Lawrence Gene "Larry" David
(born July 2, 1947) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and film director. David is the co-creator and producer of two successful television comedies, Seinfeld
(1989-1998) and Curb Your Enthusiasm
(1999-present), which has recently finished filming its seventh season.
In 1989, he teamed up with Jerry Seinfeld to co-create the television series Seinfeld
, where he also acted as head writer and executive producer. David's work won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993. In 1999, he created the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm
, a mostly improvised sitcom in which he stars as a fictionalized version of himself.
Formerly a standup comedian, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays
, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live
. He was voted by other comedians the 23rd-greatest comedian of all time in the Channel 4 poll The Comedians' Comedian
. [1]
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LARRY DAVID TICKETS
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Biography
David was born to a
Jewish family in the neighborhood of
Sheepshead Bay in
Brooklyn,
[2] New York, and graduated from
Sheepshead Bay High School and then the
University of Maryland, with a bachelor's degree in history (1969) and then in business (1970).
[3]
While a
standup comedian, David worked as store clerk and a
TV repairman to pay his bills. He lived in the
Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of
Manhattan across the hall from
Kenny Kramer, the inspiration for the
Cosmo Kramer character in
Seinfeld
.
[4] David then became a writer for and cast member of
ABC's
Fridays
from 1980 to 1982, and a writer for
NBC's
Saturday Night Live
(SNL) from 1984 to 1985.
[5] During his time at
SNL, he was able to get only one sketch on the show, which aired at 12:50 AM, the last time slot on the show.
[6] David quit his writing job at SNL midseason, only to show up to work a few days later acting as though nothing had happened. That plot inspired a second-season episode of
Seinfeld
entitled "
The Revenge."
[7] David met his future
Seinfeld
stars during that early stage of his career: He worked with
Michael Richards (Kramer) on
Fridays
and with
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine)
during his one-year stint as a writer on
SNL
.
[8] [9] He can be heard heckling
Michael McKean when McKean hosted the show in 1984, and he can be seen in the sketch "The Run, Throw, and Catch Like a Girl Olympics" when
Howard Cosell hosted the season finale in 1985.
[10]
David married
Laurie Lennard on March 31, 1993. They have two daughters—Cazzie and Romy—and lived in
Pacific Palisades, California.
[11] Like her counterpart in
Curb Your Enthusiasm
—
Cheryl David (played by
Cheryl Hines)—Laurie is an
environmental activist. From May 2005, both Larry and Laurie were contributing
bloggers at
The Huffington Post.
[12] On June 5, 2007, the couple announced their intention to amicably separate.
[13] Laurie David filed for divorce on July 19, 2007, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of the couple's two daughters.
[14]
Career
Seinfeld
In 1989, David teamed up with
comedian Jerry Seinfeld to create NBC's
The Seinfeld Chronicles
. Later retitled
Seinfeld
, the program became one of the most successful shows in United States television history.
[15] David occasionally appeared (uncredited) on the show, playing roles such as
George Steinbrenner and Frank Costanza's lawyer, and he was the primary inspiration for the show's
George Costanza character.
[16] David left
Seinfeld
on amicable terms after the seventh season but returned to write the series finale in 1998, two years later.
[17] He continued to provide the voice for the character of
George Steinbrenner.
[18]
As well as re-writing and re-working all of the show's scripts with Jerry during the first seven seasons, Larry himself wrote/co-wrote 57 episodes during the entire run of 180.
Syndication and DVD releases of
Seinfeld
alone have earned David an estimated
US$250 million.
[19] He was nominated for an Emmy award 19 times for
Seinfeld
, winning twice—once for best comedy and once for writing.
[20]
Curb Your Enthusiasm
thumb, 2009.
The
HBO cable television channel aired David's 1-hour special,
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm
, on October 17, 1999.
This was followed by
Curb Your Enthusiasm
, a television series on HBO that aired its first episode on October 15, 2000.
It revisits many of the themes first brought up in
Seinfeld
.
[21] The show is improvised, with the actors receiving a synopsis of their scene for them to act out. David has commented that his character in the show, which is a fictionalized version of himself, is what he would be like in real life if he lacked social awareness and sensitivity.
[22] Indeed, fictional Larry's numerous and frequent social faux pas and misunderstandings are the basis of much of the show's comedy and have led to the expression "Larry David moment," meaning inadvertently creating a socially awkward situation, entering the American pop culture lexicon.
[23]
The basis of the show is Larry's life now that he has earned a fortune and has very little to do in semi-retirement.
Alongside David is his wife Cheryl (played by
Cheryl Hines), his manager and best friend Jeff (played by
Jeff Garlin), and Jeff's wife Susie (played by
Susie Essman). Celebrities including comedians
Richard Lewis,
Bob Einstein, and
Wanda Sykes have featured on the show regularly.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whom Larry had worked with on Seinfeld, has made several appearances as herself. Also from Seinfeld,
Jason Alexander has appeared on the show, and Jerry Seinfeld has appeared in the first special as well as in cameo capacity. Actors
Ted Danson and
Mary Steenburgen have had recurring roles as themselves.
[24]
Other projects
Apart from David's major roles in creating
Seinfeld
and
Curb Your Enthusiasm
, he has also been involved in other films and television series. David wrote and directed the
1998 film Sour Grapes
, about two cousins who feud over a
casino jackpot.
[25] It was neither a commercial nor a critical success.
[26] [27] He has also appeared in minor parts in two
Woody Allen films—
Radio Days
and
New York Stories
.
[28] David stars in
Woody Allen's New York–based comedy film titled
Whatever Works
.
[29] Because his daughters are
Hannah Montana
fans, David, along with them, guest-starred in the episode "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" as themselves. In this episode, they are waiting to get a table at a fancy restaurant.
David also had a cameo appearance on the
HBO series
Entourage
as a client of
Ari Gold.
Awards
David was nominated in 2003 for a
Golden Globe Award in the "Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy" category, for his work on
Curb Your Enthusiasm
. He was nominated for the same category and series again in 2005 and 2006. In the same year, fellow comedians and comedy insiders voted him number 23 of the top 50 greatest comedy acts ever in a poll to select "The Comedian's Comedian." David was nominated for a 2006
Emmy Best Actor Award.
References
- The comedians' comedian
- Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book (Simon & Shuster, 2006)
- Alumni Leaders
- McShane, Larry. "The real Kramer says actor no racist: But Richards is 'paranoid,' 'very wound-up'", ''Chicago Sun-Times'', November 26, 2006. Accessed August 11, 2009. "The real Kramer lived for 10 years in a Hell's Kitchen apartment across the hall from ''Seinfeld'' co-creator Larry David, and his life became the framework for Richards' quirky, bumbling Seinfeld sidekick."
- The Great and Wonderful Wizard of Odds
- 'SNL in the '80s': The Last Laugh On a Trying Decade
- "Seinfeld" The Revenge (1991)
- Eager Actor Finds Kramer a Bit of a Trial
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus: She Who Gives 'Seinfeld' Estrogen
- Saturday Night Live
- News for "Seinfeld" (1990)
- Generation Hex
- Newly Single
- Divorcing Larry David
- Seinfeld Says It's All Over, And It's No Joke for NBC
- The 'real' George Costanza sues Seinfeld for $100 million
- DVD Review: 'Seinfeld: Season 9' wraps up all the hilarious nothingness
- Still ... seventh-season DVD shines
- Who's the richest? Seinfeld
- Larry David
- COMEDY CLUB.(Jerry Seinfeld: a film 'Comedian,' and his influene on the 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' TV show)
- What Was That? Researchers Explore Below-the-Radar Racism
- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=larry+david+moment
- Once Upon A Time In Mexico
- Larry David (I)
- Sour Grapes
- Title Unavailable
- Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood to star in Woody Allen's next movie
- Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood to star in Woody Allen's next movie