Richard Lewis took legal steps to ensure his wife Joyce Lapinsky could continue living in the home they shared in Los Angeles after his death.
The beloved comedian, who died Tuesday at age 76 after a fatal heart attack, took a series of steps with his real estate portfolio, swapping the house’s standard mortgage for a lease deed of trust, according to records reviewed for him New York Post.
The traditional mortgage operates with the property itself as collateral in the transaction, while the rental deed of trust assignment focuses on how much money could be made renting it, the outlet reported after reviewing records.
If the borrowing party defaults on payments, the lending party can collect rent from the people who would move in, erasing any debt associated with the property.
Lewis and Lapinsky, 72, bought the 2,200-square-foot Hollywood Hills home, which has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, for a reported $1.53 million in 2016, property records indicated. They later requested a loan for $2.02 million to renovate the property.
Richard Lewis took legal steps to ensure that his wife Joyce Lapinsky, 72, could continue living in the home they shared in Los Angeles after his death. Photographed in Los Angeles in 2018.
The beloved comedian, who died Tuesday at age 76 after a fatal heart attack, took a series of steps with his real estate portfolio, swapping the standard house mortgage for a lease deed of trust. Photographed in 2017 in Los Angeles.
The couple had a balance of $1 million on their mortgage as of last August, according to property records reviewed by the outlet.
The loan had a prepayment end date of 2046, but after Lewis implemented the deed of trust, it was extended to 2053, which would reduce the monthly totals Lapinsky would have to pay.
The mid-century modern home, located in Lake Hollywood Estates, includes a patio and pool overlooking the Hollywood sign, according to the outlet.
The floors are composed of mineral-stained Chinese slate and bamboo; while the walls of the house open giving way to the patio.
Lewis and Lapinsky began dating in 1998 after hitting it off at a Ringo Starr album release party.
They had met years earlier when a mutual friend tried to pair them up during his time appearing on the ABC series Anything But Love from 1989 to 1992, but Lapinsky was reluctant to move forward with him at the time, as he was dealing with a addiction. battle.
Lewis was in a better place when they crossed paths again years later and promised his friend Bob Costas that he would “marry” her when they crossed paths at the album release party, according to the outlet.
They got engaged in 2004 and exchanged vows the following year.
Lewis and Lapinsky initially met in 1998 at a Ringo Starr album release party. Photographed in Los Angeles in 2018.
They got engaged in 2004 and exchanged vows the following year. Photographed in Los Angeles in 2018.
Lewis said he had been doing “pretty well” health-wise amid his battle with Parkinson’s disease in an interview less than three weeks ago. Photographed in New York in 2015.
In an interview less than three weeks ago, Lewis said he had been doing “pretty well” health-wise amid his battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Lewis spoke with People on Feb. 9, saying he was “disappointed” to have to miss Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jan. 30 season 12 premiere party to avoid any setbacks amid his health battle.
“I’ve had some occasional difficulty walking due to Parkinson’s in recent years,” Lewis, who has played a fictional version of himself on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm since 2000, told the publication. “It’s not important.”
Lewis continued: ‘I’m coping well so far, but I didn’t want to spend five or six hours mixing with so many people. It’s just asking for problems.
Lewis, who appeared in films such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Wagons East, Once Upon a Crime… and Leaving Las Vegas, concluded by saying, “All things considered, I’m doing pretty well.”
The comedian took to social media on April 24, 2023, and revealed that he had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2021.
“Hey, listen, a couple of weeks ago I finished season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm and it was an amazing season and I’m so grateful to be a part of that show,” he said. “But you know, in the last three and a half years I’ve been going through some tough times and people were saying, ‘I haven’t heard from you, are you still on tour?'”
Lewis said, “Well, this is actually what happened,” noting that he decided to stop traveling three and a half years ago, feeling the time had come.
The comedian took to social media on April 24, 2023, and revealed that he had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2021.
“I said, ‘You know, I’m at the top of my game; after almost 50 years, I’m going to call it quits,'” he said. ‘And I felt really good about that. And then, out of nowhere, shit broke loose.”
Lewis said he underwent four consecutive surgeries on his back, shoulder and hip, adding, “It was bad luck, but that’s life.”
Lewis said that “on top of all that,” he started “walking a little stiff” and “dragging his feet” two years ago, prompting him to visit a neurologist. He said he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease following a brain scan.
“Luckily I got it late in my life and they say if anything you progress very slowly and I’m on the right medications and it’s great,” Lewis said. ‘I just wanted you to know that’s where he’s been.
‘I’m done with stand-up, I’m just concentrating on writing and acting. I have Parkinson’s disease but I’m under a doctor’s care and everything is fine and I love my wife, I love my puppy and I love all my friends and fans.’
Lewis’ lifelong friend Larry David was among those who publicly mourned his death following the news of his passing.
“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 a statement released by HBO. ‘He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me cry and I will never forgive him for that.’
Other notable names in entertainment who hailed the late comedian include Bette Midler, Steve Martin, Jimmy Kimmel, Jamie Lee Curtis, Albert Brooks and Michael McKean, among others.