Richard Lewis, comedy prophet: He saw the anxiety era coming, and made it funny for us

Richard Lewis claimed that he abstained from masturbation because he worried he “might give himself something.” It was one of his many comic confessions effectively capturing how anxiety becomes not only a condition but a lifestyle. On his podcast, Lewis said that Parkinson’s robbed him of the ability to walk, but that otherwise, he was managing — enjoying his marriage, his friends and his work, including his appearances on the final season of his friend Larry David’s sitcom, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which is currently airing on HBO. “Is everything wrong?” Richard Lewis said his mother would say when taking his calls from the road. Many people will remember his funniest moments on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” most especially his look of horror when Larry David has a loud argument with a child during a screening of his comedy special for television executives, or his reaction to Larry making a racist joke to a Black dermatologist: “You were like Pat Buchanan’s gym partner.” He took funny turns in the film, “Once Upon a Crime,” and in his series with Jamie Lee Curtis, “Anything But Love.” His most moving performance was in the 1995 indie film, “Drunks.” He plays a debauched and disheveled alcoholic, revealing an underexplored potential for dramatic acting. The next morning, my wife said, “You were in Richard Lewis mode last night.” That’s why I texted her the photo of Lewis shrugging.