Lawrence “Larry” David,  Born July 2, 1947

Lawrence Gene David was born to a Jewish American family in Brooklyn, New York; he grew up in a neighborhood called Sheepshead Bay, and attended Sheepshead Bay High School in the mid-60′s.  After graduation, Larry chose to go to Maryland University at College Park; in 1969, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history, and then another in business one year later.  After college, David decided to forgo the daily grind that comes with being a college history professor, and opted for a career in stand-up comedy instead.  At first, Larry struggled - like most up-and-coming comedians – and had to take on odd jobs to make ends meet; while honing his comedy act, he also worked as a store clerk, limo driver, and TV repairman.  In 1980, he was hired as a writer on the sketch comedy show Friday’s, which was basically ABC’s answer to Saturday Night Live.  When Friday’s was cancelled in 1982, David continued to do stand-up until he was hired as a writer for SNL in 1984.  During the one season that he worked on the show, Larry was only able to get one sketch on the air - and it was the last skit in the show’s time slot.  He became dissatisfied with this minimal role, and ended up quitting in midseason; but in typical Costanza fashion (or David fashion as the case actually is), he showed back up at work a few days later and acted as though nothing had happened. 

Larry David’s life would take a turn for the better in 1989 when comedian Jerry Seinfeld asked him to help create and write a sitcom for NBC.  The Seinfeld Chronicles was pitched as a “show about nothing”, and the plot revolved around the daily lives of four single friends who reside in New York’s Upper West Side.  A lot of the storylines, characters, and casting for the show came from Larry’s personal experiences, as well as previous work relationships – he lived next to a guy in Hell’s Kitchen named Kenny Kramer, previously worked with both Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Michael Richards, and events in his own life served as inspiration for George Costanza’s character, just to name a few.  After the debut of the pilot, it seemed unlikely that NBC would continue the series, and the show’s rights were even offered to FOX – who declined to pick it up.  But an NBC big wig named Rick Ludwin chose to divert money from his budget so that four more episodes could be filmed.  The show achieved modest success during its first few seasons, but didn’t crack the Nielsen Ratings Top 30 until the fourth season.  Larry decided to leave Seinfeld in 1996 after the seventh season ended; he wrote or co-wrote 57 of the 180 episodes (not including re-writes of the script), and also returned to write the show’s finale two years later.  During his time with the show, Larry received 19 Emmy nominations for his work, and won twice - one for best comedy & one for his writing.  It is estimated that David earned $250 million in 1998 alone, which was a result of the him selling the show’s syndication rights (this was also part of the original NBC deal, which totaled $1.7 billion).  Although Seinfeld has now been off the air for over a decade, many people still consider it to be the greatest show in TV history - and I happen to be one of them

After a short hiatus, and an unsuccessful movie, Larry returned to his roots for an hour long HBO special titled Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm.  This special was then transformed into a 30 minute sitcom of the same name, which premiered on October 15, 2000.  Larry plays a fictionalized version of himself on the show - a neurotic, semi-retired writer/comedian with too much time on his hands - who often finds himself in socially awkward situations and predicaments that he unknowingly created (also known as a “Larry David Moment”).  The plotlines are similar to that of Seinfeld in that most of them convey the humor in seemingly mundane events; but unlike his previous endeavor, each episode is littered with profanity and cringe-inducing moments that only networks like HBO (and minds like Larry David) can provide.  The show is currently in its seventh season, and has been nominated for 28 Emmy Awards - yet somehow, it has only won once.  In my eyes, there aren’t too many comedians (alive or dead) who can match the razor sharp wit and humor of Larry David, so it’s only fitting that we welcome the Master of his Domain into the Hater Hall of Fame.

Larry is not a fan of the Bluetooth craze:

His performance at a benefit in 2005 titled “Earth to America!”:

The best of Larry as “Big Stein”:

“Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man – there’s your diamond in the rough.”

The HBO sitcom Eastbound and Down premiered on February 15th of this year, and became an instant hit.  The show stars Danny McBride, who plays the role of Kenny Powers -  a hot shot professional pitcher turned middle school substitute P.E. teacher.  They have only aired six hilarious episodes to date, but HBO announced plans to renew the series for a second season on April 8th.  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, here is a compilation of highlights from the first season (Language NSFW).

I was a big fan of Entourage when the show first premiered on HBO back in July of 2004.  Not only did the show have a bunch of smoking hot women, the premise and characters were great in the beginning – especially Jeremy Piven as agent Ari Gold.  However, Entourage has become increasingly predictable, and they are definitely running out of original storylines.  I am not the only one who has noticed this drop off either; the ratings have declined over the past couple of seasons, and there are quite a few articles on the Internet written by people who feel the same.  If you watched the first few seasons, but then began to lose interest (or quit paying for HBO like me), don’t worry.  The good people at College Humor have you covered, and made this video to illustrate what you have been missing every week. 

I still think Jeremy Piven deserves a tribute, because his character rarely disappoints (language NSFW):

Although I don’t watch hardly any baseball, I have watched enough to know that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are two of the worst announcers ever.  Buck also does some of Fox’s NFL coverage (where I have seen him most), but he has somehow managed to get his own TV show on HBO, titled Joe Buck Live.  The first show was last night, and Bucks’ guests included actor Paul Ruud, SNL’s Jason Sudeikis, and Howard Stern’s sidekick Artie Lange.  The following video is one of the most awkward moments you’ll ever see on TV (thanks mainly to Artie) - it is similar to watching a train derail or a planned demolition.  If you pay close attention, you can almost pinpoint the exact moment when Buck realizes he is in way over his head.  I suggest you hurry if you want to catch Joe Buck Live…because I doubt it is going to be on too much longer.

Here’s a link from part of the show, because HBO has pulled pretty much every full video on the Internet.

Today’s post features a show about “New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo accapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo.”  Flight of the Conchords is an HBO original series that stars the musical comedy duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement; the show is currently in its second season, but the newest episodes have not been nearly as funny.  So here are some of my favorite moments from season one.

Episode 3, “Mugged”:

   Song from Episode 7, “Mutha Uckers”:

“Business Time”:

“The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room”:

I had a chance see this comedian in concert a couple of years ago, and it was the second funniest stand-up act I have ever seen – only behind Dave Chappelle.  His self-deprecating style and an overall distaste for family life also makes him a perfect fit for the Hater Hall of Fame:

Born September 12, 1967

Louis Szekely (pronounced se’-ke) was born in Washington D.C., but his parents moved to Mexico City shortly thereafter.  He lived there until he was five years old, and then moved with his family to Framingham, Massachusetts.  Louis wanted to be a comedian early in life, but said he wasn’t good because “I was only 17-years old and I had a lot to learn about life in general. But I just kept on trying…I had nothing else I was good at.”  His first performance was in 1984 at an open mic night in Boston, Massachusetts; things didn’t go so well, considering all his ”material” only translated into two minutes of actual stage time.  After this perceived failure, C.K. did not step foot on another comedy stage for two years.

In 1989 Louis moved to New York, and his career began to take a turn for the better; he appeared on shows like Evening at the Improv, Comic Strip Live, and Star Search - but lost to some guy named Steve McGrew.  Four years later he was hired as a writer on The Conan O’Brien Show, and worked there for a couple of years; he came up with “The Staring Contest” bit, and was actually the first comedian to appear on the show.  He also worked as a writer on the Late Show with David Letterman, the Dana Carvey Show, and was hired as the head writer/producer for the Chris Rock Show in 1996 – where he he won an Emmy for his work in 1998.

He began the new millenium by writing and producing his first feature length film, Pootie Tang.  The movie was panned by critics, but has developed a sizable cult following since its release - myself included.  His success and reputation as a must see comedian also continued to grow; this led to his first comedy CD in 2001 (“Louis CK: Live in Houston”) and accolades in several entertainment-based publications - like Variety, Entertainment Weekly, & the Hollywood Reporter.  He wrote, produced, and starred in a HBO sitcom pilot in 2005, and a year later “Lucky Louie” went on the air.  Sadly, it was cancelled after only one season, despite a rise in ratings each week and several great reviews.  He bounced back with his first hour long stand-up special in 2006, “Louis CK: Shameless”, and began selling out shows across the country while on tour.  Here are some videos that demonstrate why this comedian was a first ballot selection for The Hall: 

(None of these videos are safe for work)

2008 performance, “Chewed Up”

Today seems like a good time to share just a few of my favorite episodes from a great comedy series, Curb Your Enthusiasm.  The show was created by Seinfeld writer and co-creator Larry David, who also plays himself in the lead role. 

“Thor”: Season 2, Episode 2

“Krazee Eyez Killa”: Season 3, Episode 8

“The Car Pool Lane”: Season 4, Episode 6