No one channeled their anxiety and neuroses into comedy brilliance quite like Richard Lewis.
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He seemed intent on making sure everybody knew that washisthing.
A few years back, he brought up inventing the phrase with me.
In that way, Lewis was ahead of his time.
Lewis was all about that nearly 50 years ago.
He was letting everybody in on his misery and whatever trauma was stalking him.
A lot of people still cant tell you what BoKu actually was (some sort of fruit juice?
), but they knewhe was the guy in the commercials.
His comedy worked because it was coming from such an authentic place.
Maybe, like … from hell, some of it was an act or an embellishment.
But even if that was the case, it made Lewis all the more brilliant.
Theyre not that different, but theyre not the same.
Who cares how much is real and what isnt?
Sure, he had jokes, but the more important thing washim.
He was the focus.
He reallywasa neurotic Jew who talked Brooklyn by way of New Jersey.
He just figured out a formula to take that and make it hilarious.
