Comedian and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Richard Lewis just announced that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 75-year-old actor posted an emotional video to Twitter Sunday revealing the news to his fans. Lewis began by saying he’s had “sort of a rocky time” over the past three and a half years.
The “CYE” actor said he “started walking a little stiffly” and “shuffling” his feet about two years ago.
“I went to a neurologist and they gave me a brain scan and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and that was about two years ago,” he said. “But luckily I got it late in life and they say you progress very slowly if at all and I’m on the right meds so I’m cool.”
— Richard Lewis (@TheRichardLewis) April 24, 2023
Lewis said he felt it was important to update fans who had been asking why he hadn’t been posting recently and whether he was still touring.
“Hey listen, I just wrapped a couple of weeks ago season 12 of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and it was just an amazing season and I’m so grateful to be a part of that show,” the actor said. “But you know the last three and a half years, I’ve had sort of a rocky time and people said, ‘I haven’t heard from you, are you still touring?'”
“Here’s really what happened,” Lewis continued. “Three and half years ago I was in the middle of a tour and I finally ended it with a show. I said, ‘You know I’m at the top of my game, after 15 years almost I’m going to call it quits,’ and I felt great about that and then out of the blue the sh** hit the fan. I had four surgeries back to back to back to back, it was incredible, I couldn’t believe it, it was bad luck, but that’s life.”
“I just wanted to let you know that’s where it’s been at,” Lewis said at the end of the video. “I’m just focusing on writing and acting. I have Parkinson’s disease but I’m under a doctor’s care and everything is cool. I love my wife, I love my little puppy dog and I love all my friends and my fans. And now you know where it’s been at the last three and a half years. God bless you.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP
Lewis became famous as a stand-up comedian in the 1980s, gaining a reputation for dark and self-deprecating humor. He is known for co-starring alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the sitcom “Anything but Love” and for his role in the comedy “Robinhood: Men in Tights” (1993). The comedian plays a fictionalized version of himself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”