Fearlessly Finding the Joke
Richard Lewis was the comic conscience of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Richard Lewis, who died Feb. 27 at 76, had a long career as a comic, but lately has been particularly known for his role on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — something close to its heart.
On “Curb,” Lewis’ frequent appearances needled star and protagonist Larry David in a manner no one else in the ensemble could. Playing a version of himself, the comedian (previously known for the sitcom “Anything but Love”) was David’s most sophisticated sparring partner, presenting points of view curmudgeonly Larry couldn’t dismiss with an expletive (try as he might). Lewis approached his character with an observational comic’s twisted but methodical logic, and a willingness to go anywhere to find the joke.
Lewis is a part of the show’s DNA, appearing in its very first episode — in which Larry’s antics jeopardize Richard’s nascent relationship. Over the course of “Curb,” Richard cut a similar figure to Jerry in “Seinfeld,” running through a series of girlfriends — but the crucial difference was Richard’s sentimentality. He was the show’s true romantic, and saw in Larry the inevitable and constant agent of his own heartbreak.
It was this distaste for Larry that added a new color to the show’s palette. Susie (Susie Essman) could curse him out over social slights and Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) could grumble over ways he’d made her lose face, but Richard felt Larry’s tactical social ineptitude more deeply. These were characters with a history, and they addressed diametrically opposed social worldviews in precisely the same comic tone.
In his manner, Richard presented a sort of photo negative of Larry: Perpetually clad in New Yorker-in-exile black to Larry’s sunny leisurewear, outwardly sour to Larry’s geniality-with-teeth, brutally neurotic while Larry was perpetually assured of his own correctness. And Richard was beautifully uncynical. All the other characters on “Curb” object to Larry’s behavior because he behaves in a way that is simply not done in polite society: He’s breaking the rules. Richard suggests that Larry’s willingness to toss aside etiquette can also be a betrayal of friendship. Including him for 24 years is among the many reasons “Curb” will be remembered as one of the greats.
Ailing in recent years — with an announcement last spring of his Parkinson’s diagnosis — Lewis appears in the current, final season of “Curb.” In one episode, he tells Larry that he has made a big decision: Larry will be a beneficiary of his estate. Larry’s disgust is palpable: It’s a ploy, he argues, a maneuver to ensure that Richard will stand to inherit Larry’s estate, should Larry succumb to implied social pressure and rewrite his own will to benefit Richard. The pair interrupt their golf game to rage at each other. But David, as a performer, seems to find a joy in the cut and thrust of fighting Lewis. And behind his sunglasses, Lewis’ eyes are twinkling.