Richard Lewis, Curb Your Enthusiasm star, comedian, dead at 76

In the midst of airing their final season on HBO, there is sad news to report from the Curb Your Enthusiasm community. Actor and comedian Richard Lewis, best known by many for playing an exaggerated version of himself on the hit comedy, has died. He was 76 years old.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Lewis passed away peacefully on Tuesday night in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack. This comes almost a year after he revealed his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease publicly and indicated that he would be retiring from stand-up comedy.

One of the things that has always made Curb Your Enthusiasm so unique and iconic is how Larry David was able to bring so many of his friends and contemporaries onto the show in various forms. Lewis appeared in dozens of episodes over the years, with his most-recent one coming earlier this month. He was also game to add more dynamics to a show that can be fun, satirical, and also over-the-top. Of course, there was also an element of realism in that a lot of the actors are bringing at least certain elements of themselves to the show.

Because of Lewis’ passing, there is no denying that the rest of this final season is going to be bittersweet. We do think that the show will tribute him in some way, just as we also imagine that David and so many other actors and producers will speak out more about their time with him over the next several days. After all, one of the reasons why Larry wanted to continue making the show, even after decades, was the opportunity to work with so many of his friends again in some capacity. Even if they were not in every single episode, there was always a comfort in knowing that they could pop back in at some point in some capacity.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Lewis’ family and all who care for him during this difficult time. We hope that his collective body of work does serve as a way to further tribute everything that he has done.