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- By Madeline Halpert
- BBC News, New York
Image source, fake images
Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Richard Lewis has died at age 76.
He died peacefully at his Los Angeles home Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, his publicist, Jeff Abraham, said in a statement.
Lewis announced last April that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and would be retiring from stand-up comedy.
Known for his self-deprecating humor, Lewis rose to fame in the 1980s.
For years, the actor and writer starred alongside Larry David on his HBO show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he played a semi-fictional version of himself.
He recently appeared on season 12 of the show, which is currently airing on HBO. The network said she was “heartbroken” to learn that she had passed away.
“His comic brilliance, wit and talent were unmatched,” a spokesperson told US media.
In a statement shared by Lewis’ publicist, his wife, Joyce Lapinsky, said he “thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
His co-star, Larry David, praised his friend in a statement that HBO shared with American media.
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he has been like a brother to me,” she said. “He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I will never forgive him.”
Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Lewis made a name for himself in the 1970s performing in New York City clubs and on late-night television.
Nicknamed “The Prince of Pain”, Lewis was known for making fun of his own neuroses and hypochondria during his comedy routines. Dressed almost always in all black, he once joked that he was the “Descartes of anxiety; I panic, therefore I am.”
Lewis was also open about his struggle with addiction and depression and had been sober for decades. His daring act found favor with talk show hosts, and Lewis became a firm favorite of late-night talk legends David Letterman and Jay Leno.
Comedy Central had called him one of the 50 greatest comedians of all time and GQ magazine included him on its list of the most influential comedians of the 20th century.
In 1979, he made his acting debut in the NBC special Diary of a Young Comic. The film followed the satirical journey of a young comedian looking to make it big in Los Angeles.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he starred in a number of television shows, including the comedy Anything but Love, where he starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis from 1989 to 1992.
But it was on Curb Your Enthusiasm where Lewis found his signature role. Released in 2000, the stint of him playing a fictional version of himself won plaudits.
Lewis had to take a break from starring on season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasm due to a series of surgeries.
“I’ve had a tough time,” he said last year when announcing the news of his diagnosis.
He added that he had undergone back surgery, shoulder surgery, shoulder replacement surgery and hip replacement surgery. “I had surgery four times in a row… It was bad luck, but that’s life.”
News of his death sparked a flurry of tributes from a host of famous faces, including Daily Show host Jon Stewart, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines.
In a post on Instagram, Curtis called her former co-star “deeply and tremendously funny.”
“He’s also the reason I’m sober. He helped me. I’ll be forever grateful to him just for that act of grace,” she said.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, comedian Bill Burr called Lewis a “true original.”
“An absolutely brave comedian who did and said what he wanted,” Burr wrote.