The late, great Richard Lewis is a huge part of the unique hilarity of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he brought something special to every episode he appeared in. Every time Lewis shared the screen with Larry David, they created comedy gold. Lewis and David first met at a summer camp when they were 12 and later reunited as young, up-and-coming comics on the New York standup scene, after which they became lifelong friends. Their scenes together in Curb Your Enthusiasm have the kind of bitter but good-humored back-and-forth that only the best of friends can have.
Lewis passed away on February 27, 2024, at the age of 76. Shortly after Lewis’ passing, David released a heartfelt (and appropriately hilarious) memorial message to his late friend (via NBC News): “Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.” In that spirit, here are Lewis’ greatest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
10 The Nanny From Hell
Season 3, Episode 4
One of the most impressive feathers in Lewis’ comedy cap was that he coined the phrase, “The ____ from Hell,” but he always struggled to get credit for the coinage. In the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode “The Nanny from Hell,” David immortalized that struggle. Larry tries to get Richard officially quoted for the phrase by schmoozing a board member from the book of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. As usual, Larry’s attempt at help ends up being more of a hindrance.
9 The Car Salesman
Season 2, Episode 1
Richard only appears briefly in the season 2 premiere, “The Car Salesman,” but he has an unforgettable scene with Larry. The A-plot sees Larry taking a temporary position as a car salesman for fun, just to see if he can sell a car. Early in the episode, he off-handedly tells Jeff that Richard is “high-maintenance.” After a half-hour of watching Larry desperately try and fail to sell a car, just as he’s about to finally close on a sale, Richard shows up to confront him about the “high-maintenance” remark and blows the deal. Suffice to say, it’s a classic showdown.
8 Vow Of Silence
Season 8, Episode 5
Larry and Richard’s lunches are one of the best parts of the show. In season 8’s “Vow of Silence,” Richard arranges a lunch with Larry and then doesn’t show up, because he needs a “confirmation call.” This is a universally relatable quibble about making plans. Larry insists that making the plan in the first place implies a confirmation, so Richard commits to attending a lunch without a confirmation call.
This sets up the story arc for the rest of the season with a hilariously ironic payoff for Richard. The final scene of the episode sees Larry spontaneously flying to New York, while Richard sits alone at a restaurant. Richard isn’t a major character in this episode, but his subplot perfectly encapsulates his friendship with Larry.
7 The Pants Tent
Season 1, Episode 1
Larry and Richard established their unique on-screen dynamic right out of the gate in Curb’s very first episode. They had their first of many classic arguments when Richard stopped by Larry’s office to confront him about an altercation he had with Richard’s girlfriend at a movie theater. This scene hilariously introduced the arguing style of these lifelong friends: saying horrible things that are way over the line and begrudgingly making each other laugh at the same time.
6 The Thong
Season 2, Episode 5
After Larry spots the therapist he shares with Richard wearing a thong at the beach, he and Richard both resolve to terminate their therapy and find a new therapist. Their discussion of how they’ll broach the termination and the lies they’ll tell to cut their therapist loose is classic Curb. When Larry suggests breaking it off over the phone, Richard has a hilarious rebuttal that points out the inhumanity of breaking up with a therapist on the phone: “You’re not canceling cable – he’s a human being, he’s helped you!”
5 The Larry David Sandwich
Season 5, Episode 1
Larry gets a sandwich named after him at his favorite deli in the season 5 premiere, “The Larry David Sandwich.” But one day, on the menu, the Larry David sandwich has been mysteriously plastered over with the name Richard Lewis. This leads to a hysterical showdown in which Larry lambasts the pettiness of stealing someone’s sandwich and Richard attempts to plead ignorance. This premiere episode was a brilliant setup for a season that would see Larry donating a kidney to Richard.
4 The Safe House
Season 8, Episode 2
Richard’s relationship with a burlesque dancer paves the way for a ton of hilarious scenes in the season 8 episode “The Safe House.” From watching in dismay as he sees all his friends leaving his girlfriend’s X-rated show to having his arms broken on the eve of his “breast blowout,” Richard has a bunch of great moments in this episode. This episode doesn’t just showcase Lewis’ chemistry with David; it also highlights his chemistry with Jeff Garlin as Jeff Greene and Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser.
3 The Bracelet
Season 1, Episode 4
Richard got his first starring role in a Curb episode in “The Bracelet.” Larry starts off with a simple enough goal: buy Cheryl a bracelet as a means of apology. But when he gets to the store, he fails to meet the dress code and gets locked out. He calls Richard to buy it for him, but the store is closed for lunch. They wait for it to reopen, but a blind man named Michael asks them to help him move. By the time they’re done with the moving, the jewelry store is closed.
This wild misadventure put a spotlight on Larry and Richard’s ride-or-die friendship for the first time. “The Bracelet” has a ton of iconic moments that established that relationship. Richard compares his intimacy issues to Michael’s blindness, which hilariously sets Larry off.
2 The End
Season 5, Episode 10
Throughout season 5, Richard needed a kidney transplant and Larry did everything in his power to avoid giving up one of his. In the season finale, “The End,” Larry had a spiritual awakening and decided to give Richard his kidney. And within seconds of offering Richard his kidney, Richard refused to lend Larry a golf club, much to his chagrin. After the surgery, while Richard enjoys a beach paradise in perfect health, Larry is at death’s door. This episode highlighted the dysfunction in their friendship, but also the lengths Larry would go (albeit reluctantly) for Richard.
1 The Benadryl Brownie
Season 3, Episode 2
Larry and Richard’s all-time best team-up on Curb Your Enthusiasm was in the season 3 episode “The Benadryl Brownie.” After Richard’s girlfriend has a gruesome allergic reaction on the eve of the Emmys and she refuses to take any medicine for it due to her Christian Scientist beliefs, Richard and Larry plot to sneak Benadryl into her food. It’s great to see Larry and Richard on the same page in a zany, Kramer-like scheme. Even when they’re on the same page, they bicker constantly – and, of course, it all blows up in their faces.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is a Comedy television show created by Larry David, the same creative mind behind the wildly popular sitcom, Seinfeld. Starring Larry David himself, along with Cheryl Hines, and Jeff Garlin, the show acts as a semi-fictionalized look at Larry’s every day life and the people he would come in contact with.
- Cast
- Larry David , Jeff Garlin , Cheryl Hines , Susie Essman , J.B. Smoove
- Streaming Service(s)
- Max
