Larry David, the comedian’s comedian is a historian turned comedian who turned his ineptitude into a cottage industry. Larry discovered while in college that he can make people roll around in laughter just by being himself, Larry. He went ahead to do just that thereby making his way into the hearts of thousands of fans and amassing a lot of money therein. He is also a writer, actor, playwright, and television producer.
Larry David Biography
Larry was born as Lawrence Gene David on July 2, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Jewish descent. He attended the Sheepshead Bay High School, New York, and proceeded to the University of Maryland where bagged a degree in history in 1969. He joined Tau Epsilon Phi while in the university where he regaled his brothers with stories about everyday events that were always funny thereby honing his comedy skills.
The comedian was once in the United States Army Reserve following his graduation from the university and had a career in stand-up comedy performing in clubs. He also had jobs as a store clerk, limousine driver, and television repairman. From stand-up comedy, Larry wrote and starred in ABC’s Fridays and also wrote briefly for Saturday Night Live.
He co-created Seinfeld with Jerry Seinfeld and was the head writer and executive producer from 1989 to 1996. The show however ended in 1998. Larry went ahead to create and star as the semi-fictionalized version of himself, in one of the critically adored TV comedies of recent history, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The show had its first performance on HBO in October 2000 and had 8 seasons. It, however, went on a hiatus in 2011 but made a comeback with the ninth season in 2017 which premiered on October 1. Although it was tardy in starting new seasons, it has turned out to be something of a marvel. The show has no predefined script or dialogue but has the actors improvise their dialogue based on the story outline, direction, and their own creativity.
His shows have featured stories from real-life situations. Episodes in Seinfeld like The Contest and The Revenge are based on things that actually happened. He ended his marriage with his on-screen wife, Cheryl, after he got divorced from his wife in real life. His works have earned him two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award in 2003 for Best Comedy Series for his show, Curb your Enthusiasm.
Larry has often said that he would like to be his character in real life if he lacked social awareness and sensitivity. He made his Broadway debut with Fish in the Dark, the play he wrote and stars in as Norman Drexel, who looks a lot like his character on Curb your enthusiasm. He has numerous other works to his credit which include the 1998 film, Sour Grapes, the 2013 HBO TV film Clear History which he co-wrote and starred in.
Larry had also appeared in Woody Allen films- Radio Days and New York Stories in minor parts, and had a lead role in Allen’s New York-based comedy film Whatever Works.
Net Worth
The man who started out as a stand-up and did other jobs to pay his bills has really made it big. Today tells a different story about his wealthy status. His wealth is majorly accredited to his work in the sitcom, Seinfeld. The show was syndicated for $650 million and has reportedly netted $3.1 billion in fees for reruns on US TV channels. His earnings from Curb your Enthusiasm have also contributed to his wealth.
Larry’s net worth has been estimated to be around $900 million but following his divorce, a deep cut was made into his fortune leaving his net worth in the region of $400 million.
Larry David’s Family
David was born to Mortimer J. David, a men’s clothing manufacturer, and Rose David, a homemaker, and has an elder brother, Ken whom he grew up with within Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn among family relatives that live in close proximity to one another. His father was born on December 31, 1915, in New York, and died on June 23, 2009, at Boca Raton, Florida.
The fourth season premiere of PBS Finding Your Roots revealed that Larry and the Vermont US senator, Bernie Sanders who he portrayed in multiple episodes of SNL during the 2016 elections are actually related as cousins.
Daughter
Larry’s marriage to Laurie produced two daughters, Cazzie Laurel born on May 10, 1994, and Romy March born on March 2, 1996. The eldest took after her father and is writing and starring in a comedy series of her own very similar to her father’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The series is rooted in the millennial life where she lets out her anxieties and frustrations. She has already put out four episodes of the series called Eighty-Sixed,(a series that explores the intricacies of love and breakups in the social media age) to YouTube.
Cazzie had also made a name for herself by making posts likened to the Rich Kids of Instagram posts (a group renowned for boasting of their privileged upbringings). Her account is known for posts that promote lavish lifestyles ranging from lavish vacations, boozy baths, to fine dining. She graduated from Emerson College, Boston in 2016.
Larry David’s Wife, Girlfriend
Laurie David (nee Lenard) was married to Larry from 1993 to 2007. She was born on March 28, 1958, in a middle-class Jewish family on Long Island. Laurie is an Environmental Activist who graduated with a degree in Journalism from Ohio University.
Like her ex-husband, she had also worked in the entertainment industry where she has her own management company which represents comedians and comedy writers. She also worked for David Letterman as a talent coordinator in New York. She is also a film/TV producer and has produced many comedy specials for HBO, Showtime, MTV and Fox Television. She produced the Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth and was the executive producer of Fed Up, a film about the causes of obesity in the United States where she worked as a team with Katie Couric. She had also developed sitcoms for 20th Century Fox TV.
Laurie is one of the trustees on the Natural Resources Defense Council and also a member of the Advisory Board of the Children’s Nature Institute as well as a contributing blogger to The Huffington Post.
After Larry’s divorce from Laurie, Amy Landecker came into the picture. She was 41 and married with a daughter when she starred in Larry’s Curb your Enthusiasm in 2010. It was however reported that Larry wooed her on set making her abandon her husband of 6 years, Jackson Lynch to start a relationship with him. She filed for divorce one month after she started dating Larry.
Larry was accused of wrecking their home but he said that the only home he was responsible for wrecking is his and none else.
Facts About Larry David
He always carries a pad of paper and a pencil with him so he can record his ideas.
Larry started his career as a stand-up comedian performing in New York when he was in his thirties.
He often uses articles of clothing as plot devices.
Larry thinks comedians with beards are pretentious and doesn’t think they’re funny.
He lifts gags from his real life
The only thing predictable about Larry David is his unpredictability.
His philosophy is summed up as: “Everybody’s full of shit all the time. It’s hard to get along in this world, and that’s the way to do it.”
He hates all holidays including Halloween, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, New Year, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and the Jewish High Holy Days. (He does not mind Memorial Day or Columbus Day.)
Height
Larry David might not be a giant, but he sure has a decent height and cannot be called short. He stands tall at 5’11” feet.