Richard Lewis, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ star, dead at 76
After entertaining fans both onstage and onscreen for decades, comedic actor Richard Lewis has passed away at the age of 76 following a heart attack.
His death was confirmed by his publicist, Jeff Abraham, who said in a statement: “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
Lewis was best known for working opposite Larry David in the hit HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. The sad news of his death comes after Lewis announced that he would be retiring from standup comedy, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease back in April 2023.
The late actor announced that he would not be featuring on the hit show following his diagnosis, with his last appearance coming as a cameo in one episode of the show’s eleventh season. When arriving on set, Lewis recalled getting a warm reception from the rest of the cast, saying, “Larry doesn’t like to hug, and he hugged me and told me how happy he was after we shot our scene”.
Prior to working on screen, Lewis had been known for making his living in stand-up comedy. Outside of working the touring circuit, he was known for making various appearances on late-night TV series like The Tonight Show and David Letterman.
Lewis’ time on screen wasn’t just limited to the sitcom circuit. On the big screen, he shined in the Nicholas Cage film as Peter as well as the fairytale spoof film Robin Hood: Men In Tights, serving as the comical Prince John.
Lewis had been great friends with David since they were kids, with each of them being born in the same hospital. Throughout their career, they have each had a friendship that David had compared to a love between two brothers.
News of Lewis’ death comes after David began the 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and confirmed it would be the last, which is set to conclude on April 7th.
Alongside his Curb Your Enthusiasm appearances, towards the end of his career, Lewis provided the voice of Ziggy Abler on BoJack Horseman as well as playing himself in the Peter Bogdanovich documentary, The Great Buster.
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