Richard Lewis on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Photograph by John P. Johnson.
Preview:
- Comedian Richard Lewis has died.
- He appeared in a variety of movies and TV series.
- Larry David paid tribute to his friend.
Famously self-deprecating stand-up comedian and actor Richard Lewis, probably best known to wider audiences outside of the comedy world for his role on HBO series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, has died. He was 76.
Lewis, who had been dealing with a Parkinson’s diagnosis, suffered a heart attack at home on Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home.
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Richard Lewis: Early Life and Career
Richard Lewis in ‘Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour.’ Photo: HBO.
Born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1947, Lewis studied marketing and communications from the Ohio State University and later found work as a librarian in the archives of the Museum of Modern Art.
His way into the world of comedy was via writing magazine articles and commercial copy as well as material for other comics. But he soon realized he could launch his own career, plying his trade in New York Clubs and securing appearances on the likes of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ and ‘The Sonny & Cher Show’.
With his grumpy comic persona, he soon gained the title “The Prince of Pain” and parlayed that in to a self-deprecating style that endeared him to audiences.
He made his screen acting debut in 1979’s ‘Diary of a Young Comic,’ and broke out further with comedy special ‘I’m in Pain,’ following it up with the HBO specials ‘I’m Exhausted’ ‘I’m Doomed’ and ‘Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour’.
Richard Lewis: Movies and TV
The cast of ‘Anything But Love.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.
In 1989, Lewis landed a leading role in the ABC sitcom ‘Anything but Love,’ starring with Jamie Lee Curtis as coworkers at a Chicago magazine who fall in love. Lewis scored other ’90s sitcom roles in the short-lived ‘Daddy Dearest’ and ‘Hiller and Diller’ featuring Kevin Nealon.
His big screen career was more limited, but still entertaining, and he appeared in movies such as ‘Once Upon a Crime’, ‘Wagons East!’, ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, Mel Brooks’ ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ and ‘The Wrong Guys’.
“The legend had it coming”
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1 hr 44 minJul 28th, 1993
Richard Lewis on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
(L to R) Larry David and Richard Lewis on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Photograph by John P. Johnson.
The role that Lewis will be best remembered for, though, is one loosely based on his long real-life friendship with creator/star Larry David, on improvisational HBO comedy series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’.
Though he’s more used to cynical or wiseass jokes, ‘Curb’ creator and star Larry David shared some real emotion remembering his friend:
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”
Lewis, who has been brutally honest about his struggles with drugs and alcohol –– and who famously made the decision to get sober after the death of his friend John Candy in 1994 –– is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.
(L to R) Richard Lewis and Larry David on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Photograph by John P. Johnson.