Richard Lewis (comedian)

Infobox Comedian


name = Richard Lewis
imagesize =
caption =
pseudonym =
birth_name = Richard Philip Lewis
birth_date = birth date and age|1947|6|29
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
death_date =
death_place =
medium = stand-up, television, film
nationality = American
active = 1971 - present
genre = Black comedy, Surreal humor
subject = self-deprecation, neuroticism, psychotherapy, hypochondria, paranoia, depression, human sexuality, Jewish culture, pop culture, family
influences = Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor [Interview with Bill Zehme, "Richard Lewis: Concerts from Hell: The Vintage Years", Image Entertainment, Released 2005-09-13]
influenced = Kevin Richard, Artie Lange
spouse = Joyce Lapinsky (January 2005 - present)
notable_work= Marty Gold in "Anything But Love"
Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"


website = [http://www.richardlewisonline.com/ richardlewisonline.com]
footnotes =

Richard Philip Lewis (born June 29 1947) is an American comedian and actor.

Biography

Early life

Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey, the son of Blanche, an actress, and William Lewis, a caterer. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/19/Richard-Lewis.html Richard Lewis Biography (1947?-) ] ] He graduated from Dwight Morrow High School and received a degree from Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. As a teenager, Lewis appeared on the "Candid Camera" television show.

Career

Lewis began performing stand-up comedy in the 1970s. He worked as a copywriter for an ad agency by day, while honing his stand-up act at night. The ad agency was named Contemporary Graphics (no longer exists) and was located above Lovey's pizzeria in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Lewis gained popularity in the 1980s with numerous appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman" and his own television specials on HBO. He has starred in the ABC sitcom "Anything But Love" which ran for four seasons. He co-starred with Don Rickles on the short-lived "Daddy Dearest." He had a recurring role on Showtime series "Rude Awakening" and as a rabbi on the dramatic series "7th Heaven". Lewis has written comic articles for magazines such as "Playboy", and endorsed the popular early-1990s beverage, Boku, as well as Snapple.

He currently has a frequent recurring role as himself on Larry David's critically acclaimed "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO. Lewis and David met at summer camp in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York when they were twelve.

Lewis has also achieved moderate success in films, appearing as Prince John in "" and as a frontier doctor in "Wagons East!". He appeared in the dramatic films "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Drunks". He made his acting debut in the 1977 TV movie mockumentary "Diary of a Young Comic".

Miscellaneous

Lewis claims to be the originator of the expression "the ______ from hell" as in "the date from hell" or "the roommate from hell". This theory is expounded in the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode "The Nanny from Hell". Lewis has petitioned the editors of Bartlett's to be given credit for the coinage, but the editors claim that the phrase was a common idiom prior to Lewis' use of it. [Flamm, Matthew. [http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,384097_5_0_,00.html Between the Lines] . 60 Minutes. 11-01-2002. Retrieved on December 28, 2006] However, the Yale Book of Quotations does attribute the phrase to Lewis. [ [http://yalepress.typepad.com/yalepresslog/2006/10/yale_gives_rich.html Yale Press Log: Yale Gives Richard Lewis Hell] , 2006-10-11. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.] [Zwicky, Arnold. [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004818.html Language Log: Yet Another Snowclone Omnibus] , 2007-08-11. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.]

On January 9, 2001, Lewis visited the Howard Stern Show to promote his book "The Other Great Depression", which described his recovery from alcoholism, and was told that he "was not an alcoholic". He was then subjected to several stories from the staff and phone callers that made his alcohol intake and "horror stories" seem insignificant. Lewis also admitted that he was addicted to having phone sex with ex-lovers and other women, and masturbating on the road while fantasizing about having sex with people he "shouldn't be with", like sleeping with his friends' wives.

References

External links

* [http://www.richardlewisonline.com/ Richard Lewis' official website]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/797/000024725/ Richard Lewis at NNDB]
*imdb name|0507659|Richard Lewis
* [http://www.richardlewisnaked.com/ Richard Lewis Naked DVD Documentary]
* [http://www.jesterjournal.com/RichardLewis.htm Richard Lewis appearance at 92nd St. Y]