Richard Lewis Was the Conscience of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
28.02.2024 - 23:03
/ variety.com
Daniel D'Addario Chief TV Critic Richard Lewis, who died Feb. 27 at 76, had a long career as a comic, but has lately been particularly well-known as a part of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — something close to its heart. On “Curb,” Lewis’ frequent appearances needled star and protagonist Larry David in a manner no one else in the ensemble quite could.
Playing a version of himself, just as David does, Lewis was perhaps David’s most sophisticated sparring partner, presenting to the curmudgeonly star of the show points-of-view he couldn’t just dismiss with an expletive (try though he might). The rest of the cast, from foul-mouthed Susie (Susie Essman) to hazy idealist Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), end up in head-on collisions with Larry. Lewis approached his character with an observational comic’s twisted but methodical logic, and a willingness to go anywhere to find the joke.
In this, he became an important comic foil for a show whose star exerts a powerful gravitational field. Lewis is a part of the show’s DNA, appearing in its very first episode — in which Larry’s antics jeopardize a nascent relationship to which Richard has attached a great deal of significance. Over the course of “Curb’s” run, Richard cut a similar figure to “Seinfeld’s” Jerry, running through a series of girlfriends — but the crucial difference to Jerry was Richard’s sentimentality.
He was the show’s true romantic, and saw in the perpetual romantic saboteur Larry the inevitable and constant agent of his own heartbreak. It was this particular distaste for Larry that added a new color to the show’s palette. Susie could curse him out over social slights and Cheryl could grumble over ways he’d made her lose face, but Richard felt Larry’s tactical social ineptitude
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