1) Larry David Talks Dating Post-Divorce, 'Seinfeld' and Wealth.
He notes that his Curb character is "my version of Superman. The character really is me, but I just couldn't possibly behave like that. If I had my druthers, that would be me all the time, but you can't do that. We're always doing things we don't want to do, we never say what we really feel, and so this is an idealized version of how I want to be. As crazy as this person is, I could step into those shoes right now, but I would be arrested or I'd be hit or whatever."
2) The 'Curb' Effect: How Larry David Changed Comedy Forever.
Some comedians say the things that everyone else is thinking; Larry David says the things that nobody realizes they’re allowed to think. Deep down, most people would probably prefer to quietly bow out of the grand tour of a friend’s new home, or not sing the Happy Birthday song. It takes actually seeing someone else blow off such social niceties before a person begins to question the logic of simply going along to get along. Throughout his career, Larry David has had a similar effect on his peers and his heirs – after seeing what boundaries he pushes, others begin to figure out what they too can get away with.
The piece goes on to explain how Louis CK, Sacha Baron-Cohen, Ricky Gervais, and others have been influenced by LD.
3) Comedian Susie Essman Explains Larry David's Genius (it's all about justice).
What do you remember about Larry from the stand-up days?
He was legendary, the ultimate comic’s comic. His material was just brilliant, as you can imagine. But there were also nights when he would just walk on stage, look at the audience and be like, “Nuh-uh, I don’t think so,” and just walk off. Nobody did that! I used to emcee all the time at Catch a Rising Star, so there was always that moment when we’re ready to go, “And please welcome Larry David!” – that moment where we’re passing each other and he’s going on and I’m coming off and he’d always say to me, “Stay close, stay close.” With Larry you always had to stay in the room ‘cause you never knew if he was just gonna do two minutes, he could just walk off the stage. What’s interesting is if I said to all the comics back then – Chris Rock, Colin Quinn, Jon Stewart, Joy Behar – “Larry’s going to be more successful than any of us,” nobody would have believed it. Not that he wasn’t brilliant – he was – he just didn’t have that kind of driving ambition...
What is the essence of his genius, if we’re going to say that?
I think that it’s the thumbing his nose at social conventions, and he’s completely baffled by social conventions. He doesn’t see the world that way. And the thing that you have to realize is that Larry's very concerned about justice. This is right, this is wrong. And he’s concerned about that in the world. He’s very political, and cares, always cares about the little guy and the underdog and how people are being treated. It’s one of the reasons why the crew loves him so much. But he really, really has a tremendous sense of morality, and the injustices of the world I think are something that really disturb him. That life isn’t fair, I think really bothers him, and I think that that is one of his driving forces. And you know what, he’s absolutely correct. You don’t act like a pig and take up two parking spots. It’s also piggishness that I think really disturbs him. He doesn’t like rudeness, he doesn’t like piggishness, he doesn’t like injustice. And he’s right, and I think that that’s what people respond to. He just goes about saying it wrong, tactlessly.
Here's a montage of LD's standup from the Curb pilot. Too bad ya can't find any of his older standup online.
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