Richard Lewis and Larry David: Friendship explored as Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian says he will ‘never forgive’ co-star

Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis passed away on Tuesday, February 27 at the age of 76 due to a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. The comedian revealed that he had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease for two years in April 2023.

His longtime friend and co-star, Larry David, paid tribute to Richard Lewis through an official statement shared by HBO on Wednesday, February 28. Larry David shared his thoughts about Lewis and said that Lewis had been "like a brother" to him. He mentioned that he would "never forgive" him for making him sob.

He added,

“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”

In an August 2023 interview with The Spectator, Lewis spoke about his relationship with Larry David. He revealed that he "intensely disliked" his co-star when he first met him.

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Richard Lewis and Larry David's friendship explored

Richard Lewis stated in his 2023 interview with The Spectator that he first met Larry David when they were 12 at a sports summer camp in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.

He mentioned that his first impression of David was negative. Richard Lewis said:

"He was cocky, he was arrogant. When we played baseball I tried to hit him with the ball: we were arch rivals. I couldn’t wait for the camp to be over just to get away from Larry. I’m sure he felt the same way."

The two met again 11 years later in New York when both were working as stand-up comedians in New York. Lewis recalled that they could not recognize each other at first.

Richard Lewis described that one evening David and he were out drinking when they recognized each other. He called David his "dearest friend" and said that he "truly loves him".

"In truth he loves me and I'm his dearest friend, but it would be rare for him to go deep like that."

In 2000, Larry David created the popular sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he starred as a fictionalized version of himself. He co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lewis played a recurring role of a semi-autobiographical version of himself.

Richard Lewis appeared in the first episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, aired in 2000, where he screamed as David's character for not liking his girlfriend. As per the Los Angeles Times, their dynamic on the show as "bickering old marrieds" represented their offscreen friendship.

On January 31 this year, David spoke about Lewis' health struggles and stated that he was upset that Lewis was not able to attend the season 10 premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Richard Lewis believed he and David were "unusual best friends"

Ahead of the premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm's final season, The Times spoke to Richard Lewis and Larry David about the series and their offscreen dynamic.

In the interview, Lewis called himself and David "unusual best friends."

“We do try to catch each other all the time in real life. It’s some kind of game we play. I guess we’re unusual best friends.”

As per Lewis, the two had "profound affection" for one another and their craft.

“We have this profound affection for one another and respect for our craft. And we’ve always been there for one another.

In the same interview, he noted that he could "say anything" to Lewis and vice versa.

“Because we’re such old friends, I can say anything I want to him and vice versa. So there’s a certain freedom that comes with that. ... Anything I say to him on the show, I would say to him in life. I think I treat him worse in life.”

In 2021, Richard Lewis announced that he would not return to Curb Your Enthusiasm to take some time off and recover from two surgeries. However, he returned for season 12 of the series, airing now on HBO.