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Three days after losing the love of her life, Joyce Lapinsky thanked Richard Lewis' many fans and shared a thought about how they might remember him.
“This is Joyce, Richard’s wife,” Lapinsky wrote on her husband’s X page. “Thank you for your loving tributes. He would be extremely excited and so touched, just like me. In response to the many questions, I know that Richard would appreciate donations in his memory to the Los Angeles-based charity http://comedygivesback.com or the charity of your choice.”
Comedy Gives Back describes itself as “a nonprofit organization founded to help comedians when they are in need” that works to create a safety net for this community.
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This is Joyce, Richard's wife. Thank you for your loving tributes. He would be overjoyed and so touched, just like me. In response to the many questions, I know that Richard would appreciate donations in his memory to the Los Angeles-based charity https://t.co/AUssZsKb62 or the…
— Richard Lewis (@TheRichardLewis) March 1, 2024
According to People, Lewis and Lapinsky met at Ringo Starr's album release party in 1998. They got engaged in 2004. They married the following year.
Starr was among those who paid tribute to Lewis on Wednesday, posting a photo of the three and writing: “God bless Richard Lewis, peace and love to Joyce.”
Lewis paid tribute to Lapinsky several weeks before his death by posting a photo of the two of them and writing, “Keaton had his Eleanor, I have my Joyce.”
The allusion refers to Eleanor Keaton, Buster's wife, who was his greatest supporter. Eleanor Keaton is widely credited with helping to revive the silent film star's career in the 1950s and keeping his memory alive after the comedy icon's death in 1966.
The parallels are not hard to see.
The duo only got together after Lewis achieved his hard-won sobriety through drugs and alcohol. In 2010, he said of their relationship: “I have found peace and serenity. I'm still pouring out my bottomless pit of bad memories on stage… I'm still crazy in real life, but I'm much happier and more grateful than ever before.”