Richard Philip Lewis is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He came to prominence as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s and became known for his dark, neurotic and self-deprecating humour.
As an actor, he is known for co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in the sitcom Anything but Love, and for playing the role of Prince John in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Lewis gained much wider exposure in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous appearances on talk shows such as The Tonight Show, both Late Night and the Late Show with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show.
He also produced the comedy specials I’m in Pain, which aired on Showtime in 1985, followed by I’m Exhausted, I’m Doomed and Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour, which all aired on HBO in 1988, 1990 and 1997 respectively.
GQ magazine included Lewis on their list of “The 20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists”, and Lewis was ranked #45 on Comedy Central’s list of “100 Greatest Standups of All Time” released in 2004.
Richard Lewis Parents: Meet Richard Lewis’ Mother And Father
His family is Jewish, but not especially religious. His father, Bill (d. 1971), was co-owner of Ambassador Caterers in nearby Teaneck, New Jersey and his mother, Blanche, was an actress in community theatre.
Lewis is the youngest of three siblings – his brother was older than him by 6 years, and his sister by 9.
Lewis’s father’s catering business kept his father very busy, and his siblings had both left home by the 1960s, leaving Lewis at home alone with his mother, with whom he did not get along. Lewis told The Washington Post in 2014 that he suspected that his birth had been a mistake.
Lewis was always interested in comedy. When he was 17 years old, he made his first appearance on Candid Camera.
He was working as a writer for ads and comic material for others. Later, Lewis decided to pursue his career as a comedian. His first break was at the New York’s Improvisation comedy club in 1971.