On Wednesday, Richard got a lot of love on social media from fans, as well as from his co-star Larry David and the actress Bette Midler.
Deadline confirmed that the beloved stand-up comedian had died. He was 76 years old.
Later, his publicist said it was because of a heart attack on Tuesday.
Richard became well-known as a comedian in the 1980s.
After going on late-night talk shows like The Tonight Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show, he got a lot of attention.
The TV and movie star played a made-up version of himself on the hit HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm. He even played the same character again for the 12th season with Larry David.
He was also in the TV shows Anything But Love, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Once Upon a Crime, and The Elevator.
HIS BATTLE WITH PARKINSON
Richard used his X (formerly Twitter) account in April 2023 to talk about his health.
“Three and a half years ago, I was in the middle of a tour and then I finally ended it with a show I said ‘You know, I’m at the top of my game, after 50 years almost I’m just gonna call it quits.’”
“Then, out of the blue, everything went wrong.” After one surgery, I had three more right after that. I was shocked and couldn’t believe it. It was bad luck, but that’s life, right?”
“First I had surgery on my back, then on my shoulder, then on my hip, and finally on my should.” I spent a lot of time just focusing on physical therapy.
“On top of all that, two years ago, 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.”
He said he was lucky to have caught the disease early enough for it to spread slowly, and that he was taking the right medicines to stay “cool.”
He went on to say that he was done with stand-up comedy and wanted to focus on writing and acting.
A HONOUR TO LARRY DAVID
On Wednesday, Larry paid tribute to her in a moving statement that HBO shared.
He said, “Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital. He’s been like a brother to me my whole life.” It was very rare for someone to be both the funniest and the nicest at the same time.
“But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”
“AN ICON OF COMEDY”
Fans and friends of Richard shared sad news and funny memories of him on Curb Your Enthusiasm on social media.
There was sadness in Bette’s tweet that “the great Richard Lewis has died.”
“A very funny man who will be missed by all.” “The world needs him more than ever,” said actor Albert Brooks.
“Richard Lewis and Larry’s friendship was always one of the best parts of Curb. RIP,” a fan wrote.
“Rest in peace to a comedy icon,” said someone else. “Richard Lewis forever.”
Another person wrote, “Richard Lewis wasn’t just funny; he left everything on the table.” It was so charming how vulnerable he was. “We lost a good one.”
