Born on this day – Richard Lewis:

Richard Lewis

Actor

Writer

Comedian

June 29, 1947 – February 27, 2024

Credits:

100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time (2004); 1989 MTV Video Music Awards (1989); 1990 MTV Video Music Awards (1990); 25 Things You Didn't Know About Curb Your Enthusiasm (2010); 5th Annual Prism Awards (2001); 7th Heaven (2002–2004); A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman (1995); A Weekend in the Country (1996); AFI Life Achievement Award (2013); Alan King: Inside the Comedy Mind (1990); Alias (2003); All About Anything But Love (2007); American Bandstand's 40th Anniversary Special (1992); American Masters (1996–2013); An All-Star Toast to the Improv (1988); An American Saturday Night (1991); An Evening at the Improv (1981); Anything But Love (1989–1992); BelzerVizion (2007); Biography (1995–2012); Blunt Talk (2015); BoJack Horseman (2018); Bucky and the Squirrels (2015); CBS Summer Playhouse (1987); Celebrity Profile (1998); Charlie Rose (2015); Christmas Magic (2019); Code Black (2016); Comedy Club Superstars (1996); Comic Relief '87 (1987); Comic Relief III (1989); Comic Relief IV (1990); Comic Relief V (1992); Comic Relief VII (1995); Confessions of an Action Star (2005); Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024); Curb: The Discussion (2010); Daddy Dearest (1993); Dennis Miller Live (1995); Diary of a Young Comic (1979); Dinner for Five (2003–2004); Dom Irrera Live (2013); Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1997); Drunks (1995); E! True Hollywood Story (2002–2005); Emily @ the Edge of Chaos (2021); Everybody Hates Chris (2006); Excavating the 2000 Year Old Man (2012); Free to Laugh: A Comedy and Music Special for Amnesty International (1992); Funny or Die Presents... (2010); Game Day (1999); Gangsta Waitress (2014); George Burns' 95th Birthday Party (1991); George Lopez (2005); Get Serious (1995); Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast (2017); Golden Globe Awards (1992); Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1997); Harry (1987); HBO Comedy Hour (1987); Hercules (1999); Heroes of Jewish Comedy (2003); History of Curb Your Enthusiasm: Even Further (2006); History of Curb Your Enthusiasm: So Far (2006); Hollywood Squares (2000–2002); House Calls (1981); House of a Lifetime: Richard Lewis (2014); Howard Stern in Howard Stern (1994–2001); Howard Stern on Demand (2006–2008); Hugo Pool (1997); Inside Comedy (2014); A.J.'s Time Travelers (1995); Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2017); John & Leeza from Hollywood (1993); Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999); Las Vegas (2005); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1995–2008); Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993); Late Night with David Letterman: 6th Anniversary Special (1988); Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2012); Late Night with Seth Meyers (2015); Late Show with David Letterman (1993–2008); Later with Bob Costas (1989); Laughing Out Loud: America's Funniest Comedians (2001); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2008); Leaving Las Vegas (1995); Lewis on Film: The Oscar Edition (2011); Limp Bizkit: Break Stuff (2000); Live with Kelly and Mark (1992–1999); Looking for Lenny (2011); Mad TV (2000); Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America (2009); Mantle (2005); Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis (2011); Mike & Mike (2015); Misery Loves Comedy (2015); Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007); Mtv Spring Break '86 (1986); Never Not Funny (2006); Once Upon a Crime... (1992); PlanetE! Entertainment Network (2017); Politically Incorrect (1997); Pound Puppies (2011); Presidio Med (2002); Richard Lewis & Keven Nealons Top 10 Picks (1997); Richard Lewis: I'm Doomed (1990); Richard Lewis: I'm Doomed (1990); Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour (1996); Riptide (1986); Robert Klein Still Can't Stop His Leg (2016); Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993); Rock Concert (1975–1976); Rude Awakening (1997–1998); Sandy Wexler (2017); Showbiz Today (1994); Snickers Commercial (2014); Sunset Strip (2012); Tales from the Crypt (1994); Tattinger's (1988); TCM Guest Programmer (2009); Temporary Insanity (1985); That's Adequate (1989); The 10th Annual National CableACE Awards (1989); The 12th Annual CableACE Awards (1991); The 13th Annual CableACE Awards (1992); The 14th Annual Young Comedians Special (1991); The 416th (1979); The 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1989); The 42nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1990); The 43rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1991); The 44th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1992); The 6th Annual Young Comedians (1981); The Alan Hamel Show (1978); The A-List (1992); The Aristocrats (2005); The Beat with Ari Melber (2017); The Best Damn Sports Show Period (2004); The Cleaner (2009); The Comedians' Comedian (2005); The Comedy Store (2020); The Daily Buzz (2005); The Daily Show (1996–2015); The Danger of Love: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992); The Dead Zone (2004); The Dick Cavett Show (1990); The Drug Years (2006); The Elevator (1996); The First Annual Comedy Hall of Fame (1993); The Great Buster (2018); The Green Room with Paul Provenza (2011); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1978); The Howard Stern Interview (1993); The Howard Stern Radio Show (2001); The Howard Stern Show (1992); The I'm Exhausted Concert (1988); The Improv: 50 Years Behind the Brick Wall (2013); The Larry Sanders Show (1993); The Last Party (1993); The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2008–2011); The Maze (1997); The Merv Griffin Show (1977); The Mike Douglas Show (1975); The Morning Program (1987); The New Hollywood Squares (1986–1987); The One, the Only... Groucho (1991); The Richard Lewis 'I'm in Pain' Concert (1985); The Roseanne Show (1998); The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996); The Simpsons (2006); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1974–1992); The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1993–2001); The View (2005–2013); The World of Jewish Humor (1990); The World's Greatest Comedy Characters (2007); The Wrong Guys (1988); 'Til Death (2009–2010); Today (1979); Tribeca (1993); Two and a Half Men (2004); Unite for Japan (2011); V.I.P. (1999); Vamps (2012); Wagons East (1994); WGN Morning News (2017–2018); What About... with Danny Nucci & Jason M. Burns (2023); When Stand-Up Comics Ruled the World (2004); WTF with Marc Maron (2011–2015).

Books:

The Other Great Depression (2000); Reflections From Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide on How Not to Live (2015).

On this day in movie history - Leaving Las Vegas (movie & novel):

Leaving Las Vegas

directed and written by Mike Figgis,

based on the semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1995.

Music by Mike Figgis.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Kim Adams, Emily Procter, Stuart Regen, Valeria Golino, Graham Beckel, Albert Henderson, Shashi Bhatia, Carey Lowell, Anne Lange, Thomas Kopache, Vincent Ward, Lucinda Jenney, French Stewart, Ed Lauter, Waldemar Kalinowski, Mike Figgis, David Kriegel, Bill Thompson, Marek Stabrowski, R. Lee Ermey, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Huston, Laurie Metcalf, David Brisbin, Shawnee Smith, Paul Quinn, Julian Lennon, Tracy Thorne, Bob Rafelson, Susan Barnes, Marc Coppola, Michael A. Goorjian, Jeremy Jordan, Davidlee Willson, Xander Berkeley, Sergio Premoli, Gordon Michaels, Lou Rawls, Sunit Gupta, Camille King, Greg Miller.

Recommended reading:

Leaving Las Vegas

By John O’Brien.

Published by Grove Press.

First published 1990.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 080212593X

ISBN-13: 978-0802125934

Description:

Leaving Las Vegas, the first novel by John O’Brien, is a disturbing and emotionally wrenching story of a woman who embraces life and a man who rejects it. Sera, a prostitute, and Ben, an alcoholic, stumble together and discover in each other a respite from their unforgiving lives. A testimony to the raw talent of its young author, Leaving Las Vegas is a compelling story of unconditional love between two disenfranchised and lost souls – an overlooked American classic.

“There is not a false note in the novel . . . O’Brien has a strong tradition behind him here, that of American naturalism, and he fits into it well. From Stephen Crane to Hubert Selby, Jr. . . . [O’Brien] achieves real power in his writing. You seldom encounter it anymore, but when you do you know you’ve been properly whacked by a real talent.” – New York Daily News.

“Here is that rarest jewel, a really fine novel. It’s a magical piece of work, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. John O’Brien has a very great talent.” – Larry Brown, author of Joe and Big Bad Love.

“This book is not only dark and dire, it is crushing. How can a novel so absolutely devoid of hope be so gripping? The portrait of Sera and Ben is a tour de force – masterful and relentless. Leaving Las Vegas is the strongest and most extreme look at alcohol I’ve ever read. This book moved and bothered me and weeks later it is still in my mind. I think O’Brien is simply terrific.” – Ron Carlson, author of Plan B for the Middle Class.

“A brutal and unflinching portrait of the low life in the city of high rollers, Leaving Las Vegas is both shocking and curiously exhilarating. John O’Brien was a stunningly talented writer who created poetry from the most squalid materials. This is a beautiful and horrifying novel.” – Jay McInerney, author of Brightness Falls.