Jamie Lee Curtis overwhelmed with grief makes the heart-wrenching announcement

Jamie Lee Curtis spoke with deep sadness about her friend Richard Lewis, a star from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” who died on Tuesday at 76 from a heart attack.

Richard Lewis, a comedian, and Jamie, who played a witch in “Halloween,” were together in the show “Anything But Love” from 1989 to 1992 for four seasons.

Jamie posted on her Instagram on Wednesday about Richard’s death, after Bette Midler first announced it.

In a detailed tribute, Jamie honored him for inspiring her sobriety, sharing old pictures of them together.

Jamie, who overcame an addiction to opiates, marked 25 years of sobriety this month.

She wrote, “I learned of my friend Richard Lewis’s death recently.” I remember standing on Sunset Boulevard, looking at a poster for his stand-up show. I suggested to the ABC casting team that we audition him for the role of Marty Gold, my best friend and possible love interest, in the pilot for ‘Anything But Love.’

“His look was just right,” she said. A strong woman usually doesn’t achieve this on her own, but he made me laugh. His mispronunciation of ‘bundt cake’ during his audition made me laugh out loud.

Jamie noted, “He was outstanding and outshined everyone else.” The chemistry with Richard was perfect, she added, even though they initially chose not to proceed with the pilot for a love triangle series. Could we revise the original pilot? That’s how we ended up producing the show for two years.

Richard also did stand-up comedy but hated performing in front of live audiences. Jamie thought he was brilliant.

Up close, he would hide his script on door frames, props, and even on her face, and always had a clipboard for his lines. He was a talented character actor, both funny and touching.

“We mourned together for our friend and producer John Ritter and our colleague Richard Frank,” she said.

In his last text to Jamie, Richard asked her to get another boxed set of show episodes from ABC/Disney.

“He’s also why I’m sober,” Jamie continued. He supported her, and she was forever grateful.

Talking about his wife, Joyce Lapinsky, Jamie said, “He found love with Joyce, and that, along with being sober, was what mattered most to him.” It brings tears to my eyes to write this.

She found it strange but touching to thank Richard, a kind and funny man. “Richard, I hope you’re laughing wherever you are. My Marty, I love you!” Hannah concluded.

Jamie shared her grief in another post about losing her dear friend and former co-star.

She also shared lines from the “Anything But Love” theme song and another old picture with Lewis.

JD Souther wrote the theme song for the show’s third and final season, Jamie explained.

She urged her followers to listen to the song on YouTube or provided her own recording. “These are for my friend Richard Lewis today,” she said.

The lyrics she shared were: “We would still be searching for the next big thing and trying not to fall… If we had never met/And the world got on without us/Just as if we were never that at all.”

“Anything but love will do, hearts that beat like thunder, for everyone but you,” she added.

Celebrities and fans, including Larry David from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” paid their respects.

Larry told HBO, “Richard has been like a brother to me most of my life.” “We were born in the same hospital three days apart.”

He said it was rare, but Richard was both the nicest and funniest man. “But today he made me cry, and I can’t forgive him for that,” he told Variety.

Cheryl Hines from the show said, “I had a huge crush on Richard Lewis as a young girl.”

“No one was more charming or funny on stage than he was.” Then, she lived her dream working with him on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

“As I got to know Richard and his talents, I fell in love because he was funny, but he was also one of the kindest people I’ve known,” Cheryl added.

She mentioned that Richard often expressed his love for those important to him, especially in recent years. “He told me how much he loved me and how important I was to him during breaks on ‘Curb.'”

“Being loved by Richard Lewis was a real gift. I love you, Richard. You will be missed. I love you, Joyce, and all of Richard’s family. Richard, Lawrence loved you. But you knew that,” she concluded.