Comic and Curb Your Enthusiasm regular Richard Lewis diagnosed with Parkinson’s
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American comedian Richard Lewis at a premiere for the Netflix original film Sandy Wexler in Los Angeles, on April 6, 2017.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – American comedian Richard Lewis, a long-time regular on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000 to present), says he is under a doctor’s care for Parkinson’s disease, and that despite giving up his stand-up act, “everything is cool” as he focuses on writing and acting.
The 75-year-old disclosed his diagnosis in a brief video posted to Twitter on Sunday, saying he learnt he had Parkinson’s, a chronic degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, two years ago after he began walking stiffly and shuffling his feet.
He said the condition came on top of a series of shoulder, back and hip surgeries for various orthopaedic ailments over the past 3½ years, following an earlier decision to take a break from live performances.
“I’m finished with stand-up. I’m focusing on writing and acting,” he said.
As for the Parkinson’s diagnosis, “I got it late in life, and they say you progress very slowly, if at all, and I’m on the right meds”, he said.
Lewis showed no sign of a tremor in the video.
“I’m under a doctor’s care and everything is cool,” he added. “I love my wife, I love my little puppy dog and I love all my friends and fans.” He is married to Joyce Lapinsky, a producer.
The New York-born entertainer said he recently wrapped filming on the 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he plays a semi-fictional version of himself as a friend of the show’s star and creator, Larry David.
Lewis gained fame in the 1980s stand-up circuit for his self-deprecating, neurotic persona.
He co-starred with actress Jamie Lee Curtis on the workplace romantic sitcom Anything But Love, which aired on ABC from 1989 into 1992. He played Prince John in the Mel Brooks-directed film parody Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993). REUTERS
