Larry David is in mourning after the death of his longtime friend, co-star and fellow comic, Richard Lewis.
David shared a statement with ET on Wednesday, after news broke that Lewis had died Tuesday night at age 76.
“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,” David shared in his statement. “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,” David concluded.
Lewis appeared in the pilot episode of David’s acclaimed HBO sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in 40 episodes over the course of the show’s 12 seasons.
Lewis, like David and many other stars who appear on the series, starred as a fictionalized version of himself, and played a close friend to David on the show.
He stepped away from the series to recover from surgeries several years ago, but returned for the 12th and final season, which is currently airing.
Lewis’ Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star, Susie Essman, also expressed her love and praise for the comic actor in a statement to ET on Wednesday, sharing, “Richard was an original brilliant voice that cannot be replaced. I was lucky to call him a friend.”
“He made me laugh and he was one of the most supportive and kindest people I’ve ever known,” Essman stated.
Lewis’ rep, Jeff Abraham, shared that the actor and comedian died on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack. “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” the statement added.
The entertainer — who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Englewood, New Jersey — is also known for his role in the ’80s sitcom Anything But Love alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and for portraying Prince John in the 1993 Mel Brooks comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce, whom he married in 2005.
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