Richard Lewis did not like Larry David when they met
If “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Richard Lewis proves anything about Larry David’s grumpy character, it’s that David is capable of making at least one friend.
For years, the longtime co-stars have brought their close-knit friendship to the HBO series. However, in a recent interview, Lewis shared that his relationship with David wasn’t always friendly.
“I disliked him intensely. He was cocky, he was arrogant,” Lewis said in an interview with the Spectator. The comedian was 12, he said, when he met David at a sports camp.
He continued: “When we played baseball I tried to hit him with the ball: We were arch rivals. I couldn’t wait for the camp to be over just to get away from Larry. I’m sure he felt the same way.”
Years later, on the New York stand-up scene, Lewis and David reunited and gave friendship another go.
Then came David’s HBO comedy, “Curb Your Enthu- siasm,” which premiered in 2000. In the long-running series, the two comedians, both 76, play fictionalized versions of themselves.
Throughout the series, Lewis’ character sticks by David’s side, no matter what petty situation the latter finds himself in. Despite their on-screen bickering, Lewis said he “couldn’t have a better friend” than the “Seinfeld” co-creator.
In April, Lewis revealed that he has been living with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder. In a Twitter video sharing his diagnosis, the comedian also said he is ending his stand-up career.
“I started walking a little stiffly, I was shuffling my feet and I went to a neurologist and they gave me a brain scan and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,” Lewis said in the video.
Despite his condition, Lewis told the Spectator, he agreed to appear on the upcoming 12th season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” at its creator’s request. He also said that David and his crew treated him “like gold on the set.”
“In truth, he loves me and I’m his dearest friend,” Lewis said of David.