Larry Charles (February 20, 1956) is an American writer, director and producer. He is most well known as a staff writer for the American television sitcom Seinfeld, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd storylines, and as director of the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Born in 1956 in Brooklyn, New York, Charles performed stand-up comedy in the 1970s until he was hired to write for the short-lived sketch comedy show Fridays (where he worked with Larry David, who would later give him a job as a writer on Seinfeld and director on Curb Your Enthusiasm). This began a career in television writing which included The Arsenio Hall Show and eventually Seinfeld.
Although series co-creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote the bulk of the show's episodes during the first five seasons, Charles was mostly their second in command during this period. The episodes which he wrote were:
EPISODES OF SEINFELD WRITTEN BY LARRY CHARLES::
SEASON
EPISODE
INFO
2
"The Statue"
2
"The Heart Attack"
According to the Seinfeld Notes, Charles' own tonsils grew back in real life, just as George's do in the episode. Charles also created the character of Kramer's notorious unseen friend Bob Sacamano, after his real life friend of the same name. The character is mentioned for the first time in this episode.
2
"The Baby Shower"
3
"The Library"
The 'Inside Look' feature on the Seinfeld Season 3 DVD features Charles in an interview, talking about how wanted to create a Jack-Webb/Dragnet-style police monologue in a sitcom format, which was the inspiration for Lt. Bookman, in this episode.
3
"The Subway"
3
"The Fix-Up"
Larry Charles and Elaine Pope won the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series at the 1992 Emmy Awards for this episode.
3
"The Limo"
3
"The Keys"
4
"The Trip Part 1"
4
"The Trip Part 2"
Charles appears in a brief cameo alongside Larry David on the far right of the screen next to the police when the authorities show up at Kramer's apartment in Los Angeles to arrest him for murder
4
"The Opera"
4
"The Airport
Charles appears in this episode in a brief cameo as the passenger who vacates the plane's lavatory leaving a foul stench which Elaine discovers.
4
"The Outing"
Larry Charles was nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series at the 1993 Emmys for this episode.
4
"The Old Man"
5
"The Bris"
5
"The Stall"
5
"The Fire"
Charles went on to write for such shows as Mad About You and Entourage, as well as directing and producing episodes of Larry David's new series Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Charles served as executive producer on two critically-acclaimed but short-lived programs, The Tick (where he wrote 2 episodes), and the Dilbert animated series (where he wrote 1 episode).
In 2000 Charles began his first job as a director, on Seinfeld-creator Larry David's follow-up series Curb Your Enthusiasm. To date he has directed 11 episodes of the hit HBO show, although it is as-yet unknown what episodes, if any, he has directed for the show's sixth season.
EPISODES OF CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM DIRECTED BY LARRY CHARLES:
SEASON
EPISODE
INFO
1
"The Wire"
To bury a telephone wire, Larry must befriend his next door neighbors, the Weinstocks, who ask to meet Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
2
"Trick Or Treat"
Larry refuses to give candy to uncostumed teenagers on Halloween. Larry and Cheryl attend a handicapped friend's movie premiere.
3
"The Benodryl Brownie"
Larry's first cell phone call leads to an allergic reaction involving Richard Lewis's Christian Scientist girlfriend.
3
"The Nanny From Hell"
Larry Charles was nominated in the 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' categories at both the Directors Guild of America and Emmy awards ceremonies for this episode.
4
"Mel's Offer"
Larry is offered the lead role in Mel Brooks' musical, The Producers. Larry reminds Cheryl of an anniversary gift she had promised him ten years earlier.
4
"The Blind Date²
Larry sets up Michael on a "blind" date with a veiled Muslim woman; Jeff admits to Larry he fantasized about Cheryl.
4
"The Surrogate"
Larry befriends a surrogate mother; Larry confronts his doctor about the waiting room's magazine selection.
4
"The Survivor"
Larry Charles received his second Emmy nomination in the category of 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' for this episode.
5
"The Bowtie"
Larry hires a private investigator to find out if he is adopted. After Larry adopts a dog, Wanda deems it to be racist after she visits and finds it barking at her.
5
"The Ski Lift"
Larry and Jeff befriend the head of a kidney transplant consortium in an attempt to get Richard Lewis on the top of the hospital waiting list; Jeff and Susie invite Larry and Cheryl to spend the weekend at their ski lodge; Larry learns something about Jeff's penis.
5
"The End"
Larry Charles received his second Directors Guild of America nomination for 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series' for this episode.
More recently, Charles served as an executive producer and writer on the hit HBO show Entourage for the first two seasons. The episodes which he wrote were:
EPISODES OF ENTOURAGE WRITTEN BY LARRY CHARLES:
SEASON
EPISODE
INFO
1
"Talk Show"
1
"Busey and the Beach"
co-written with Doug Ellin
1
"New York"
co-written with Doug Ellin
2
"Chinatown"
co-written with Brian Burns
Charles' feature debut was Masked and Anonymous (2003) which he directed, and co-wrote with Bob Dylan (under the pseudonyms Rene Fonatine and Sergei Petrov respectively). The film has received an extremely mixed reaction from audiences and critics alike.
His second feature film as director, the critically acclaimed Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, was much more successful.
He is currently working on a number of projects, including directing "A Spiritual Journey" - a documentary about Bill Maher's take on the current state of world religion.; an "Untitled Kanye West HBO Project" ; as well as directing and co-writing the new National Lampoon movie "This is America"; an episodic, sketch-comedy style satire of American culture
