Richard Lewis, a comedian who made waves with regular appearances with pal Larry David on hit show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' died Wednesday. He was 76 years old.
Variety noted that Lewis In 2021 announced he would not appear in the last season of “Curb” in order to recover from three surgeries.
He surprised viewers by returning to set for one Season 11 episode, telling Variety, “When I walked in and they applauded, I felt like a million bucks. Larry doesn’t like to hug, and he hugged me and told me how happy he was after we shot our scene.”
A Brooklyn native, Lewis started his stand-up career in Greenwich Village in 1971. Within a few years, he was a regular on 'The Tonight Show.' He was known for wearing all black and talking openly about struggles with anxiety, alcohol and drugs.
On 'Curb,' he played a semi-fictional version of himself. Many noted on X that their favorite part of the show was the real friendship between David and Lewis.