. >> i'm antonio morra you're watching talk to al jazeera my guest this week, is comedian richard lewis. >> who's-- who's your favorite comedian of all time? >> well, there's-- there's two. lenny bruce, for what he did for the first amendment and his-- body of his work, but perhaps the greatest standup comedian other than, i think, lenny-- and maybe the-- arguably, the greatest standup comedian, is richard pryor. because richard pryor had so many tools. so richard pryor, to me, is the greatest individual standup of all time. and-- and lenny bruce, the most important. >> you became successful pretty early. you started-- goin'-- >> i was on the tonight show, i was on with carson in two-- almost two and a half years, and that's not-- that's pretty fast. and-- i had a lotta breaks, too. i had-- letterman gave me-- he came over to me, and he says, "you know, you're-- you're good with johnny. some nights are better than others. but when you do standup, the camera's right there." and if i was-- and i w-- i'm real f-- kinetic, and-- no, i-- what did you ask me? >> (laugh) w-- you were talkin' a

stay with us. >> this is talk to al jazeera, and i'm antonio morra joining me today is richard lewis from curb your enthusiasm. >> how 'bout the new sitcom you're in-- which is gonna-- >> well, this is-- yeah, it premieres august 22nd, it's-- >> --be on starz with patrick stewart, as you said. it-- it's kind of gone full circle, you're playing a shrink? >> yeah, but i'll tell ya, full circle in another way. for-- as playing a psychiatrist, you know, i run into a lot of these actors on-- i don't watch a lotta tv, i like to watch the news and foreign films and documentaries a lot. and-- but, you know, i know-- i know the c-- the actors, certainly, and some of these shows have been on for-- and i run-- "hey, mr. lewis." "don't call me mr. lewis, r-- please. richard." "hey, you're doin' great, you won five emmys. the show's fantastic." and-- and i-- and they say, "what are you doin'?" i-- and i-- and i-- i-- i don't wanna mention his name, but-- because i've forgotten. >> (laugh) >> but he's a big star, been on a show for, like, 10 years. young k-- probably 35 by now, t-- 40, he says "ri