Richard Lewis

Perpetually put-upon comic Richard Lewis is well known for his prominent recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm, basically playing a (somewhat) exaggerated version of himself. Nervousness is his most defining trait, whether as an actor or a comedian, and his propensity to wear all black makes him seem like a Jewish, passive-aggressive Johnny Cash: With one hand on his hip, and another on his forehead, the Brooklyn-born comedian mines joke after joke about his shitty, shitty life. That also isn't entirely an exaggeration, as Lewis memorably bounced back from alcoholism, cocaine abuse, and as the subtitle of his 2000 memoir says, "at least a million addictions and dysfunctions." The old cliché that pain inspires comedy—extremely twitchy, smirkingly self-deprecating comedy—definitely proves true with Lewis. 

Updated 04/20/2010