‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ star Richard Lewis dies aged 76

28 February, 2024

Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis, the stand-up comedian and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has died at the age of 76.

Lewis’s publicist confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Lewis had passed away from a heart attack on February 28 at his home in Los Angeles.

Lewis retired from stand-up comedy last year after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Despite this, he was continuing to appear in Curb Your Enthusiasm’s twelfth and final season, which began airing on HBO earlier this month.

In a statement, HBO said: “We are heartbroken to learn that Richard Lewis has passed away. His comedic brilliance, wit and talent were unmatched. Richard will always be a cherished member of the HBO and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ families, our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends and all the fans who could count on Richard to brighten their days with laughter.”

Lewis’s Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Larry David also shared a statement. “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 wrote. “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.”

Other tributes have also been pouring in from across the entertainment world.

Aw man, sad news about Richard Lewis,” said Tim Burgess. “A genuinely lovely guy. He was in the queue in front of me at the Canyon Country Store in LA, we chatted and he was making me laugh so much. He seemed to love it so he started trying to make me laugh more. A thrill to spend time in his world.”

“RIP to the always hilarious Richard Lewis,” added comedian Jack Carroll. “Great in Curb, great stand up too, with one of my favourite memoir titles ever, The Other Great Depression.”

“On a sad note, the great Richard Lewis has died,” Bette Midler wrote on X/Twitter.

Lewis played a semi-fictionalised version of himself opposite Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm and was known for his neurotic, self-deprecating style of comedy.

His career began in the early 1970s when he began performing stand-up comedy around Greenwich Village. A few years later, he made the first of many appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before making his feature film debut in 1979’s Diary of a Young Comic.

Lewis was a regular on The Tonight Show and Late Show With David Letterman throughout the ’80s and ’90s. His first comedy special was 1985’s I’m in Pain on Showtime before he switched to HBO for I’m Exhausted (1988), I’m Doomed (1990), and Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour (1997).

He appeared alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the ABC sitcom Anything But Love from 1989 to 1992. His other significant film appearances include Robin Hood: Men in Tights as Prince John, Leaving Las Vegas as Peter, and Hugo Pool as Chick Chicalini.

Lewis began his most well-known role in 2000 when Curb Your Enthusiasm began alongside David, who he had first met at summer camp aged 12.

In 2021, he stepped away from the eleventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in order to recover from three surgeries. He did make a surprise appearance in one episode, telling Variety at the time, “When I walked in and they applauded, I felt like a million bucks. Larry doesn’t like to hug, and he hugged me and told me how happy he was after we shot our scene.”

He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.

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