Larry David

Larry David, born Lawrence Gene David on July 2, 1947, is an American comedian, writer, actor, television producer, and Broadway performer. He grew up in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, where he was raised in a Jewish family. His father, Mortimer Julius David, was a men's clothing manufacturer whose family had emigrated from Germany to the United States in the 19th century. His mother, Rose, was born into a Polish-Jewish family in Ternopil, a city now located in Ukraine. David has an older brother, Ken. He graduated from Sheepshead Bay High School in 1965 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1970, where he was a member of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. Following graduation, he served in the United States Army Reserve, receiving training as a petroleum storage specialist.

David began his professional life as a stand-up comedian while also working jobs including store clerk and limousine driver. During this period he lived in Manhattan Plaza, a federally subsidized housing complex in Hell's Kitchen, across the hall from Kenny Kramer, who would later serve as the inspiration for the Seinfeld character Cosmo Kramer. From 1980 to 1982, he worked as both a writer and cast member on ABC's sketch comedy program Fridays, where he first worked alongside Michael Richards. He subsequently joined the writing staff of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the 1984–1985 season, where he met cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus. His tenure at SNL was marked by difficulty getting material on air — only one sketch he wrote was broadcast, airing in the final time slot of the evening. He quit the job in frustration during his first season, angrily criticizing the show to producer Dick Ebersol, then returned to work two days later as though nothing had occurred. That episode later became the basis for the second-season Seinfeld episode "The Revenge." In 1987, he also served as a writer and performer on Way Off Broadway, a Lifetime variety talk show hosted by Joy Behar.

In 1989, David partnered with comedian Jerry Seinfeld to develop a pilot for NBC titled The Seinfeld Chronicles, which evolved into the sitcom Seinfeld, one of the most commercially and critically successful series in television history. TV Guide ranked it first on its list of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time, and Entertainment Weekly placed it third on its equivalent ranking. David wrote 62 episodes of the series, including the 1992 episode "The Contest," which TV Guide later named the top entry on its list of TV's 100 best episodes. He also served as the primary inspiration for the character George Costanza and made occasional uncredited on-screen appearances, including as Frank Costanza's cape-wearing lawyer, while providing the voice of George Steinbrenner throughout the run. David departed the series after its seventh season but returned to write the 1998 series finale. In 1993, he received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Seinfeld — one for Outstanding Comedy Series and one for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

David's film work includes appearances in several Woody Allen productions. He had a bit role in Allen's Radio Days in 1987 and appeared again in New York Stories in 1989. He later played the lead role in Allen's 2009 comedy Whatever Works. He also wrote and starred in the 2013 HBO film Clear History. As a writer-director, he made the 1998 theatrical film Sour Grapes, about two cousins who dispute a casino jackpot, though it found neither commercial nor critical success.

In 1999, HBO aired the one-hour special Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which led directly to the ongoing series of the same name, whose first episode aired on October 15, 2000. The show, which David created, writes, and stars in, is built from a story outline of only a few pages, with actors improvising their dialogue from that framework. David's character is a fictionalized version of himself — described by David as what he might be like without social awareness or sensitivity. The series ran for twelve seasons, with its final season premiering in January 2024, and accumulated 30 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one, along with a Golden Globe win. The phrase "Larry David moment," referring to an inadvertently created socially awkward situation, entered American popular culture as a result of the show. Regular and recurring participants in the series included Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson, and Mary Steenburgen, as well as Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, and Susie Essman. The seventh season featured a story arc in which the Seinfeld cast, including Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, returned for a fictional reunion special. In 2010, the Writers Guild of America presented David with its Laurel Award.

Beginning in 2015, David made recurring guest appearances on Saturday Night Live portraying presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, continuing through the 2020 election cycle. That same year marked his Broadway debut, when he wrote and starred in the comedic play Fish in the Dark. David has also contributed written pieces to The New Yorker and The New York Times.