Richard Lewis maintained his New York Knicks fandom until the very end as the comedian wore his ‘Knicks prayer pajamas’ during the preseason

Beloved comedian Richard Lewis died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on Wednesday at the age of 76, but his heart will always remain with the New York Knicks.

The comedian and native New Yorker was a lifelong fan of the NBA team, with Knicks beat writer Stefan Bondy sharing a story about his fandom on X (formerly Twitter).

‘RIP to loyal Knicks fan Richard Lewis. He told me a few years ago that he wore his Knicks prayer pajamas in the preseason,” Bondy said.

He added that Lewis “traveled to Houston to see the ’94 finals and took Larry David to San Antonio for the ’99 finals. Will take the next Knicks championship from a higher place.”

Lewis was a frequent courtside presence on ‘Celebrity Row’ at Madison Square Garden, with Knicks analyst @DJAceNBA also sharing a 1992 NBA ad starring Lewis.

‘RIP to loyal Knicks fan Richard Lewis. Told me a few years ago he wore his Knicks prayer pajamas in the preseason,” Bondy said

“RIP Richard Lewis, who once appeared in an NBA commercial ‘I LOVE THIS GAME’ in 1992,” Ace tweeted.

He also posted a link for the ad, which showed clips of exciting NBA game footage as he cut back to Lewis sitting courtside.

“I’m looking for a wonderful woman to marry me and have children, but until that happens, I love this game,” Lewis said in the ad.

The Knicks won two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, although in 2013 he vowed to continue doing stand-up comedy until his Knicks won again.

“I’ll be 67 on stage in West Nyack and in my 43rd year in stand-up and won’t stop until my Knicks win another championship,” he joked on Twitter.

Lewis also expressed his Knicks fandom in a 1991 New York Times guest article, calling the NBA team “a monumental part of my life.”

‘I live for only two things. For the Knicks to win another championship and find a woman who won’t inevitably find the right moment to pour lamb’s blood on my head in front of close friends,” Lewis wrote.

“While most of my family members were no doubt glued to the TV watching My Mother The Car, I openly wept as the greatest sportscaster of all time, the Knicks’ golden throat Marv Albert, covered the action near-perfectly from a crappy television high on top. a noisy cash register at a seedy pick-up bar, while a nurse from Teaneck brazenly and impossibly tried to divert my attention (not knowing that even under the best of circumstances, she would never have had a chance after witnessing She “spit a golf ball-sized wad of Dentyne into her glass before having what must have been at least her tenth drink, to no avail,” he wrote.

He also posted a link for the ad, which showed clips of exciting NBA game footage, as he cut back to Lewis sitting courtside

“I’m looking for a wonderful woman to marry me and have children, but until that happens, I love this game,” Lewis said in the ad

“I’ll be 67 on stage in West Nyack and in my 43rd year in stand-up and won’t stop until my Knicks win another championship,” he joked on Twitter.

Lewis also expressed his Knicks fandom in a 1991 New York Times guest article, calling the NBA team “a monumental part of my life.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm star and creator Larry David paid tribute to his co-star in a statement shared by HBO.

“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he has been like a brother to me,” David said in the statement. Variety.

“He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and I will never forgive him.”

Lewis’ death came just a week after an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm showed him joking about his death and will.