Richard Lewis, the actor and comedian known for his long-running stand-up career and recurring role on the hit HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died at 76, his publicist announced Wednesday.
The cause of death was a heart attack, the publicist, Jeff Abraham, said.
Lewis was a fixture of the comedy club circuit for decades, and his angsty, tortured and neurotic act led to many TV and film roles. After appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” he rose to prominence on the sitcom “Anything but Love” with Jamie Lee Curtis. He also starred in the movie “Drunks” and played Prince John in the 1993 adventure comedy film “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.”
Lewis had been playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself throughout the 24 years of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Lewis — who had known the show’s creator, Larry David, since they met at summer camp at age 12 — was a perfectly irksome foil to the already curmudgeonly protagonist.
In April of last year, Lewis announced he was retiring from stand-up and revealed he had Parkinson’s disease, which he had been diagnosed with two years ago, he said in a video posted on Twitter.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham said in a statement.
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