Jamie Lee Curtis recently celebrated 25 years of sobriety, sharing a photo with a commemorative token on her Instagram in early February. This week, following the death of comedian Richard Lewis, she credited him with starting her sobriety journey.
In a series of Instagram posts on Wednesday, Curtis mourned her friend and former co-star from the show Anything But Love. “He also is the reason I am sober,” she wrote.
“He helped me. I am forever grateful for him for that act of grace alone.” Curtis expressed her sorrow, saying, “I’m weeping as I write this. Strange way of saying thank you to a sweet and funny man. Rest in laughter, Richard.”
Curtis reminisced about their time on Anything But Love, which aired on ABC from 1989 to 1992. “He made me laugh, which is the one thing that a strong, capable woman can’t really do for herself,” she shared. “He got the part when I snort laughed when he mispronounced the word Bundt cake.”
She highlighted Lewis’s impact on others, writing, “Richard Lewis helped people laugh and he helped people heal through his tireless belief in sobriety.”
Alongside a red carpet photo of them, she added, “The laughs may stop but the healing never does. It’s the power of recovery and fellowship and solidarity and it’s available everywhere all at once. A phone call away. Rest in the knowledge that you helped people, Richard. First of all, me.”
Richard Lewis passed away on Wednesday at the age of 76 from a heart attack. In April 2023, he had disclosed his diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease.
