Lawrence Gene David born July 2, 1947 is an American Emmy-winning actor, writer, comedian, producer and film director. Formerly a stand up comedian, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live. David is one of the most respected and successful comedians of his time. He was voted by other comedians as the 23rd greatest comedian of all time in the British Channel 4 The Comedians' Comedian poll.
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.
David was born in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a bachelor's degree in history (1969) and then in business (1970).
As a former standup comedian, David was a writer and cast member for ABC's Fridays from 1980 to 1982, and a writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1984 to 1985. During his time at SNL, he could not get a sketch on the show. David quit his writing job at SNL mid-season, only to show up to work a few days later to act as though nothing had happened. This inspired a season two episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Revenge". David met his future Seinfeld stars during this early stage of his career: He worked with Michael Richards (Kramer) on Fridays and with Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) during his one-year stint on SNL. He can be heard heckling Michael McKean when McKean hosted the show in 1984, and can be seen in the sketch, "The Run, Throw and Catch Like a Girl Olympics" when Howard Cosell hosted the season finale in 1985.
David married Laurie Lennard on March 31, 1993; they have two daughters, Cazzie and Romy, and they lived in Pacific Palisades, California. Like her counterpart in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cheryl David (played by Cheryl Hines), Laurie is an environmental activist. From May 2005, the couple were both contributing bloggers at The Huffington Post. The couple announced their intention to amicably separate on June 5, 2007. Laurie David filed for divorce on July 19, 2007 citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of their two daughters.
David worked with Jerry Seinfeld on 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. He occasionally appeared (uncredited) on the show, and was the primary inspiration for the show's George Costanza character. David left Seinfeld on amicable terms after the seventh season, but returned to write the series finale in 1998 two years later. He continued to provide the voice for the character of George Steinbrenner.
Syndication and DVD releases of Seinfeld have earned David an estimated US$250 million. He was nominated for an Emmy award 19 times for Seinfeld, winning twice, once for best comedy and once for writing.
Cheryl Hines plays David's wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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. 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. Indeed, fictional Larry's numerous and frequent social faux pas and misunderstandings are the basis of much of the show's comedy.
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, and actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have had either recurring roles or guest appearances on the show.
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. It was neither a commercial nor a critical success. He has also appeared in minor parts in two Woody Allen films: Radio Days and New York Stories. David is set to star in Woody Allen's New York-based comedy film entitled Whatever Works, which began filming in April 2008. Since his daughters are Hannah Montana fans, David, along with them, guest starred in the episode "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" as themselves where they are waiting to get a table at a fancy restaurant.
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 on the top fifty greatest comedy acts ever in a poll to select "The Comedian's Comedian". David was nominated for a 2006 Emmy Best Actor Award. There was speculation that the show would be ending after the fifth season; however, the show returned for a sixth season on September 9, 2007, airing at 10pm Sunday nights on HBO.
