.
Lewis became a part of the sitcom ‘Anything but Love’ from 1988 to 1992, in which he starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. Apart from this, he had been part of many other short-lived sitcoms and movies through the late '80s and early '90s.
Lewis, who has been a part of the show Curb Your Enthusiasm, stars in it alongside his friend David, who is also the star and creator of the show. The show, which is currently running its last season, features Lewis in his curmudgeonly character, who is the golf course buddy of David.
Other than being co-stars, Lewis and David shared a deeper and lifelong bond. The two were born at the same Brooklyn hospital and claimed to hate each other in their younger days.
It was not until they turned 12 that the two officially met at a summer camp, but as Lewis revealed, they hated each other initially.
However, the two reconciled after they met as adults in New York.
In the words of Lewis,
We became friendly years later as young comics in New York, but I noticed something one night. 'There’s something about you I hate,' I told him. 'Wait, you’re that Larry David from summer camp.' And he said, 'You’re that Richard Lewis.' We nearly came to blows.
Mourning his death, Jamie Lee Curtis shared an emotional Instagram post paying tribute to the comedian and actor. In the post, she recalled the comedian’s audition for the series, saying that he blew everyone else away.
She praised his acting and comic skills and revealed that his last text to her was to persuade the heads at ABC and Disney to put out another set of episodes for the show.
Curtis credited the comedian for helping her be sober, concluding it with,
He helped me. I am forever grateful to him for that act of grace alone. I’m weeping as I write this. Strange way of saying thank you to a sweet and funny man. Rest in laughter, Richard.
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