Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis has revealed that he has Parkinson’s Disease. On Sunday, Lewis took to social media with a video updating fans and followers about his health and revealing the diagnosis as well as reassuring fans that he’s doing well but that he is finished doing stand-up comedy and will instead focus on writing and acting. Lewis just wrapped work on Season 12 of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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In his video, which you can check out below, Lewis explains that at the end of his tour three and a half years ago he started having some health issues which resulted in four back-to-back surgeries and then two years ago, he started noticing issues with how he walked that ultimately led to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
“Two years ago, I started walking a little stiffly. I was shuffling my feet and I went to a neurologist and they gave me a brain scan and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. And that was two years ago,” Lewis said. “But luckily, I got it late in life and they say it progresses very slowly if at all. And I’m on the right meds so I’m cool. I just wanted you to know that’s where it’s been at. I’m finished with stand up. I’m just focusing on writing and acting. I have Parkinson’s Disease, but I’m under a doctor’s care, and everything is cool. And 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.”
Will Curb Your Enthusiasm end with Season 12?
As Lewis noted in his message, he just wrapped work on the twelfth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm — Lewis did not appear in Season 11, due to the surgeries he noted in his message. However, while fans of the series are excited for it to return, there have been rumors that Season 12 could be the series’ last after a since-deleted tweet from series producer Jon Hayman referred to the season as the last, but an interview with executive producer Jeff Schaffer debunked the rumor.
“Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We literally just finished shooting last week. So, yeah, we’re done,” Schaffer revealed. “My first season was Season 5. And you know what the final episode of that season was called? ‘The End.’ Not ironically. That was 15 years ago. So, every season is the last season. It’s been this way forever. Larry’s put all the ideas he likes into the season. He’s the only one who thinks he’s never gonna have another good idea. So, of course, he’s done for a while. But you know, usually he goes out and has spirited encounters with the westside of Los Angeles and then ideas come. So, we’re in the same spot we’re always in. It’s just business as usual.”
Schaffer went on to tease “the hardest I’ve ever laughed on set” while filming the new episodes. He concluded, “It’s gonna be a great season. I’m really excited about it. And I think people are really, really gonna like it.”
In his video message on Sunday, Lewis also had high praise for Season 12.
“It was an amazing season and I’m so grateful to be part of that show,” he said.
