Credit: FXPAfter the tragic announcement of Richard Lewis’ passing, co-star and friend Jamie Lee Curtis made multiple tributes to let the world know just how much he meant.
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The entertainment world was shaken yesterday at the announcement of the passing of legendary comedian Richard Lewis. He was beloved for his dark and personal sense of humor as well as his performances as Prince John in the Mel Brooks classic Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and as himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm opposite star Larry David.
Fans and friends took to social media in droves, paying tribute to the late comedian. However, none of them hit the emotional core quite like Academy Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis.
Richard Lewis Remembered By Beloved Co-Star and Friend
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Today, Jamie Lee Curtis is most remembered for starring in Freaky Friday (2003) with Lindsay Lohan and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) with Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh, which earned her an Oscar and a SAG Award. However, she also starred in the ABC sitcom Anything but Love, where she met Richard Lewis. The two became fast friends, so it only makes sense that she would pen such an emotional tribute on Instagram:
“I’ve just read that my friend Richard Lewis has died. I remember exactly where I was when I saw a billboard of him about a stand up special on Sunset Boulevard when we were casting the ABC pilot Anything But Love and asked the casting people to bring him in to audition to play my best friend/maybe boyfriend, Marty Gold.”
“I thought he was handsome. He made me laugh, which is the one thing that a strong, capable woman, can’t really do for herself. He got the part when I snort-laughed when he mispronounced the word Bundt cake.”
“He blew everyone else away It was a love triangle show and they didn’t pick up that pilot but they came back to me and said that the chemistry with Richard was so great and could we revamp the original pilot which is the show we ended up making for a couple years.”
“He was also a stand-up comic and hated the live audience, whereas I, who had never done a play, loved it. He used to hide his lines everywhere on the set, on props, door frames, on my face in a close-up and was always carrying a clipboard with his lines on them. It turns out he was a wonderful actor. Deep and so freaking funny.”
“We went through the death of our friend and costar, Richard Frank, together and grieved the loss of our producer and friend, John Ritter. Richard’s last text to me, was hoping that I could convince ABC/Disney to put out another boxed set of episodes of the show.”
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Finally, the Halloween II (1981) star opened up about how much the late Richard Lewis meant to her on a personal level, showing that their bond was deeper than anyone could realize.
“He also is the reason I am sober. 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!”
Jamie Lee Curtis Made Two More Tributes To Richard Lewis
While her tribute already seemed to cover everything a person could feel, the Knives Out (2019) star was not done yet. In a second post about Lewis, she remembered the lyrics to Anything but Love’s theme song, which seemed particularly poignant today.
If we had never met,
And the world got on without us,
Just as if we were never there at all.
We’d be searching yet
For the next big thing that ever happened
Trying not to fall…
Anything but love will do
Anything but hearts that beat like thunder,
Anything but love would be enough
For anyone but you.
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The Halloween Ends (2022) star made a third and final post, showing just how much Richard Lewis meant to her:
“Richard Lewis helped people laugh and he helped people heal through his tireless, indefatigable belief in sobriety. The laughs may stop but the healing never does. It’s the power of recovery and fellowship and solidarity and it’s available everywhere all at once. A phone call away. Rest in the knowledge that you helped people, Richard. First of all, me.”
What is your favorite Richard Lewis performance? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below.