Actor, Ohio State alum Richard Lewis dies at 76 after suffering a heart attack
Richard Lewis, the comedian who also starred alongside Larry David in HBO’S “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died. He was 76.
Lewis, a proud Ohio State alumnus, “passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night after suffering a heart attack,” the actor’s publicist, Jeff
Abraham, confirmed to USA TODAY Wednesday in a statement.
Last April, Lewis revealed on social media that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had also undergone multiple surgeries for other issues over the last three years. “I’ve had sort of a rocky time,” he said, revealing he’d undergone back surgery, shoulder surgery, shoulder replacement surgery and hip replacement surgery.
“I had four surgeries, back to back to back. It was incredible... It was bad luck, but it’s life,” he shared then.
In his final interview, published Feb. 18 on Vanity Fair, the actor said he decided to open up about his health struggles because “I couldn’t stay in the closet with this.”
“I thought, for what it’s worth, I’m a
drug addict and an alcoholic in recovery almost 30 years. That helped some people,” he said. “Maybe I could go public on this and they’ll say, ‘Gee, I didn’t know Lewis had this!’ And maybe it’ll give them some encouragement.”
He also described his battle with Parkinson’s: “So far so good. I’m going to PT three times a week, but it sucks. It’s another progressive disease that I’m fighting, and I’ll do the best I can.”
“On my last tour, I knew it was my last. It was the best I’ve ever been onstage. I said, ‘This is it. Fifty years. I’m exhausted,’” he told the magazine. “I did about six cities. People showed me how much they care about my work. And I would never go on again. Not to mention, my body’s been beaten up by four surgeries.”
Although he was born in 1947 in New Jersey, Lewis graduated from Ohio State University in 1969 with a degree in advertising and continuously showed his support for the Buckeyes throughout his career.
Before a 2022 meeting between Ohio State football and Maryland, Lewis put his support behind the Buckvegas” eyes, posting “Let’s destroy Larry’s alma mater” on X, formerly known as Twitter, in reference to his “Curb Your Enthusiasm” co-star and Maryland graduate Larry David.
And after the Buckeyes’ 2023 loss to Michigan in November, Lewis posted a photo of himself mimicking “The Scream” painting by Edvard Munch.
The actor detailed in his April 2023 video that his health took a turn shortly after wrapping filming a season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” on which he has portrayed a semi-autobiographical version of himself since 2000. He appears on the most recent, and final, season of the HBO comedy alongside David and costars Ted Danson, Vince Vaughn and Cheryl Hines.
In a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday, David paid tribute to his longtime friend. “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,” he said.
“But today he made me sob and for that, I’ll never forgive him,” David concluded.
“We are heartbroken to learn that Richard Lewis has passed away. His comedic brilliance, wit and talent were unmatched,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY.
“Richard will always be a cherished member of the HBO and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ families, our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends and all the fans who could count on Richard to brighten their days with laughter,” the statement continued.
Lewis called David “the best friend you could ever imagine” in his interview with Vanity Fair. “The show gives me another vehicle to express my feelings to Larry, because we are the oldest of friends,” he said.
A regular performer in clubs and on late-night TV for decades, Lewis also played Marty Gold, the romantic co-lead opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, in the ABC series “Anything But Love” and the reliably neurotic Prince John in “Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBO’S “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” kvetching regularly.
His other big-screen credits include “Leaving Las
and “Vamps.” On TV, Lewis appeared on shows including “7th Heaven,” “George Lopez,” “Bojack Horseman” and “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.”
Lewis was the youngest of three siblings — his brother was older than him by six years, and his sister by nine. His father died young and his mother had emotional problems, he’s described in previous interviews.
“She didn’t get me at all. I owe my career to my mother. I should have given her my agent’s commission,” he told The Washington Post in 2020.
Following his graduation from Ohio State University in 1969, the New York-born Lewis began a standup career, honing his craft on the circuit with other contemporaries also just starting out like Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze and Billy Crystal.
In his early 20s, Lewis found family while performing at New York’s Improv.
“I was 23, and all sorts of people were coming in and out and watching me, like Steve Allen and Bette Midler. David Brenner certainly took me under his wing,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. “To drive home to my little dump in New Jersey often knowing that Steve Allen said, ‘You got it,’ that validation kept me going in a big, big way.”
After getting sober from drugs and alcohol in 1994, Lewis put out his 2008 memoir, “The Other Great Depression” — a collection of fearless, essay style riffs on his life — and “Reflections from Hell.”
“Looking back on it now, as a full-blown, middleaged, functioning anxiety collector, I can admit without cringing that my parents had their fair share of tremendous qualities, yet, being human much of the day, had more than just a handful of flaws as well,” he wrote in his memoir.
Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazine’s list of the “20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists.” He lent his humor for charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.
Unlike contemporary Robin Williams, Lewis allowed audiences into his world and melancholy, pouring his torment and pain onto the stage. Fans favorably compared him to the ground-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce.
“I take great pains not to be mean-spirited,” Lewis told The Palm Beach Post in 2007. “I don’t like to take real handicaps that people have to overcome with no hope in sight. I steer clear of that. That’s not funny to me. Tragedy is funny to other humorists, but it’s not to me, unless you can make a point that’s helpful.”
Contributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY; Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
“(Richard Lewis) had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest.” Larry David Richard Lewis’ “Curb Your Enthusiasm” co-star