Richard Lewis (actor)
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Richard Philip Lewis (June 29, 1947 – February 27, 2024) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Lewis came to prominence in the 1980s and became known for his
dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...
, neurotic, and
self-deprecating Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be ...
humor. As an actor, he was known for starring in the
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sitcom '' Anything but Love'' from 1989 to 1992, and for playing the role of Prince John in the 1993 film '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights''. Lewis also had a recurring role as a fictionalized version of himself in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy series ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
'' from 2000 to 2024.


Early life and education

Lewis was born on June 29, 1947, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York City. He was raised in
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
. He was born into a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family, but was not especially religious. His father, Bill (d. 1971), was co-owner of Ambassador Caterers in nearby
Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...
, and his mother, Blanche, was an actress in
community theatre Community theatre refers to any Theatre, theatrical performance made in relation to particular Community, communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a communit ...
. Lewis was the youngest of three siblings. His sister was older by 9 years, and his brother by 6. His father's catering business kept him very busy, and his siblings had both left home by the 1960s, leaving Lewis at home alone with his mother, with whom there was friction. Lewis told ''
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'' in 2014 that he suspected that his birth had been a mistake. Lewis was known for being the class clown and causing trouble in school. He graduated from
Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from ...
in 1965 and attended
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
where he attained a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business ...
in Marketing four years later in 1969. He was the recipient of the
Fisher College of Business The Fisher College of Business is the business school of Ohio State University, a public research university in Columbus, Ohio. Fisher's campus is located on the northern part of the university within a partially enclosed business campus adjac ...
Alumni Achievement Award in November 2023.


Career

Lewis first tried stand-up at an open mic in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
in 1971. He began writing and regularly performing stand-up comedy in 1972, while working as a
copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...
for an advertising agency by day. He was discovered by comedian
David Brenner David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of observ ...
while performing in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
. Brenner helped Lewis's career by introducing him to the comedy clubs in Los Angeles and getting Lewis his first appearance on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
''. By the mid-1970s, Lewis had appeared on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...
'' and publications, such as the ''
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'' and ''
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'' magazine, were naming him one of the "new breed" or "class" of comedians; this list containing names such as
Robert Klein Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy albums: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (1974 ...
,
Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...
,
Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
,
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...
,
Andy Kaufman Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. He has sometimes been called an "anti-humor, anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was tra ...
,
Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC ...
, and
Elayne Boosler Elayne Boosler (born August 18, 1952) is an American comedian, writer, and actress. She was one of the few women working in stand-up comedy in the 1970s and 80s, and she broke ground by adopting an Observational comedy, observational style that ...
. His influences were Richard Pryor,
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...
,
Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
, and
Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...
. Lewis was known for
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
,
self-deprecation Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be ...
, and for frank discussions regarding his many
neuroses Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...
, as well as his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction. He was noted for wearing all-black attire and for pacing and gesticulating wildly during his stand-up act. In his early days, he was also known for bringing taped-together sheets from a
legal pad A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. Hi ...
to his performances; he would lay them across the floor in front of him to remind him of joke premises and topics he wished to cover during his performance. Lewis made his screen acting debut in '' Diary of a Young Comic'', a 90-minute film that aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in 1979 in the timeslot normally reserved for episodes of ''Saturday Night Live''. A
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
look at the
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
scene, Lewis stars in the film as Billy Gondola (born Gondolstein), a young Jewish comedian who leaves New York City to find fame in Los Angeles. The film's script was co-written by Lewis and Bennett Tramer, and was adapted from a story written by
Gary Weis Gary Weis (b. 1942 or 1943) is an American filmmaker. He is known for creating multiple short films that aired on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the late 1970s. He co-produced and provided visual effects for the documentary ''Jimi Hendrix'' (1973) ...
, who also served as the film's director. The film features
Bill Macy Wolf Martin Garber (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film and stage actor known for his role in the CBS television series '' Maude'' (1972–1978). Early life Bill Macy ...
as Billy's father, Michael Lerner as his agent, and
Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...
as a landlord. Performers George Jessel,
Dom DeLuise Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, musician, chef, and author. Known primarily for comedy roles, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows. He is widely ...
, Nina van Pallandt, and Gary Mule Deer make appearances in the film as themselves. Lewis gained much wider exposure in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous appearances on talk shows such as ''The Tonight Show'', both '' Late Night'' and the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'', and ''
The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
.'' He also produced the comedy special ''I'm in Pain'', which aired on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
in 1985, followed by the specials ''I'm Exhausted'', ''I'm Doomed'', and ''Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour'', all of which aired on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
in 1988, 1990, and 1997 respectively. From 1989 to 1992, he co-starred with
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...
on the sitcom '' Anything but Love''. He also starred on the short-lived sitcoms '' Daddy Dearest'' with
Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...
in 1993, and '' Hiller and Diller'' with
Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He has earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He first gained widespread attention during his tenure as a cast member on ...
in 1998. He played Prince John in the 1993 film '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'', and starred as a struggling alcoholic and drug addict in the 1995 drama film ''
Drunks Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...
.'' The latter film featured performances from
Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...
,
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
,
Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress. Known for playing eccentric characters in independent films, she was named "Queen of the Indies" by ''Time'' in 1997. She has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Awa ...
,
Howard Rollins Howard Ellsworth Rollins Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was best known for his role as Andrew Young in 1978's ''King (TV miniseries), King'', George Haley in the 1979 miniseries '' ...
,
Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – ) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well ...
, and
Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986's ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994's '' Bullets Over Broadway'' (both directed by Woody Allen), one Gold ...
, and was based on
Gary Lennon Gary Lennon is an American playwright, television writer and executive producer. Lennon is currently the showrunner of '' Power Book IV: Force'' on Starz, and he is credited with elevating the series to critical acclaim after he stepped into the ...
's play ''Blackout''. Lewis also appeared in the 1995 drama film ''
Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the 1990 semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family ...
, a''nd the 1997 romantic comedy ''
Hugo Pool ''Hugo Pool'' (also known as ''Pool Girl'' in the UK) is a 1997 American comedy drama film, directed by Robert Downey Sr., starring Alyssa Milano and Patrick Dempsey. The film received largely negative reviews, but praise was given to the pr ...
''. Into the 2000s, Lewis had recurring roles as a
B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
producer on the sitcom '' Rude Awakening,'' and as
Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Richard Glass on the family drama series '' 7th Heaven''. He also had a recurring role on the sitcom ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
'' as a semi-autobiographical version of himself. Lewis first met the show's star and creator,
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
, at
summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...
in
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, when they were 12 years old; Lewis claimed that, at the time, they hated each other. The pair met again over a decade later while performing stand-up in New York and became friends.


Recognition

'' GQ'' magazine included Lewis on their list of "The 20th Century's Most Influential Humorists", and Lewis was ranked  45 on
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's list of "100 Greatest Standups of All Time" released in 2004. In 2006, ''
The Yale Book of Quotations ''The Yale Book of Quotations'' is a quotations collection focusing on modern and American quotations. Edited by Fred R. Shapiro, it was published by Yale University Press in 2006 with a foreword by Joseph Epstein, . Prior to publication it was ...
'' included an entry for the expression "the ______ from hell" (as in "the night from hell", "the date from hell". etc.,) that was attributed to Lewis. Lewis also petitioned the editors of ''
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'', often simply called ''Bartlett's'', is an American reference work that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotations. The book was first issued in 1855 and is currently in its 19th ...
'' to include the idiom, which was also worked into the plot of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' during the episode "The Nanny from Hell". His lawyer sent some video tapes to ''Bartlett's'' general editor
Justin Kaplan Justin Daniel Kaplan (September 5, 1925– March 2, 2014) was an American writer and editor. The general editor of ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' (16th and 17th eds.), he was best known as a biographer, particularly of Samuel Clemens, Linc ...
showing Lewis using the phrase. ''Bartlett's'' declined, stating that the expression had predated Lewis's first taped broadcast. In response, Lewis told ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' that he traces popular usage of the line back to his early days on David Letterman's show.


Personal life


Marriage

Lewis met Joyce Lapinsky in 1998 at a
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
album release party, while Lapinsky was working in music publishing. The pair became engaged in 2004 and married the following year.


Substance abuse issues

Lewis was open about his recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, having been a user of both
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
and
crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity d ...
. His addictions worsened into the 1990s, prompting Lewis to stop performing stand-up from 1991 to 1994. In a 1995 interview with the ''
Santa Maria Times The ''Santa Maria Times'' is a daily American newspaper on California's Central Coast serving the cities of Santa Maria; Orcutt; Guadalupe; Nipomo; unincorporated parts of northern Santa Barbara County and southern San Luis Obispo County. It ...
'', Lewis discussed how
John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...
's death the year prior had caused him to reflect upon his own life and career. The two starred together in Candy's last film, the Western-themed comedy film ''
Wagons East ''Wagons East'' (sometimes styled as ''Wagons East!'') is a 1994 American Western adventure comedy film directed by Peter Markle, written by Matthew Carlson, and starring John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Ellen Greene, Robert Picard ...
''. In later interviews, Lewis stated that he got sober in 1994 after winding up in a hospital
emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...
due to a cocaine overdose. Lewis published his memoir in 2000, titled ''The Other Great Depression''. The book was reissued in 2008 with an added
afterword An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed. An afterword may be written by someone oth ...
where Lewis reflected further on his continued struggles with addiction. In 2015, he released the book ''Reflections from Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide on How Not to Live''; it contains his commentary and observations in the form of one-liners and other comedic premises, interspersed with images created by artist Carl Nicholas Titolo.


Health problems and death

Discussions of Lewis's battles with anxiety and depression, and his multiple therapy sessions, were a fixture of his comedy. He also stated in interviews that he suffered from an
eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...
due to
body dysmorphia Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined ...
. Lewis struggled with health problems resulting in multiple surgeries. In 2016, he shattered his right hand after falling from his roof; in 2019, he had back surgery related to acute back pain; and in early 2020, he shattered his shoulder, resulting in another surgery. In the latter year, it was revealed that Lewis had battled multiple health problems and was in great pain during the shooting of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''. He announced that he would be appearing in only one episode of Season 11. Lewis returned in Season 12, the series' final season, most episodes of which premiered after his death. In April 2023, Lewis announced he had been diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
two years earlier. He said he would no longer perform stand-up comedy and was instead "focused on writing and acting". Lewis died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles on February 27, 2024, at the age of 76. Friends and colleagues, including ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' co-star
Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role as Cheryl David on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), earning two Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also ...
and ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' creator
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
, made statements regarding Lewis' death and paid homage to Lewis. He is buried at the Temple of Aaron Cemetery in
Roseville, Minnesota Roseville is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. It is one of two Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities suburbs that are bordered directly by Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Lauderdale, M ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


Bibliography

* ** Includes added afterword. *


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Richard 1947 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American screenwriters American male comedians American male film actors American male screenwriters American male television actors American male television writers American stand-up comedians American television writers Comedians from Bergen County, New Jersey Comedians from Brooklyn Dwight Morrow High School alumni Jewish American comedians Jewish American male actors Jewish male comedians Male actors from Brooklyn Male actors from Englewood, New Jersey Ohio State University Fisher College of Business alumni People with Parkinson's disease Writers from Englewood, New Jersey