Richard Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname B次元官网网址淭he Prince of Pain,B次元官网网址� has died. He was 76.
Lewis, who in 2023, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham.
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 B次元官网网址淎nything But LoveB次元官网网址� and the reliably neurotic Prince John in B次元官网网址淢el BrooksB次元官网网址� Robin Hood: Men In Tights.B次元官网网址� He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBOB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐urb Your Enthusiasm,B次元官网网址� kvetching regularly.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which IB次元官网网址檓 not thrilled about,B次元官网网址� he once joked onstage. To Jimmy Kimmel he said: B次元官网网址淭his morning, I tried to go to bed. I couldnB次元官网网址檛 sleep. I counted sheep but I only had six of them and they all had hip replacements.B次元官网网址�
Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazineB次元官网网址檚 list of the B次元官网网址�20th CenturyB次元官网网址檚 Most Influential Humorists.B次元官网网址� He lent his humor for charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.
B次元官网网址淲atching his stand-up is like sitting in on a very funny and often dark therapy session,B次元官网网址� the Los Angeles Times said in 2014. The PhiladelphiaB次元官网网址檚 City Paper called him B次元官网网址渢he Jimi Hendrix of monologists.B次元官网网址� Mel Brooks once said he B次元官网网址渕ay just be the Franz Kafka of modern-day comedy.B次元官网网址�
Comedians took to social media Wednesday to share their thoughts, including Albert Books who called Lewis B次元官网网址渁 brilliantly funny man who will missed by all. The world needed him now more than everB次元官网网址� on X, formerly Twitter. Other tributes came from Bette Midler, Michael McKean and Paul Feig, who called Lewis B次元官网网址渙ne of the funniest people on the planet.B次元官网网址�
Following his graduation from The Ohio State University in 1969, the New York-born Lewis began a stand-up career, honing his craft on the circuit with other contemporaries also just starting out like Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze and Billy Crystal.
He recalled Rodney Dangerfield hiring him for $75 to fill in at his New York club, DangerfieldB次元官网网址檚. B次元官网网址淚 had a lot of great friends early on who believed in me, and I met pretty iconic people who really helped me, told me to keep working on my material. And I never looked back,B次元官网网址� he told The Gazette of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2010.
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.
B次元官网网址淚 take great pains not to be mean-spirited,B次元官网网址� Lewis told The Palm Beach Post in 2007. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 like to take real handicaps that people have to overcome with no hope in sight. I steer clear of that. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not funny to me. Tragedy is funny to other humorists, but itB次元官网网址檚 not to me, unless you can make a point thatB次元官网网址檚 helpful.B次元官网网址�
Singer Billy Joel has said he was referring to Lewis when he sang in B次元官网网址淢y LifeB次元官网网址� of an old friend who B次元官网网址渂ought a ticket to the West Coast/Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.B次元官网网址�
In 1989 at Carnegie Hall, he appeared with six feet of yellow legal sheets filled with material and taped together for a 2 1/2-hour set that led to two standing ovations. The night was B次元官网网址渢he highlight of my career,B次元官网网址� he told The Washington Post in 2020.
Lewis told GQ his signature look came incidentally, saying his obsession with dressing in black came from watching the television Western B次元官网网址淗ave Gun B次元官网网址� Will Travel,B次元官网网址� with a cowboy in all-black, when he was a kid. He also popularized the term B次元官网网址渇rom hellB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� as in B次元官网网址渢he date from hellB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渢he job from hell.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hat just came out of my brain one day and I kept repeating it a lot for some reason. Same thing with the black clothes. I just felt really comfortable from the early B次元官网网址�80s on and I never wore anything else. I never looked back.B次元官网网址�
After getting sober from drugs and alcohol in 1994, Lewis put out his 2008 memoir, B次元官网网址淭he Other Great DepressionB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a collection of fearless, essay style riffs on his life B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淩eflections from Hell.B次元官网网址�
Lewis was the youngest of three siblings B次元官网网址� his brother was older than him by six years, and his sister by nine. His father died young and his mother had emotional problems. B次元官网网址淪he didnB次元官网网址檛 get me at all. I owe my career to my mother. I should have given her my agentB次元官网网址檚 commission,B次元官网网址� he told The Washington Post in 2020.
B次元官网网址淟ooking back on it now, as a full-blown, middle-aged, 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,B次元官网网址� he wrote in his memoir.
Lewis quickly found a new family performing at New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Improv. B次元官网网址淚 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. To drive home to my little dump in New Jersey often knowing that Steve Allen said, B次元官网网址榊ou got it,B次元官网网址� that validation kept me going in a big, big way.B次元官网网址�
He had a cameo in B次元官网网址淟eaving Las Vegas,B次元官网网址� which led to his first major dramatic role as Jimmy Epstein, an addict fighting for his life in the indie film, B次元官网网址淒runks.B次元官网网址� He played Don RicklesB次元官网网址� son on one season of B次元官网网址淒addy DearestB次元官网网址� and a rabbi on B次元官网网址�7th Heaven.B次元官网网址�
LewisB次元官网网址� recurring role on B次元官网网址淐urb Your EnthusiasmB次元官网网址� can be credited directly to his friendship with fellow comedian, producer and series star Larry David. Both native Brooklynites B次元官网网址� born in the same Brooklyn hospital B次元官网网址� they first met and became friends as rivals while attending the same summer camp at age 13. He was cast from the beginning, bickering with David on unpaid bills and common courtesies.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.
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