Producer Andy Lassner Credits Richard Lewis With Saving His Life

PASSING IT ON –

Feb. 28, 2024 – Ellen DeGeneres Show” producer Andy Lassner — who struggled with addiction in the past — says the late comedian Richard Lewis saved his life. Lassner posted a touching tribute to the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star after news of his death broke Wednesday. He was one of the many angels in my life who saved me.” Lassner posted that within a year of moving to Los Angeles in 1998, addiction had “once again ravaged” his life.

“I was a mess,” he wrote, adding that he barely remembers being taken to a 12-step meeting at the time.

One dim memory he did have, however, was Lewis chasing him down in the parking lot, where he insisted on giving Lassner his phone number, instructing him to, “Call me tomorrow just to tell me you’re OK.”

“We spoke. I gave him my number and said I’d check in again,” he continued, adding that “the problem was I had given Richard my number and he wouldn’t stop f–king call me.”