New York actor and comedian Richard Lewis, known for the series Curb Your Enthusiasm, died of a heart attack on Tuesday evening. His representative confirmed this through a statement released on Wednesday. “Comedian and actor Richard Lewis died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night after suffering a heart attack,” the brief note reads. “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and requests privacy at this time.” Lewis was 76 years old.
Lewis, who announced in April 2023 that he had been suffering from Parkinson's for two years, was one of the most popular comedians in the United States and had developed much of his career alongside fellow comedian Larry David, on whose famous series Curb Your Enthusiasm he had starred since the pilot episode in 2000. David himself made a statement expressing his pain: “Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and have been like a brother to me for most of my life,” the comedian wrote. “She had the rare combination of being both the funniest and sweetest person. But today he made me cry and I will never forgive him for that.”
Lewis' career began in the late 1970s, first in the comedy scene in his native New York and then in Los Angeles, where he developed his profession and where he was based for decades. He was a dark guy, with a sharp and honest sense of humor, always dressed in black, and used to describe his thoughts and the neuroses that plagued him. Lewis struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for years (he had been sober for 27 years) and humorously dubbed himself “The Prince of Pain.” Then, for the rest of his career, he used that pain and his transition to sobriety to excel and get laughs from his experiences.
He made his debut in 1979 in a film called “Diary of a Young Comedian” as part of the program “Saturday Night Life”, and from then on he became episodic in series and started playing small roles in films. It was in the late eighties and early nineties that he became known for the series Cariño de papel, a romantic comedy about journalists in which he starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis for four years and almost 60 episodes. Curtis herself also said a tearful goodbye to him on her social networks and talked about how he made her laugh and how they overcame difficult strokes of fate together, such as the death of several friends: “He is also the reason why I am sober today .” . He helped me. I will always be grateful to him for this graceful solo performance.”
Then came films like “The Crazy Adventures of Robin Hood”, “Caravan to the East”, “Leaving Las Vegas”, “Lio on Broadway”… and series like “Daddy Dearest”, “Hiller and Diller”, “Back in the Past”, “Till Death Do Us Part” or “Seven in the”. Paradise. But his starring role, thanks to Curb Your Enthusiasm, was always in the hands of Larry David, with a kind of even sharper autobiographical version of himself.
In recent years his health had deteriorated. In 2021, he began walking and shuffling his feet “a little stiffly,” as he said last April, and after consulting with a neurologist, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease; He called himself “lucky” because it was “late in life” and because everything was under control and progressing slowly. He had also undergone several surgeries: one on his back, another on his hip and two on his shoulder. “It was a complicated time,” he said at the time. “They operated on me four times in a row. It was incredible… unlucky, but that's life,” he explained to his followers on his social networks. “I am concentrating on writing and acting. I have Parkinson's disease, but I'm under medical treatment and everything is fine. “I love my wife, my dog and all my friends and fans.” Lewis had been married to music entrepreneur Joyce Lapinsky since 2005, whom he met at a Ringo Starr party in 1998. They had no children.
Richard Lewis and Larry David, in a scene from the tenth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. John P. Johnson (AP)
In addition to performing in stand-up comedy and comedy clubs across the United States, Lewis also wrote two autobiographical books: 2000's The Other Great Depression and Reflections From Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide the year 2005. on How Not to Live (Reflections from Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide to How Not to Live), with Carl Nicholas Titolo. He also released several complete DVD collections reflecting on his four-decade career and his television comedy specials.
“No, I'm not a very happy man. “I'm happy to be alive, I'm grateful for who is in my life,” he told The Washington Post in a 2020 interview. “I have great friends, a fantastic wife, a dog and a great career. But there is a part of me that will never be completely happy. And I think that has a lot to do with my childhood.”
Despite being virtually retired due to his illness, Lewis returned year after year to perform “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with Larry David. The last time was these days when the 12th and final season of the comedy series premiered.
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