February 27, 2024, proved to be yet another day when a person in the business of making people laugh, instead, made the world cry. Actor, writer, and comedian Richard Lewis passed away of a heart attack at the age of 76, leaving behind an otherwise wonderful legacy of brilliant stand-up acts and hilarious performances in movies like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and and TV shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm. Let’s begin with those titles as we look back on some of the finest moments of the beloved comic’s career, below.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024)
The miserable life and awkward times of neurotic actor, writer, and comedian Larry David.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Much like David (who was “like a brother” to the comedian), Lewis played a fictionalized version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm, including on its 12th and final season on HBO in 2024.
Stream Curb Your Enthusiasm on Max.
Buy Curb Your Enthusiasm on Amazon.
Buy Curb Your Enthusiasm on DVD on Amazon.
Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993)
A talented archer (Cary Elwes) puts together a band of thieves to help him reclaim England from a corrupt prince (Richard Lewis).
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: As the evil Prince John, Lewis gives is one of the funniest performance in Mel Brooks’ hilarious spoof of a classic story, Robin Hood: Men in Tights — a ‘90s movie that does not quite get the love it deserves these days, but might see a resurgence in light of the comic’s death.
Stream Robin Hood: Men In Tights on Max.
Rent or buy Robin Hood: Men In Tights on Amazon.
Buy Robin Hood: Men In Tights on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Diary Of A Young Comic (1979)
An aspiring comedian (Lewis) changes his surname in the hope of making it big in L.A.’s stand-up scene, much to his Jewish family’s chagrin.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Lewis made his feature-film debut in producer Lorne Michaels’ well-received made-for-TV comedy, Diary of a Young Comic, which he also co-wrote with Bennett Tramer from a story by director Gary Weis.
Stream Diary Of A Young Comic on Tubi.
Rent or buy Diary Of A Young Comic on Amazon.
The Wrong Guys (1988)
A group of grown-up former Cub Scouts reunite for what turns out to be a disastrous camping trip.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: In Lewis’ first theatrically released film, he and the likes of Louie Anderson, Richard Belzer, and John Goodman make for a hilarious ensemble in The Wrong Guys.
Stream The Wrong Guys on Tubi.
Stream The Wrong Guys on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy The Wrong Guys on Amazon.
Buy The Wrong Guys on DVD on Amazon.
Anything But Love (1989-1992)
Two writers fall for each other, but struggle to keep their relationship secret while working at the same Chicago magazine together.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: For four seasons, Lewis and future Academy Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis led the charming, Emmy-nominated, romantic sitcom, Anything But Love.
Buy Anything But Love on DVD on Amazon.
Once Upon A Crime (1992)
A disparate group of people become suspects in the mysterious death of a lost dog’s owner in Rome.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Lewis (amongst a stellar who’s who that includes John Candy and Cybill Shepherd) plays a struggling actor in Once Upon a Crime — a funny whodunnit directed by Eugene Levy.
Stream Once Upon a Crime on Freevee through Amazon.
Stream Once Upon a Crime on Tubi.
Buy Once Upon a Crime on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Tales From The Crypt – Season 6, Episode 3 (1993)
After her harshly demanding boss (Lewis) fires her, a comic artist (Rita Rudner) begins experiencing that same horrible day over and over again, but with slight changes each time.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Lewis stars alongside fellow stand-up comic and frequent collaborator Rudner in this funny, meta, Mick Garris-directed episode of one of the best horror anthology TV shows, Tales from the Crypt.
Buy Tales From The Crypt on DVD on Amazon.
Wagons East (1994)
A drunken cowboy (John Candy) agrees to escort a group of wannabe settlers back to where they came from after realizing the Wild West is not for them.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: In one of the final John Candy movies, Wagons East, he and Lewis make a great pair in this historical comedy.
Stream Wagons East on Amazon Prime.
Stream Wagons East on Tubi.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
A boozy, depressed Hollywood screenwriter (Nicolas Cage in his Oscar-winning role) aspires to drink himself to death in Sin City, where he meets a sex worker (Elizabeth Shue) who changes his life.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Lewis gives a small, but memorable, dramatic performance at the beginning of writer and director Mike Figgis’ adaptation of John O’Brien’s novel, Leaving Las Vegas, as a friend of Cage’s character who gives him some cash and requests they cut ties forever.
Stream Leaving Las Vegas on Max.
Rent or buy Leaving Las Vegas on Amazon.
Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour (1996)
The comedian brings an actual list of personal issues to discuss — ranging from the difference between life in California and New York to even TV programs about fishing — when performing for a Greenwich Village audience.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: The titles of Richard Lewis’ stand-up specials always reflected his inner neuroses, including HBO’s The Magic Misery Tour, which has been hailed by many as one of his all-time best shows.
Stream Richard Lewis: Magical Misery Tour on Amazon Prime.
Stream Richard Lewis: Magical Misery Tour on Tubi.
Hugo Pool (1997)
A young, beautiful pool cleaner (Alyssa Milano) strikes up a romance with a man suffering from ALS (Patrick Dempsey).
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Richard Lewis is a standout of the star-studded ensemble — which also includes Robert Downey Jr., Malcolm McDowell, and Sean Penn — in co-writer and director Robert Downey Sr.’s quirky romantic comedy, Hugo Pool.
Buy Hugo Pool on DVD on Amazon.
Vamps (2012)
Eternal life is easy for two socialite vampire roommates (Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter), except when it comes to navigating New York City’s modern dating scene.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: Lewis also worked with a star-studded ensemble that includes Malcolm McDowell — as well as Dan Stevens, Wallace Shawn, and Sigourney Weaver — in another quicky romance with a horror-comedy twist called Vamps, from director Amy Heckerling.
Stream Vamps on Starz.
Stream Vamps on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Vamps on Amazon.
Buy Vamps on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Blunt Talk (2015-2016)
A respected, British TV journalist (Sir Patrick Stewart) who recently relocated to the States, wrestles with his personal demons behind the scenes.
Why it is one of Richard Lewis’ best: In the first season of Blunt Talk, when Walter Blunt’s behavior proves too chaotic, his producers urge him to see a therapist, who is played by Richard Lewis in a six-episode recurring role.
Celebrate the life of one of a man Larry David said had “a rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest” by watching these great Richard Lewis movies and TV shows.
