Comedian Richard Lewis has died at 76 years old after having a heart attack on Monday, February 27.
The actor's publicist ,Jeff Abraham of Jonas Public Relations, later confirmed the sad news. “Richard Lewis passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles last night after suffering a heart attack according to his publicist,” the rep told Us Weekly in a statement.
“His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham added.
Other celebrities also weighed in on the loss.
“On a sad note, the great Richard Lewis has died,” Bette Midler posted via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, February 28. Steve Martin replied, writing, “Great sadness.”
Others flocked to the X post and shared their condolences. One person wrote, "I discovered him in the 80s. Funny guy. Loved it whenever he was on the The Howard Stern Show too, seems like a lifetime ago," while another said, "I’m so sorry."
The Curb Your Enthusiasm star revealed in April 2023 that he had been battling Parkinson's disease for the past two years.
“Hey, listen, I just wrapped a couple of weeks ago season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and it was just an amazing season, and I’m so grateful to be a part of that show,” Lewis said in a video via X at the time. “But you know, the last three and a half years, I’ve had sort of a rocky time and people said, ‘I haven’t heard from you, are you still touring?’”
Lewis then revealed why he hasn't been on the road lately.
“Three and half years ago I was in the middle of a tour, and 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 going to call it quits,’ and I felt great about that. And then, out of the blue, the s--- hit the fan,” he shared. “I had four surgeries back-to-back-to-back-to-back. It was incredible, I couldn’t believe it. It was bad luck, but that’s life. I had a back surgery, then I had a shoulder surgery, then I had a shoulder replacement surgery. … Then I had a hip replacement.”
Unfortunately, while visiting a neurologist, he received the diagnosis.
“That was about two years ago,” he stated. “But luckily, I got it late in life, and they say you progress very slowly if at all. And I’m on the right meds so I’m cool.”
Season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm released in early February, and Lewis, who plays himself in the HBO Max series, had nothing but kind things to say about creator and star Larry David, who made sure he was up to filming.
“I’ve got to tell you how he took care of me this year. The cast and a crew — just as I’m diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease—made sure that everything was right for me on the set,” he told Vanity Fair earlier this month. “They assigned a third AD to me [to clear the path]. ‘Richard is coming!’ Everybody was so lovely on the set. It was all really heartwarming.”
