Richard Lewis, Comedian and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Actor, Dies at 76
Richard Lewis, the comedian and actor best known for his role on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, has died. He was 76.
Lewis’s death was confirmed by Variety and was the result of a heart attack. The comedian/actor revealed last year he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. As a result, he retired from stand-up comedy.
Lewis began doing stand-up in the early ’70s. He made a name for himself thanks to his unique self-deprecating, neurotic humor. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, his popularity grew thanks to appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.
Lewis began to pursue more acting roles in the mid-late ’80s. One of his first big, successful roles came in 1989 on the ABC sitcom Anything but Love. Lewis starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, with their two characters with ever-growing romantic tension working at the fictional magazine Chicago Monthly. The series lasted four seasons.
Shortly after the end of Anything but Love, Lewis played Prince John in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lewis, of course, put his own spin on the classic character.
Also in 1993, Lewis starred in the short-lived Fox sitcom Daddy Dearest. Lewis played psychologist Dr. Steven Mitchell alongside comedy legend Don Rickles, who played his father, Al, a used car salesman.
Of course, Lewis’s biggest and most notable television role came from playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show is currently in its twelfth and final season. Lewis stepped away from the show in season 11 due to health issues. However, he made a surprise appearance in one episode that season. So far, he’s appeared in one episode in the twelfth season.
Lewis is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky. The couple were married in 2005.