Lifestyle
Comedian Richard Lewis, who recently starred on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' dies at 76
![Comedian Richard Lewis, who recently starred on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' dies at 76 Comedian Richard Lewis, who recently starred on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' dies at 76](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/02/28/ap24059747703730_wide-08eda86ce18f180b459430fb72aa822bfc4820ee-s1400-c100.jpg)
Comedian Richard Lewis attends an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Dec. 25, 2012. Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes, has died at age 76.
Alex Gallardo/AP
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Alex Gallardo/AP
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Comedian Richard Lewis attends an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Dec. 25, 2012. Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes, has died at age 76.
Alex Gallardo/AP
NEW YORK — Richard Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” has died. He was 76.
Lewis, who revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham.
A regular performer in clubs and on late-night TV for decades, Lewis also played Marty Gold, the romantic co-lead opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, in the ABC series “Anything But Love” and the reliably neurotic Prince John in “Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” He re-introduced himself to a new generation opposite Larry David in HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” kvetching regularly.
“I’m paranoid about everything in my life. Even at home. On my stationary bike, I have a rear-view mirror, which I’m not thrilled about,” he once joked onstage. To Jimmy Kimmel he said: “This morning, I tried to go to bed. I couldn’t sleep. I counted sheep but I only had six of them and they all had hip replacements.”
Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he earned a berth in GQ magazine’s list of the “20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists.” He lent his humor for charity causes, including Comic Relief and Comedy Gives Back.
![Not My Job: Comedian Richard Lewis Gets Quizzed On Confidence](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/09/12/170073077_sq-e9d275e0dacfcd2550f8a7a5e8f0ac7f6b85d991-s100.jpg)
“Watching his stand-up is like sitting in on a very funny and often dark therapy session,” the Los Angeles Times said in 2014. The Philadelphia’s City Paper called him “the Jimi Hendrix of monologists.” Mel Brooks once said he “may just be the Franz Kafka of modern-day comedy.”
Following his graduation from The Ohio State University in 1969, the New York-born Lewis began a stand-up career, honing his craft on the circuit with other contemporaries also just starting out like Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze and Billy Crystal.
He recalled Rodney Dangerfield hiring him for $75 to fill in at his New York club, Dangerfield’s. “I had a lot of great friends early on who believed in me, and I met pretty iconic people who really helped me, told me to keep working on my material. And I never looked back,” he told The Gazette of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2010.
![Super Dave Osborne and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Actor, Bob Einstein, Dies At 76](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2019/01/02/ap_18179081050846_sq-ff7777951ea3648f64713697702710b80d2000b8-s100.jpg)
Unlike contemporary Robin Williams, Lewis allowed audiences into his world and melancholy, pouring his torment and pain onto the stage. Fans favorably compared him to the ground-breaking comedian Lenny Bruce.
“I take great pains not to be mean-spirited,” Lewis told The Palm Beach Post in 2007. “I don’t like to take real handicaps that people have to overcome with no hope in sight. I steer clear of that. That’s not funny to me. Tragedy is funny to other humorists, but it’s not to me, unless you can make a point that’s helpful.”
Singer Billy Joel has said he was referring to Lewis when he sang in “My Life” of an old friend who “bought a ticket to the West Coast/Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A.”
In 1989 at Carnegie Hall, he appeared with six feet of yellow legal sheets filled with material and taped together for a 2½-hour set that led to two standing ovations. The night was “the highlight of my career,” he told The Washington Post in 2020.
Lewis told GQ his signature look came incidentally, saying his obsession with dressing in black came from watching the television Western “Have Gun – Will Travel,” with a cowboy in all-black, when he was a kid. He also popularized the term “from hell” — as in “the date from hell” or “the job from hell.”
“That just came out of my brain one day and I kept repeating it a lot for some reason. Same thing with the black clothes. I just felt really comfortable from the early ’80s on and I never wore anything else. I never looked back.”
After getting sober from drugs and alcohol in 1994, Lewis put out his 2008 memoir, “The Other Great Depression” — a collection of fearless, essay style riffs on his life — and “Reflections from Hell.”
Lewis was the youngest of three siblings — his brother was older than him by six years, and his sister by nine. His father died young and his mother had emotional problems. “She didn’t get me at all. I owe my career to my mother. I should have given her my agent’s commission,” he told The Washington Post in 2020.
“Looking back on it now, as a full-blown, middle-aged, functioning anxiety collector, I can admit without cringing that my parents had their fair share of tremendous qualities, yet, being human much of the day, had more than just a handful of flaws as well,” he wrote in his memoir.
Lewis quickly found a new family performing at New York’s Improv. “I was 23, and all sorts of people were coming in and out and watching me, like Steve Allen and Bette Midler. David Brenner certainly took me under his wing. To drive home to my little dump in New Jersey often knowing that Steve Allen said, ‘You got it,’ that validation kept me going in a big, big way.”
He had a cameo in “Leaving Las Vegas,” which led to his first major dramatic role as Jimmy Epstein, an addict fighting for his life in the indie film, “Drunks.” He played Don Rickles’ son on one season of “Daddy Dearest” and a rabbi on “7th Heaven.”
Lewis’s recurring role on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” can be credited directly to his friendship with fellow comedian, producer and series star Larry David. Both native Brooklynites — born in the same Brooklyn hospital — they first met and became friends as rivals while attending the same summer camp at age 13. He was cast from the beginning, bickering with David on unpaid bills and common courtesies.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.
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Lifestyle
'Wait Wait' for August 31, 2024: Live in Minnesota with Nate Berkus
!['Wait Wait' for August 31, 2024: Live in Minnesota with Nate Berkus 'Wait Wait' for August 31, 2024: Live in Minnesota with Nate Berkus](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x2268+0+0/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fdc%2F79%2F6c7afa6242ce9a53f9c10f64e374%2Fgettyimages-1436835915.jpg)
Nate Berkus speaks onstage during the Celebrity Cruises newest and most luxurious ship, Celebrity Beyond, makes north American debut in NYC on October 25, 2022 in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Celebrity Cruises)
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Celebrity Cruis/Getty Images North America
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This week’s show was recorded at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Nate Berkus and panelists Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Josh Gondelman. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
Who’s Bill This Time
Beware of Babies; Coffee Conundrum; Even Killer Whales Need Practice
Panel Questions
The Buddy System Fails
Bluff The Listener
Our panelists tell three stories about someone saying “I told you so,” only one of which is true.
Not My Job: We quiz celebrity designer Nate Berkus on tattoos
Interior Designer Nate Berkus plays our game called “Try Some Exterior Decorating.” Three questions about tattoos.
Panel Questions
A Suspicious Promotion; Chicken Fried Television; Out Of Office/Out of Patience
Limericks
Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Pizza Face; Eau de Crayola; Caffeinated Commerce
Lightning Fill In The Blank
All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else
Predictions
Our panelists predict what surprising thing Starbucks will add to its menu next.
Lifestyle
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Tony Gonzalez
![How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Tony Gonzalez How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Tony Gonzalez](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7ff408f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2400x1260+0+170/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd4%2Ff1%2Ffd25a1cc42e0b6c61ddabf5a2ead%2Fla-wk-sunday-funday-tony-gonzalez-lead-static.png)
When NFL Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez was growing up in Torrance, he remembers spending Sundays watching the Los Angeles Raiders on television. After all, “they had Bo Jackson,” Gonzalez says of the famous running back. (The Rams, led by quarterback Jim Everett, were a close second.)
Like Jackson, the 48-year-old grew up to be a multisport athlete, playing basketball and football at Huntington Beach High School and UC Berkeley and later playing 17 seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.
He may have retired from playing football, but Gonzalez is back on television as an analyst for Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football,” a job that requires considerable travel during the NFL football season.
![sunday funday infobox logo with colorful spot illustrations](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bba0672/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2078x1385+142+0/resize/510x340!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa1%2F5c%2F2910e6494d1180e8b1c9f9aa5f56%2Fla-sf-series-graphic-tony-gonzalez.png)
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
During the offseason, however, Gonzalez cherishes his time at home with his family. Now that he, his wife, October, and their three kids have returned to Los Angeles after living in Texas, Gonzalez is happy to be back in L.A. (Gonzalez also has a son from a previous relationship with Lauren Sanchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezo’s fiancée.) “When I left, I thought, ‘Why did I ever leave California?’” Gonzalez says. “I missed my family — my mother and my brother who live here. I also missed the ocean.”
When the NFL season kicks off on Sept. 5, Gonzalez will have to forfeit his Sundays — a day he describes as his “sacred day” — because he will watch football all day to prepare for his halftime and postgame analysis for “Thursday Night Football.” Until then, Gonzalez can be found cruising the tree-lined streets of Montana Avenue in Santa Monica on foot and bicycle as he enjoys a car-free day.
Accustomed to doing play-by-plays, Gonzalez offers the following commentary on his perfect Sunday in L.A. when he’s not on the road.
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5c848a4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1000+0+0/resize/40x40!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff8%2Ffe%2F45b0eb564e64b514c51cff393780%2Flat-sunfun-tony-g-spots-hands.png)
7 a.m.: Meditate before starting the day
The first thing I do when I wake up is meditate. I pray, sit there, think and close my eyes. I don’t get out of bed; I take time to be alone and get my thoughts right. It’s a sacred moment for me and lasts about 10 minutes.
9 a.m.: Grab a coffee at Sweet Lady Jane while walking the dogs
Midmorning, I’ll take my two dogs, Chica and Bronx, a standard black poodle and labradoodle, for a walk. During our walk, I’ll stop at Sweet Lady Jane off Montana Avenue in Santa Monica for coffee. Montana is where I will concentrate my day. I’m used to traveling for “Thursday Night Football” and am always on a plane. So Sunday is my sacred day. If I need to go somewhere, I’m walking; I’m walking everywhere. I’m not getting in the car.
10 a.m.: Shop local at the Santa Monica Farmers Market
After coffee and cake, my next stop is the Santa Monica Farmers Market, where I’ll do a little shopping. I like the local farmers’ eggs, cheese and meats, and they have the best yogurt I have ever tasted. I love going up and down the aisles and trying new things. It’s such a cool spot.
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/40e4a3f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1000+0+0/resize/40x40!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9a%2F3e%2Fb052372b46c5ab92876d4c536f11%2Flat-sunfun-tony-g-spots-wave.png)
11 a.m.: Enjoy the ocean views at Palisades Park
If I don’t go home, I’ll walk over to Palisades Park, north of the Santa Monica Pier. I’ll pick a street, say Marguerita or Montana, and walk until it ends. After sampling some things at the Farmers Market, I’ll walk over to the cliffs overlooking the water. It’s so peaceful and beautiful there; it’s like you’re in a different country. That’s California at its best. You can sit on a bench and look out over the water. Anytime people come in from out of town, we’ll take them there and have a picnic. The ocean is one of the reasons I wanted to move back to Los Angeles.
Noon: Afternoon workout
Jogging to Palisades Park from where I live is a good workout. It’s about a mile from my house. I love walking to the ocean from my home and seeing the water. So after I take in the ocean views, I’ll walk or jog back to the house and take a shower.
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/15039d0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1000+0+0/resize/40x40!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc9%2F0d%2F2a52a3f941d59f3af9c919bbfe5c%2Flat-sunfun-tony-g-spots-sandwich.png)
1 p.m.: Take a bike ride over to Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery
After showering, I’ll bike to Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery. Their sandwiches are the best. I usually customize my sandwich and order turkey, roast beef, avocado, provolone, tomatoes, pickles, onions and mayonnaise. And the bread is outstanding. That’s what makes a good sandwich — the bread.
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0438772/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1000+0+0/resize/40x40!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3d%2F3b%2Fa738071c401781d3894ade304488%2Flat-sunfun-tony-g-spots-beer.png)
3 p.m.: Grab a craft beer at Father’s Office gastropub
Later in the afternoon, I might head to Father’s Office, Sang Yoon’s gastropub in Santa Monica, where they have a great beer selection. It’s an excellent place to grab a beer on Montana Avenue, which is my favorite area. Father’s is small, but they have a nice outdoor area and terrific burgers. I might grab a beer and then head back to the house to relax.
7 p.m.: Enjoy an Italian meal at La Condo Portofino
At the end of the day, I’ll have dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, La Condo Portofino on Montana Avenue. It’s an unassuming Italian place near 11th Street and located next to a cleaners, which I love. They have some of the best Italian food in L.A., and the staff is so nice. After the COVID-19 pandemic, they expanded and created seating in the parking lot. So now you can sit outside if you prefer and finish the day with a nice plate of pasta, a veal chop and a glass of wine.
![](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1af90f2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x1000+0+0/resize/40x40!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa8%2F15%2F70185f4c462a8a75a32442b701f5%2Flat-sunfun-tony-g-spots-pasta.png)
10 p.m.: Read a book, catch up on TV and appreciate the day
After dinner, I’ll go home and read a book or try to find something to watch on Amazon Prime before I go to bed. That is my perfect day. The billion-dollar stadiums around the NFL are all centered around the fan experience. At home, this is my ultimate experience. In fact, I want to go do this right now.
Lifestyle
Court orders a new hearing for Adnan Syed in 'Serial' case. Here's what to know
![Court orders a new hearing for Adnan Syed in 'Serial' case. Here's what to know Court orders a new hearing for Adnan Syed in 'Serial' case. Here's what to know](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8018x4510+0+0/resize/1400/quality/100/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9f%2Fc9%2F3cb30dc142deb062b859125cf4bb%2Fap23278570929892.jpg)
Adnan Syed, standing with his mother Shamim Rahman, talks with reporters outside Maryland’s Supreme Court in Annapolis, Md., on Oct. 5, 2023.
Susan Walsh/AP
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Susan Walsh/AP
Less than two years after Adnan Syed was released from prison, Maryland’s top court has ordered a redo on the very hearing that freed him.
On Friday, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s decision from 2023 to reinstate Syed’s conviction. That ruling was based on the argument that the murder victim’s family did not receive adequate notice about the hearing that led to Syed’s release.
Now, the case will head to a new lower court judge, who will determine the fate of Syed’s conviction. The Maryland Supreme Court said Syed can remain free in the meantime.
![Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed, the subject of 'Serial' podcast](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/10/11/ap22262747625739_sq-5232ba5af5f54fa9ddd4c4929f15521eb2b9c89c.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
The 43-year-old spent 23 years in prison for the murder of his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. His case drew national attention after being the main focus of the Serial podcast’s first season. The episodes raised doubts about some of the case’s evidence and led to calls for a new trial. Syed was originally facing life in prison until a Baltimore judge vacated his conviction in 2022.
Syed went on to work for Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. But his case is far from settled. Here’s what to know.
A recap of Syed’s criminal case
In 1999, Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee’s body was discovered in a city park, a few weeks after she had gone missing. Her autopsy determined that she had been strangled to death.
Syed, who had previously dated Lee, was charged with her murder and in 2000, he was sentenced to life in prison. At the time, he was 18 years old.
![How the investigation of Adnan Syed became a podcast phenomenon](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/09/20/ap22262749491425_sq-60fd835cbead35cd8c99f1e79eee9927897922c5.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
Syed had long maintained that he was innocent but his case received renewed attention in 2014 after it was chronicled in the debut season of the Serial podcast. Over the course of 12 episodes, Serial probed at the details in Syed’s case and exposed flaws in the legal system. One poignant question from the podcast was about the reliability of cellphone tower evidence.
Syed’s lawyers raised similar concerns and in 2016, Syed was granted a new trial. The state appealed the ruling and his case went through various courts. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case.
Things took a turn in 2022 after a year-long investigation resulted in new information about two possible, alternative suspects. In September of that year, Syed was released from prison and prosecutors later decided to drop all cases against him.
Why Syed’s murder conviction got reinstated
In 2023, Lee’s family urged the Appellate Court of Maryland for a redo of the hearing that won Syed his freedom. The family argued that Lee’s brother, who lived in California, received about three days notice about the hearing and therefore, was unable to attend in person — violating Maryland victims’ rights, the Associated Press reported at the time.
“We’re not on a campaign to have Adnan Syed put back in jail,” attorney David Sanford, representing Lee’s family, said in 2023. “This is about respecting victims and their representatives.”
![Adnan Syed's case is unique. Withholding of potentially exculpatory evidence is not](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/09/20/ap222627476257391_sq-18a1ef0ca5b0af1dab5f8716245323ceddaf3e48.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg)
The appellate court ruled in favor of Lee’s family and reinstated Syed’s murder conviction. The court also a ordered a new hearing in the case. That ruling was upheld by Maryland’s highest court on Friday.
“In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee,” Maryland’s Supreme Court wrote in an opinion on Friday.
What’s next
Baltimore’s state attorney’s office said it was reviewing the high court’s decision and had no further details about next steps forward.
In a statement, Lee’s family’s attorney, Sanford, applauded the court for reaffirming crime victims’ rights and giving the family the chance to be heard properly in court.
“If there is compelling evidence to support vacating the conviction of Adnan Syed, we will be the first to agree,” Sanford said.
Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, said she disagreed with the court’s decision, adding that it will put an emotional toll on both Lee and Syed’s family.
“Though this latest ruling is a roadblock in the way of Adnan’s exoneration, we have faith that justice will prevail, and will work tirelessly to clear his name once and for all,” Suter said in a statement.
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