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 鈥淭he Prince of Pain,鈥 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 鈥淎nything But Love鈥 and the reliably neurotic Prince John in 鈥淢el Brooks鈥 Robin Hood: Men In Tights.鈥 He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBO鈥檚 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm,鈥 kvetching regularly.
鈥淚鈥檓 paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I鈥檓 not thrilled about,鈥 he once joked onstage. To Jimmy Kimmel he said: 鈥淭his morning, I tried to go to bed. I couldn鈥檛 sleep. I counted sheep but I only had six of them and they all had hip replacements.鈥
Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazine鈥檚 list of the 鈥20th Century鈥檚 Most Influential Humorists.鈥 He lent his humor for charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.
鈥淲atching his stand-up is like sitting in on a very funny and often dark therapy session,鈥 the Los Angeles Times said in 2014. The Philadelphia鈥檚 City Paper called him 鈥渢he Jimi Hendrix of monologists.鈥 Mel Brooks once said he 鈥渕ay just be the Franz Kafka of modern-day comedy.鈥
Comedians took to social media Wednesday to share their thoughts, including Albert Books who called Lewis 鈥渁 brilliantly funny man who will missed by all. The world needed him now more than ever鈥 on X, formerly Twitter. Other tributes came from Bette Midler, Michael McKean and Paul Feig, who called Lewis 鈥渙ne of the funniest people on the planet.鈥
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, Dangerfield鈥檚. 鈥淚 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,鈥 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.
鈥淚 take great pains not to be mean-spirited,鈥 Lewis told The Palm Beach Post in 2007. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to take real handicaps that people have to overcome with no hope in sight. I steer clear of that. That鈥檚 not funny to me. Tragedy is funny to other humorists, but it鈥檚 not to me, unless you can make a point that鈥檚 helpful.鈥
Singer Billy Joel has said he was referring to Lewis when he sang in 鈥淢y Life鈥 of an old friend who 鈥渂ought a ticket to the West Coast/Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.鈥
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 鈥渢he highlight of my career,鈥 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 鈥淗ave Gun 鈥 Will Travel,鈥 with a cowboy in all-black, when he was a kid. He also popularized the term 鈥渇rom hell鈥 鈥 as in 鈥渢he date from hell鈥 or 鈥渢he job from hell.鈥
鈥淭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 鈥80s on and I never wore anything else. I never looked back.鈥
After getting sober from drugs and alcohol in 1994, Lewis put out his 2008 memoir, 鈥淭he Other Great Depression鈥 鈥 a collection of fearless, essay style riffs on his life 鈥 and 鈥淩eflections from Hell.鈥
Lewis was the youngest of three siblings 鈥 his brother was older than him by six years, and his sister by nine. His father died young and his mother had emotional problems. 鈥淪he didn鈥檛 get me at all. I owe my career to my mother. I should have given her my agent鈥檚 commission,鈥 he told The Washington Post in 2020.
鈥淟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,鈥 he wrote in his memoir.
Lewis quickly found a new family performing at New York鈥檚 Improv. 鈥淚 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, 鈥榊ou got it,鈥 that validation kept me going in a big, big way.鈥
He had a cameo in 鈥淟eaving Las Vegas,鈥 which led to his first major dramatic role as Jimmy Epstein, an addict fighting for his life in the indie film, 鈥淒runks.鈥 He played Don Rickles鈥 son on one season of 鈥淒addy Dearest鈥 and a rabbi on 鈥7th Heaven.鈥
Lewis鈥 recurring role on 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm鈥 can be credited directly to his friendship with fellow comedian, producer and series star Larry David. Both native Brooklynites 鈥 born in the same Brooklyn hospital 鈥 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.
READ ALSO:
