LOS ANGELES – Richard Lewis, the beloved comedian and star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died, his publicist announced.
Lewis, 76, died at his Los Angeles home after a heart attack Tuesday night, according to his publicist, Jeff Abraham.
Last April, the actor revealed that he had Parkinson's disease.
Joyce Lapinski, Lewis' wife, “thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” according to the statement Abraham shared.
Lewis stars in the final season of Larry David's “Curb Your Enthusiasm” series on HBO.
David said Wednesday he was mourning the death of his lifelong friend.
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital, and he was like a brother to me for most of my life. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest person,” David said in a statement. “But today he made me cry and for that I will never forgive him.” “
Lewis, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, first tried his hand at stand-up comedy in New York City in the early 1970s — along with the likes of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer, and Elaine Busler — before that. His career began when he was discovered by comedian David Brenner. By the middle of the decade, he had already appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
He was instantly recognizable as a dark comedian, both literally and figuratively, known for dressing in all black and performing often self-loathing melodies about his neuroses and addictions.
Lewis made his first television appearance with Diary of a Young Comic, a 90-minute feature that replaced Saturday Night Live on NBC in 1979, but rose to prominence with continued late-night appearances throughout the 1980s. And the nineties.
He became a veritable rock star in the comedy world in those decades, starring in numerous specials on Showtime and HBO, while making high-profile appearances in specials such as Comic Relief charity fundraisers.
He starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the sitcom Anything But Love, which aired from 1988 to 1992, before landing roles in a handful of short-lived sitcoms and films throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In a tribute to Lewis posted on Instagram, Curtis said the actor “wowed everyone” during his audition and “got the part when I grunted and laughed when he mispronounced the word bundt cake.”
Curtis said of Lewis: “It turns out he was a great actor. Very funny and very funny.” She said the last message he sent her was an attempt to persuade executives at ABC and Disney to release another batch of episodes of the show.
Curtis also said that Lewis was the reason she became sober.
“He helped me. I am forever grateful to him for this act of grace alone,” she said. “I'm crying as I write this. Weird way to say thank you to a kind and funny man. Laugh, Richard.”
In 2000, Lewis became a fixture on the show “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” playing a dramatized version of himself in the same vein as star and creator Larry David.
The show, which is now airing in what David claims is its final season, features Lewis as his same volatile character who often hits the golf course with David. The Season 5 storyline even showed David donating his kidney to Louis.
David and Louis go way back. The couple were born days apart in a Brooklyn hospital, but officially met for the first time at a summer camp when they were 12 years old.
Lewis said he and David hated each other as teenagers, but reconciled when they met as adults in the New York comedy scene.
“We were bitter rivals when we were teenagers at a summer sports camp,” Lewis told New Jersey Monthly in a 2015 interview. “Our problems started at birth.” “I'm convinced Larry tried to strangle me with my mother's umbilical cord.”
Louis went on to say that he was a good athlete at camp, while Larry “was a tall, obnoxious idiot.”
“I hated him,” Lewis said in 2015. “We became friendly after years as young comedians in New York, but I noticed something one night. I said, ‘There’s something I hate about you.’” “Wait, you’re that Larry David from summer camp. “You're Richard Lewis,” he said. We're almost at a loss.”
A spokesperson for HBO, where Curb aired along with a number of Lewis' comedy specials, said in a statement that they were “devastated” to hear of the comedian's death.
“His comedic brilliance, wit and talent were unparalleled. Richard will always be a treasured member of the HBO and Curb Your Enthusiasm families. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends and all the fans who can count on Richard to brighten their days. With laughter,” the spokesperson said.
