Veteran stand-up comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis passed away from a heart attack Tuesday. He was 76 years-old.
Lewis, who is currently appearing in Season 12 of the long-running HBO comedy series, has had more than his fair share of health problems over the years. Last April, he announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and was retiring from stand-up.
Known for an acerbic, self-deprecating and sometimes dark style of humor, Lewis rose to prominence in the 1980s and ’90s as a frequent guest on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, appearing on the show a whopping 48 times over 12 years. He also appeared on Letterman’s CBS show, NBC’s The Tonight Show, CBS’ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, to name a few.
He headlined several comedy specials over the years, including Showtime’s I’m in Pain (1985), and on HBO, I’m Exhausted (1988), I’m Doomed (1990) and Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour (1997).
In 1989, Lewis co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis on the ABC sitcom Anything But Love. The series ran for four seasons, 56 episodes, before it ended in 1992. The following year, he starred in the comedy film Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Lewis gained a new generation of fans from his frequent appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he played a semi-fictionalized version of himself over the show’s 24 years on HBO.
