Richard Lewis, Diagnosed With Parkinson’s, Will Retire From Stand-Up Comedy

The comic Richard Lewis is retiring from stand-up after having privately handled Parkinson’s illness, which he was recognized with two years in the past, he stated in a video posted on Twitter.

Mr. Lewis, 75, stated that he was recognized after he seen stiffness in his strolling and that he was shuffling his ft. Parkinson’s illness is an incurable dysfunction that impacts the a part of the mind that controls motion.

“The last three and a half years, I’ve had sort of a rocky time, and people say, ‘You know, I haven’t heard from you, are you still touring?’” he stated in a video put up Sunday night time to his almost 240,000 Twitter followers. He described his analysis and stated: “I’m finished with stand-up. I’m just focused on writing and acting.”

Mr. Lewis, who lately completed filming Season 12 of the HBO hit present “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with the comic Larry David, stated that he was fortunate he didn’t get Parkinson’s illness till late in life and that the illness had progressed slowly, if in any respect.

In addition to the Parkinson’s analysis, he has had 4 surgical procedures on his shoulder, again and hip up to now few years. “It was bad luck, but it’s life,” he stated.

Born in Brooklyn in 1947, Mr. Lewis began performing his personal stand-up routines in 1971 at New York’s Improvisation and Pips, in keeping with IMDB, the leisure web site. After showing on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1974, he had a four-year run on the hit ABC collection “Anything but Love,” co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Comedy Central included Mr. Lewis within the high 50 of its record of the highest 100 comedians of all time.

Mr. Lewis has additionally had numerous movie roles, together with as Prince John within the 1993 journey comedy movie “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” In his memoir, “The Other Great Depression,” he described his restoration from dependancy and discovering spirituality.

Mr. Lewis, who has carried out on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” since its debut in 2000, has identified Mr. David since they met at summer time camp at age 12, Mr. Lewis stated in a 2010 interview with Howard Stern.

“Hated him, never saw him again until I became a comic, became best friends,” he stated. “When I became a comic, he loved my work, and I loved his work.”