Larry David, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more pay tribute to Richard Lewis
David called the late comedian the "funniest person and also the sweetest" and Curtis credited him as "the reason I am sober" on social media this week
Beloved actor and comedian Richard Lewis died of a heart attack in his home in Los Angeles this week, leaving a giant hole in the world of comedy in general as well as Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he starred as Larry David’s best friend for two decades. David, who was as close with Lewis off-screen as he was on, wrote the following tribute to his old friend yesterday (via Variety):
Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.
In 2021, Lewis announced that he would not be returning to Curb to take some time to recover from multiple surgeries, but he later changed his tune. He stars in the series’ 12th and final season, which is currently airing on HBO.
But David is far from the only person whose life was touched by Lewis. Jamie Lee Curtis, who co-starred with the late comedian on 1989 sitcom Anything But Love, also wrote three emotional tributes to Lewis on Instagram. In the first, she credits him as “the reason I am sober,” writing: “He helped me. I am forever grateful for him for that act of grace alone. He found love with Joyce and that, of course, besides his sobriety, is what mattered most to him. I’m weeping as I write this. Strange way of saying thank you to a sweet and funny man. Rest in laughter, Richard. My Marty, I love you, Hannah!” “Rest in the knowledge that you helped people, Richard. First of all, me,” she wrote in another.
Many, many more stars have paid tribute to Lewis’ legacy since the news broke yesterday. Fellow Curb star Cheryl Hines wrote on Instagram that he was “the funniest person on stage and the most handsome comedian,” and Mark Hamill called him “one-of-a-kind & always hilarious.” You can read some of these tributes below: