Enthusiastic about Larry
“CURB Your Enthusiasm” is back. In person, exuding the warmth of a cobra, Larry David might curb your enthusiasm. Said HBO’s Rabia Ahmad: “He may allow two questions. Likely, he won’t speak to anyone.” But colleagues love him.
Susie Essman: “The show’s lines are improv. I plan none until I’m on the set. Larry, funniest guy alive, sets the scene. Come up with something unfunny, he gets a look like he’s smelling something sour. But he’s very supportive. Loyal. One show I told him, ‘Get the f - - k out of my house.’ My mother, 92, was really proud of that.”
J.B. Smoove: “My government name’s Jerry Brooks. Look, I never bomb on the show. I’m never stumped. Walking a tightrope, I’ll find an avenue. Focus on one point. Do a Mona Lisa smile. Stick my booty out. Customize. A line fails and your brain don’t work, so what? Love the ‘save.’ And love Larry, like we all do.”
Larry, chewing gum: “I don’t watch when each episode airs. I spend weeks editing. I know what’s on them. This show started as a special years ago, and when my agent said I should do a series, I laughed. Ridiculous. Can’t be done. Then I decided it could be done.
“Each starts with how an idea strikes me. Say something I think’s funny, has potential, I write it down.” From his suit, which looked to be hand-woven by blind Belgian nuns and probably cost more than my maintenance, he produced a pad and pen. “I compile ideas. Some turn into episodes.”
Amy Schumer arrived. Comedian cast member Jeff Garlin: “I love Amy. I want her as my fiancée. She’s great. I helped put her on the show.” Hugging her, Jeff ’s ratty T-shirt hung outside crappy rumpled dirty jeans. He looked like an unmade bed. Amy’s stunning white dress probably went to the cleaner.
In came Cheryl Hines alongside husband Bobby Kennedy — she with a black designer dress and gold spike heels, he with his iPhone. And then a lady said: “Larry David and I share many good memories. We even came to tonight’s screening together. I love Larry.” Her name? Laurie David. His ex- wife.
Richard Plepler, HBO’s medicine man, who brought back “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: “Larry David’s a genius. When you have a genius in your family, you don’t let him go.”