Real-Life Larry David Beefs That Spilled into ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
Larry David famously incorporated his own life’s miseries into episodes of Seinfeld, finding sitcom fodder in everything from his encounters with soup Nazis to actual contests involving mastering one’s domain. But why stop there? David has continued to incorporate his real-life beefs into episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, too. Here are four David fights in particular that became comic fiction…
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The Roger Ebert Feud
As Seinfeld ended its run in the 1990s, David tried on some new hats, writing and directing the 1998 feature film Sour Grapes. Pretty much all film critics hated it, but Roger Ebert had a special dislike for the movie. “Scene after scene crashes to the floor,” he wrote. “I can't easily remember a film I’ve enjoyed less.”
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David got his revenge in 2002 with a character named Portico, an Ebert look-alike who reviewed restaurants with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. But that’s difficult to do when David pummels Portico with a dodgeball, breaking both his thumbs. Guess Ebert, er, Portico wouldn’t be doing reviews anytime soon.
David’s Love/Hate Relationship with Richard Lewis
David and Lewis are best friends on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but they’re the kind of pals who are constantly at each other’s throats. The two met as kids at a youth sports camp and the friction started right away. “I disliked him intensely,” Lewis remembers. “We were arch-rivals.”
The two men became friends later in life, but their real-life arguments continue on-screen. So much so that what would Curb be without the two buddies screaming at each other?
David’s Divorce
After David divorced Laurie David in 2007, the world of Curb soon followed with Larry divorcing Cheryl Hines’ character, Cheryl David. “I think he’s happy now,” Laurie told Rolling Stone. “For a guy who spends endless hours on a golf course, it’s best not to have a wife waiting for you at home.”
Disagreements Over the Finale of ‘Seinfeld’
Even Jerry Seinfeld thinks that the final episode of Seinfeld was a bit of a misfire. Bringing back every iconic character ever? “I sometimes think we really shouldn’t have even done it,” he said at a New Yorker Festival. “There was a lot of pressure on us at that time to do one big last show, but big is always bad in comedy.”
All the guest stars were David’s idea, and the differing opinions made their way into the Season Seven finale of Curb. “Larry, we already screwed up one finale,” Jerry argued. “We can’t do another.”
“We didn’t screw up a finale!” David blustered. “That was a good finale!”
