'I'm finished with standup': Richard Lewis ends his comedy career after Parkinson's diagnosis
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' star Richard Lewis has made a statement that his comedy career is over. Lewis shared a video on his official Twitter account and shared his life update along with an unexpected announcement that broke fans' hearts. Lewis revealed that his comedy career will be ending as he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The stand-up comedian also confirmed that he would continue to star in sitcoms and will be seen in Larry David's hit show, but won't be touring and participating in live events. "I have Parkinson's disease, but I'm under a doctor's care and everything is cool," Lewis announced in a video posted on his official Twitter. "I'm finished with stand-up. I'm just focusing on writing and acting from here on out." Lewis said in the video.
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'I’m going to call it quits'
In the Twitter video, Richard Lewis shared about his life and his vision for his life before dropping the news of being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "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?', Lewis says. "Here’s really what happened. Three and half years ago I was in the middle of a tour and I finally ended it with a show and I said, You know I’m at the top of my game, after 50 years almost I’m going to call it quits." He continued with, "And I felt great about that, and then out of the blue, the shit hit the fan. I had four surgeries back to back to back to back,” Lewis says, explaining he had operations on his back, shoulder, a shoulder replacement and a hip replacement in quick succession.
“It was bad luck, but that’s life." After some time, he noticed a little change in his demeanor and that he was walking "a little stiffly," and was stumbling. "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 concluded. "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."
'Now you know where it’s been'
At the end of the video, Lewis thanked his wife, his friends, and his fans for constantly supporting him in every way possible. "I just wanted to let you know that’s where it’s been at," he says at the end of the video. "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."
