Larry David

LARRY DAVID grew up in Brooklyn and attended Sheepshead Bay High School. Of his youth, he says, "I had a wonderful childhood, which is tough because it was hard to adjust to a miserable adulthood." Not a surprising quote from a man whose alter ego came to life in the form of George Costanza on the television series, "Seinfeld," which he co-created.

After attending the University of Maryland, David embarked on a career as a stand-up comedian in 1974. That career was peppered with odd jobs, including cab driver, bra salesman (Sid Farkas anyone!) and private chauffeur. In 1979, he moved to Los Angeles when he was hired as a writer and performer on ABC-TV's late night comedy series, "Fridays." The show lasted until 1982, at which point David returned to New York and eventually landed a job as a writer for NBC-TV's enduring late night series, "Saturday Night Live."

Jerry Seinfeld, whom David first met on the comedy circuit in 1976, solicited his advice in 1988 when asked to develop a show for NBC. The two came up with the idea for "Seinfeld," which debuted in 1989, and went on to become one of the most successful and influential shows in television history, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 1993 (among the show's seven nominations as Best Comedy).

David occasionally appeared on the show, playing roles like New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. He was Emmy-nominated seven times for his writing on "Seinfeld," and won in 1993 for the now classic episode entitled "The Contest." David also won WGA awards for his work on "Seinfeld" in 1994 and 1995. He left the show after serving as head writer and executive producer for seven seasons, but returned to write the series finale in 1998.

That same year, he made his big screen directorial debut (from his own original script) with the comedy "Sour Grapes," an irreverent look at the pitfalls of wealth and greed that starred Steven Weber and Craig Bierko as cousins at war with each other after one wins millions at a casino and refuses to share the newfound wealth.

In 1999, David received an AFI Star Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. That was also the year he wrote and starred in "Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm," a one-hour special for HBO, which spawned the critically acclaimed HBO series the following year.

David was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series three times (2003, 2005, and 2006) for his work on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The series itself also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy in 2003. "Curb" has also been Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series four times, and in 2003, David was also nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy series. In 2006, he received a WGA award for Best Comedy Series for his writing on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and was nominated again in 2007. In 2009, he was nominated by SAG for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. That same year, he also starred in Woody Allen's comedy, "Whatever Works" (his third role for Allen, for whom he also appeared in "Radio Days" and "New York Stories"). In 2010, David was honored with the WGA's 2010 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television.

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