David was born on July 2, 1947, in theSheepshead Bay neighborhood ofBrooklyn,New York City. His parents are Rose (née Regina Brandes) and Mortimer Julius "Morty" David, a men's clothing manufacturer, and he has an older brother, Ken.[11] David's family isJewish. HisAmerican Jewish father's familymoved from Germany to the U.S. during the 19th century, while David's mother was born into aPolish-Jewish family inTernopil, now inUkraine, and her mother's family name was Superfein.[12]
David graduated fromSheepshead Bay High School, now defunct and operating as Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex, in 1965. A sign with his photo is displayed in one of the complex's hallways. He then attended theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, where he was a brother inTau Epsilon Phi.[13] He graduated in 1970 with aBachelor of Arts inhistory.[14][15] At college, he discovered that he could make people laugh simply by being himself.[12] After college, Davidenlisted in theUnited States Army Reserve and received training as a petroleum storage specialist.[16] To avoid the final year of his six-year enlistment, he paid a psychiatrist to write a letter declaring him unfit for duty.[17]
While a stand-up comedian, David also worked as a store clerk, limousine driver, and historian. He lived inManhattan Plaza, a federally subsidized housing complex inManhattan'sHell's Kitchen neighborhood, across the hall fromKenny Kramer, the inspiration for theCosmo Kramer character inSeinfeld.[18] From 1980 to 1982, David became a writer and cast member forABC'sFridays, where he worked withMichael Richards, who later played Kramer onSeinfeld.[19]
From 1984 to 1985, David was a writer forNBC'sSaturday Night Live (SNL) and metJulia Louis-Dreyfus, who also worked on the show in this period.[20][19][21] During his time atSNL, he was able to get only one sketch on the air, which aired at 12:50 am, the show's last time slot.[20][22] David quit his job atSNL in the first season, angrily disparaging the quality of the show to producerDick Ebersol, only to show up to work two days later acting as though nothing had happened.[23] That event inspired the second-seasonSeinfeld episode "The Revenge".[24][25] He can be heard hecklingMichael McKean when McKean hostedSNL in 1984, and can be seen in the sketch "The Run, Throw, and Catch Like a Girl Olympics" whenHoward Cosell hosted the season finale in 1985.[26][27] In 1987, David was a writer and performer forWay Off Broadway, a variety talk show onLifetime hosted byJoy Behar.[28][29]
In 1989, David teamed up with comedianJerry Seinfeld to create a pilot for NBC calledThe Seinfeld Chronicles, which became the basis forSeinfeld, one of the most successful shows in history,[30] reaching the top ofTV Guide'slist of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time.Entertainment Weekly ranked it the third-best TV show of all time. David made occasional uncredited appearances on the show, playing such roles as Frank Costanza's cape-wearing lawyer and the voice ofGeorge Steinbrenner. He was also the primary inspiration for the show's characterGeorge Costanza.[31] David leftSeinfeld on friendly terms after the show's seventh season and returned two years later to write the series finale in 1998.[32] He also continued to voice Steinbrenner.[33]
TheHBO cable television channel aired David's one-hour special,Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, on October 17, 1999.[38] This was followed byCurb Your Enthusiasm, an HBO television series whose first episode aired on October 15, 2000.[39] The show revisits many of the themes ofSeinfeld[40] and is improvised from a story outline only several pages long written by David (and, from the fifth season onward, additional writers).[41]
The actors improvise their dialogue based on the outline, direction, and their creativity. David has said that his character in the show, a fictionalized version of himself, is what he would be like in real life if he lacked social awareness and sensitivity.[42] The character's numerous and frequent social faux pas, misunderstandings, and ironic coincidences are the basis of much of the show's comedy and have led to the entry into the American pop culture lexicon of the expression "Larry David moment", meaning an inadvertently created socially awkward situation.Curb Your Enthusiasm has been described as depicting "the things nobody wants to say, but wish they could".[43]
The show is based on David's life following the fortune he earned fromSeinfeld; semi-retired, he strives to live a fulfilled life.[44] Alongside David is his wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), his manager and best friend Jeff (Jeff Garlin), and Jeff's wife Susie (Susie Essman). Celebrities, including comediansRichard Lewis,Wanda Sykes, andBob Einstein, appeared on the show regularly. ActorsTed Danson andMary Steenburgen have had recurring roles as themselves.[44]
The show is critically acclaimed and has been nominated for 30 Primetime Emmy Awards, with one win, as well as a Golden Globe win. In the first six seasons,Julia Louis-Dreyfus andJason Alexander appear in several episodes, andJerry Seinfeld has a cameo. In season 7, the cast ofSeinfeld, includingMichael Richards, return in a story arc involving David's attempt to organize aSeinfeld reunion special. On June 2, 2010, the series premiered on theTV Guide Network, its network television debut.TV Guide Network also produced a series of related discussions with high-profile guest stars, media pundits, and prominent social figures called "Curb: The Discussion" debating the moral implications of each episode. David is quoted as saying "Finally, thanks to the TV Guide Network, I'll get a chance to watch actual, intelligent people discuss and debate the issues addressed on 'Curb'. Now if only someone could tell me where this alleged 'Network' is, I might even watch it."[45] The show's 12th and final season premiered in January 2024.[46]
David played the leading role inWoody Allen's 2009 comedy filmWhatever Works alongsideEvan Rachel Wood.[47] He had a cameo appearance on theHBO seriesEntourage as a client ofAri Gold, and because his daughters wereHannah Montana fans, David and his daughters guest-starred as themselves in the episode "My Best Friend's Boyfriend", in which they wait for a table at a fancy restaurant.[48] David appeared as a panelist on theNBC seriesThe Marriage Ref and also played Sister Mary-Mengele in the 2012 reboot ofThe Three Stooges.[49] He co-wrote and starred in the 2013HBO television filmClear History. David wrote and starred in the Broadway playFish in the Dark. Also appearing wereRita Wilson,Jayne Houdyshell, andRosie Perez. The play centers on the death of a family patriarch. It opened on March 5, 2015.Jason Alexander took over David's role in July. The play closed in August.[50][51] As of February 1, 2015, its advance sale of $13.5 million had broken records for a Broadway show.[51]
Since 2015, David has made multiple guest appearances portraying 2016 and 2020 United States presidential election candidateBernie Sanders onSaturday Night Live; he also hosted the show on February 6, 2016, with musical guestThe 1975 and a cameo by Sanders himself, and on November 4, 2017, with musical guestMiley Cyrus.
In 2017,PBS'sFinding Your Roots discovered through genealogical research that David and Sanders are distantly related. Sanders told David the news. "I was very happy about that," David said, according toVariety. "I thought there must have been some connection." The comedian explained that Sanders is "a third cousin or something".[52][10] He is in fact David's sixth cousin once removed.[10][53][54][55]
On January 8, 2020, David joked onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, "I would say, I would beg him [Bernie] to drop out so I don't have to keep flying in from Los Angeles to doSNL. I thought when he had the heart attack that would be it, I wouldn't have to fly in from Los Angeles. But, you know, he's indestructible. Nothing stops this man!" He later added, "If he wins, do you know what that's going to do to my life? Do you have any idea? I mean, it will be great for the country—great for the country, terrible for me."[56]
In 2013,Charlie Rose estimated David'snet worth at around $500 million.[70] Two years later, two other estimates put the number between $400 million[71] and $900 million.[72] In 2020,National Review offered an estimate of about $400 million.[73]
Most of David's wealth originates fromsyndication deals ofSeinfeld andCurb Your Enthusiasm, the former having netted $3.1 billion in rerun fees as of 2013.[72] The syndication ofSeinfeld earned David an estimated $250 million in 1998 alone.[74] In 2008, David was reported to have grossed $55 million, mostly fromSeinfeld syndication and work onCurb Your Enthusiasm.[74][75]
David's net worth was parodied in a 2001 episode ofCurb Your Enthusiasm, "The Shrimp Incident", in whichHBO executive Allan Wasserman yells at David: "If you want shrimp, take your $475 million, go buy a shrimp boat."[76]
In a 2015 interview withCBS, David confirmed that half of his wealth was eroded by his 2007 divorce in thecommunity property state of California.[70] "I have a lot of money", he said, adding that the "figures out there are crazy".[70]
^Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (2012)."Larry David".Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. RetrievedAugust 24, 2012.
^Levine, Josh (2010).Pretty, pretty, pretty good : Larry David and the making of Seinfeld and Curb your enthusiasm. Toronto:ECW Press. p. 25.ISBN978-1550229479.
^David, Larry (December 20, 2010)."Thanks for the Tax Cut!".The New York Times.Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 17, 2017.
