Actor and comedian Richard Lewis died Tuesday at the age of 76. KFI AM-640 afternoon host Tim Conway Jr. remembered the comedian fondly, despite one negative on-air interaction.
Known for his role on Curb Your Enthusiasm alongside Larry David, Lewis became a beloved Hollywood figure. Conway Jr. noted that the star was a regular guest on his program, especially during his time at KSLX, but one in-studio interview led to Lewis storming out.
“He was a very sweet man. He came on, I don’t know, maybe 10 or 15 times with us. And he was always willing to come on. He was always very funny. Very, very smart man,” Conway Jr. said. “We were over at KLSX and I accidentally — accidentally — farted while he was on the show. He heard it, put down his headphones, and said, ‘I don’t know how the hell you guys get guests on the show.'”
Tim Conway Jr. continued by noting he didn’t know, at the time, why that interaction was such a triggering event for Richard Lewis. He later learned more.
“He was like a germ freak. I ran into Richard Lewis. I ran into him about three or four times at Art’s Deli over the years, and I sat down with him once. I introduce myself, he says ‘Oh yeah, you got a radio show.’ And I say ‘Listen, I’m really sorry. About 20 years ago, you came on with us. And you walked off the show after I farted.’
“And he’s like ‘I did?’ And I said ‘Yeah, you did.’ And he said ‘I’m sorry…Give me your phone number because I’ll come on your show anytime.’ So I gave him my phone number, and I texted him twice. He never texted back and never called back.”
Conway Jr. noted that the only other guests to leave the show in the middle of an interview was comedian/actor Caroline Rea and stand-up comedian Gallagher.
