Knicks Fan, 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Star Richard Lewis Dies at 76

Stand-up comedian Richard Lewis, a die-hard fan of the New York Knicks and Ohio State Buckeyes, has passed away at the age of 76.

Celebrity New York Knicks fan and stand-up comedian Richard Lewis passed away at the age of 76 this week. Per Chris Koseluk of The Hollywood Reporter, Lewis suffered a heart attack on Tuesday and died peacefully. 

A Brooklyn native, Lewis was often seen on celebrity row at Madison Square Garden where he cheered on his beloved Knicks. New York Post reporter Stefan Bondy recalled seeing Lewis frequent the sidelines for the Knicks' most recent NBA Finals runs in 1994 and 1999.

"(Lewis) told me a couple years back that he wore his Knicks prayer pajamas in the preseason," Bondy said. "(He) traveled to Houston to see the ‘94 Finals, took Larry David to San Antonio for 99 Finals. (He) will catch the next Knicks championship from a higher place."

In February 1991, Lewis penned an ode to Knicks basketball in the New York Times, expressing high hopes for the team to deliver him a championship despite its star-crossed history. In that same writeup, Lewis implies at planning to name his son after Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

"I live for just two things. For the Knicks to win another championship and to find a woman who won't inevitably find the right moment to pour lamb's blood over my head in front of close friends," Lewis wrote. "Admittedly, I'm no gift and practically impossible to live with, so there's a very strong possibility that another banner will hang from the rafters long, long before I get the opportunity to sit my son Clyde down and explain the "birds and the bees" to him."

Beyond celebrity row at MSG, Lewis is regarded as one of the most influential voices in modern comedy, well regarded for his self-deprecating and neurotic style. Lewis is also generally credited with popularizing the phrase "the (object) from Hell." 

Lewis is perhaps best known to modern audiences for portraying an exaggerated version of himself on the ongoing HBO comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," where he held a recurring role as the best friend of fellow Knicks fan David (also portraying himself). In reality, Lewis and David previously met at a Cornwall-on-Hudson summer camp and struck up a lasting friendship during their early shared days in stand-up.

Beyond "Curb," Lewis also starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis on the ABC sitcom "Anything but Love" and portrayed a comedic version of Prince John in the 1993 Mel Brooks spoof "Robin Hood: Men in Tights." 

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"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 wrote in a 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."