Richard Lewis honored by ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ cast, Jamie Lee Curtis and more after his death
Richard Lewis’ famous friends are paying tribute to him after the comedian and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 76.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Lewis’ publicist, Jeff Abraham, told The Post in a statement Wednesday upon announcing the news.
Lewis’ longtime co-star and “Curb” creator, Larry David, 76, reacted to the loss in a statement to People.
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that, I’ll never forgive him,” David joked.
The Post has contacted a rep for David for comment.
Cheryl Hines, who portrays David’s on-screen wife in the series, also gushed to the outlet about Lewis.
“When I was young I had the biggest crush on Richard Lewis. He was the funniest person on stage and the most handsome comedian. Then when I was cast on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ I got to work with him and it was a dream come true,” said Hines.
She continued, “Through the years I learned who Richard really was and the gifts he gave. Yes, he was the comedian I fell in love with, but he was also one of the most loving people I know. He would take time to tell the people he loved what they meant to him – especially in recent years. In between takes on ‘Curb,’ he would tell me how special I was to him and how much he loved me. I love you Richard.”
Jamie Lee Curtis, who co-starred along Lewis in the ABC sitcom “Anything But Love,” also issued a lengthy Instagram statement, claiming he was the reason she became sober.
“I remember exactly where I was when I saw a billboard of him about a stand-up special on Sunset Boulevard when we were casting the ABC pilot ‘Anything But Love’ and asked the casting people to bring him in to audition to play my best friend/maybe boyfriend, Marty Gold,” Curtis started. “I thought he was handsome. He made me laugh, which is the one thing that a strong, capable woman, can’t really do for herself.”
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“He got the part when I snort laughed when he mispronounced the word Bundt cake. He blew everyone else away. It was a love triangle show and they didn’t pick up that pilot but they came back to me and said that the chemistry with Richard was so great and could we revamp the original pilot which is the show we ended up making for a couple years.”
The sitcom ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1992.
“He was also a stand-up comic and hated the live audience, where I, who had never done a play, loved it,” Curtis said about the duo working on the show. “He used to hide his lines everywhere on the set, on props, door frames, on my face in a close up and was always carrying a clipboard with his lines on them. It turns out he was a wonderful actor. Deep and so freaking funny.”
She concluded, “He also is the reason I am sober. He helped me. I am forever grateful for him for that act of grace alone. He found love with Joyce and that, of course, besides his sobriety, is what mattered most to him. I’m weeping as I write this. Strange way of saying thank you to a sweet and funny man. Rest in laughter, Richard. My Marty, I love you, Hannah!”
