Everything about Larry David's first 20 years in show business implied that his success lay behind the scenes. He embarked on a stand-up career in the 1970s, which led to a gig as a writer and performer on the late-night sketch show
Fridays. After a handful of small film roles and a fruitless one-year stint as a
Saturday Night Live writer, David cocreated one of the most beloved and influential sitcoms of all time,
Seinfeld, in 1990. After leaving the show, the disgruntled humorist wrote and directed the movie
Sour Grapes, which turned out to be a bomb, before wisely returning to his small-screen roots with the 1999 HBO special
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show was so successful that it spawned an offbeat, semi-improvised, wince-inducing series that finally turned the fiftysomething, balding neurotic into an on-camera star. However, it wasn't the first time that David's personality ended up on the small screen: according to
Seinfeld lore, he was the primary inspiration for the character of George Costanza.
Larry David Fast Facts:
- Started as a stand-up comedian, performing primarily in the New York area in the mid-1970s.
- During his time as a writer for the 1984-85 season of NBC's Saturday Night Live, he claims that only one of his sketches made it to air.
- Made cameo appearances on Seinfeld from time to time and provided the voice of George Steinbrenner (George Costanza's boss).
- Won Writers Guild of America awards in 1994 and 1995 for the Seinfeld episodes "The Contest" and "The Mango."
- Although he had left Seinfeld in 1996, he returned in 1998 to write the series finale.
- As the coproducer, cocreator and cowriter of Seinfeld, he based the character of George Costanza on himself.
- Larry David Relationships:
- Laurie David - Ex-wife
- Cazzie Laurel David - Daughter
- Romy March David - Daughter
- Larry David Awards:
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1992 Emmy: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1994 Emmy: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1993 Emmy: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series - Winner
- 2008 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2010 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2010 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2012 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2012 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1991 Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 1992 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1993 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Winner
- 1994 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1995 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2002 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2006 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- College:
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD