No curbing Lewis' comedy enthusiasm

Richard Lewis never changes. It doesn't matter if he is performing standup, acting on HBO's acclaimed "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or chatting with a journalist.

"This must be our 15th interview," Lewis says instead of the conventional hello, when calling to plug his shows today through Sunday at Goodnight's. "I can't believe that I've been around long enough to do that many interviews with such an eccentric writer."

The self-described "bottomless pit of dysfunction" is inherently entertaining and always on, which helps when he's cracking wise under the lights or playing himself on "Curb," which will start shooting a seventh season in December.

Now 61, comedy's man in black is still hilariously self-absorbed. Forget about politics or current events, the self-loathing comic-actor riffs on his endless limitations and perceived problems.

"I'm just being me up there and hopefully it's funny," Lewis says. "I don't have to look far for material."

The humorist was raised in Englewood, N.J. "Actually, I was lowered there," he jokes. "That's where I spent my formative years."

During the mid-1970s, Lewis left for New York to pursue a career in comedy.

"I loved going to Manhattan since I was part of this great comedic class," he says. "Jay Leno, Freddie Prinze and Andy Kaufman were some of the people I shared a stage with at the time. The '70s were great."

Lewis established himself as a national standup the following decade. "I owe David Letterman for that," he says. "The exposure from his show was huge."

During the early '90s, Lewis hit sitcom pay dirt with his critically acclaimed ABC series "Anything But Love."

"I did so many pilots and one finally panned out," he says. "It was a wild time for me."

Lewis means that; he chronicled his battle with alcohol addiction in his 2000 book, "The Other Great Depression."

"It was so bad that I would go to the dentist and I would end up in Tasmania," Lewis cracks. "I just became this uncontrollable monster. I would go from woman to woman in a drunken stupor."

Nowadays, he has morphed from sodden womanizer to sober married man. "I'm better now, but I always think about my battle," he says. That's why his book was recently reissued with a new afterword. "I was compelled to write more. I want to help those battling this disease."

Lewis is also excited about returning to the set of "Curb."

"It's always fascinating working with Larry David, who I call Citizen David," Lewis says. "He finally has a story arc for 'Curb,' so he's ready to go.

"He drives me nuts since he won't tell me what the episode I'm working on is about until just before it's shot. He's the Woody Allen of television, but I can't complain since he's a genius."

Still, he claims the spats he and David -- whom he has known since they were 12, thanks to a summer camp -- have on "Curb" are authentic.

"It doesn't take much for us to get into a fight," Lewis says. "We're always fighting off the set. That's why we avoid each other in real life, but I love Larry and I'm proud to be part of "Curb."