Richard Lewis, the beloved comedian and actor, known for his role Curb your enthusiasm, died on Tuesday (February 27) after suffering a heart attack. He was 76 years old.
“Comedian/actor Richard Lewis passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night following a heart attack,” his representative, Jeff Abraham, 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 quickly became a fan favorite in over 40 episodes Curb your enthusiasm, including the 2000 pilot episode. In 2021, he announced that he would not be returning to the series to recover from three surgeries, though he did end up appearing in one scene in season 11. He ended up returning for the final season of the HBO show that aired now.
After the devastating news, Lewis' longtime friend and Curb Co-star Larry David shared his own statement of mourning. “Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he was like a brother to me,” she wrote in the statement shared by HBO. “He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me cry and I will never forgive him.”
Lewis' Anything but Love co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis as well took to Instagram to share a long, moving tribute to her late friend. “It's also why I'm sober. It helped me,” he wrote in part. “I am forever grateful to him for this act of grace alone. He found love with Joyce and that, of course, apart from his sobriety, was what counted for him the most. I'm crying as I write this. Weird way to say thank you to a sweet and funny man.”
Many of Lewis' famous friends and colleagues flooded social media with messages of love and memories of the comedian. See below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/richard-lewis-dead-larry-david-celebrities-react-1235618250/
