Richard Lewis: The Constant Neurotic Comic Who Spoke to Me Just a Bit Too Much

During the peak of his fame I wasn’t much of a fan of comedian Richard Lewis. That’s not because I didn’t find him funny or talented—quite the contrary. It’s that his particular brand of cutting self-deprecating comedy built around anxiety and substance abuse (particularly alcohol) was just a bit too close to home for me.

I grew up in a household with an alcoholic stepfather, and developed anxiety from that nine years of misery. The comedy of Richard Lewis was built around angst and neuroses—and I was afflicted by both. Normally, I’m not a person who shies away from the familiar—even if it’s painful. But Lewis? He was often a bridge too far for me. It’s hard to laugh and wince at the same time, but Lewis was a master of creating that reaction—at least in me. 

So, while I respected him greatly, I kept myself at what one might call a “safe distance.” I enjoyed him more on talk shows than I did as a stand up—his true stock and visionary trade. I could manage him in small doses, but for a full hour? That was a length of time beyond my capacity to endure.

As I got older, I learned to set aside my own issues and truly enjoy Lewis’ particular brand of humor. He was brilliant at playing a version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and those stand up specials that I had previously shied away from were more (somewhat) comfortably accessible to me as I aged and matured. 

Lewis doesn’t have a lengthy film and TV biography, but he did get a shot at starring in his own sitcom back in 1989, with Anything But Love, co-starring the wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis. The series lasted just four seasons on ABC despite good reviews and two Golden Globe nominations for Curtis as best lead actress. A few years ago, I gave the show a second look, and found the “will they / won’t they” conventions of the relationship between Lewis and Curtis to be utterly charming.

In any film or series, Lewis was always playing a variation of himself (he wasn’t an actor with a capital A), but across from Curtis, who offset and balanced out the neurotic nature of Lewis, Anything But Love was (and is) absolutely delightful, and one wishes the network would have given it more run. Of course, in retrospect, it would have helped if more people like me would have tuned in. 

Regardless, however slight his film and TV resume may be as an actor, his numerous stand up specials, his appearances on Comic Relief, and his contributions to Anything But Love and Curb Your Enthusiasm were so particular, so singular, that I wish I would have appreciated him more when his career was thriving, and while he was alive. 

Richard Lewis got under my skin for many years, so I avoided him. Now I’ve found that I like him there. Just beneath my flesh, reflecting portions of my own life back at me. 

Sorry to be late to the party, Richard. You deserved better from me.

Richard Lewis died on February 27, 2024. He was 76 years old.