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 new NBC series Community debuted on September 7th, and even though it features some very funny people – like Talk Soup‘s Joel McHale, King Argotron from Role Models, & the comedic actor formerly known as Chevy Chase – I have not watched an episode yet.  But after seeing DJ Steve Porter’s new remix based on the show, titled “You’ll Get Bit…Ya BIT!”, I think it’s about time I gave it a chance.  The shows airs at 8:00 p.m. eastern time every Thursday night until it gets cancelled:

I also wanted to give a quick birthday shout out to the inventor of the flux capacitor, who turns 71 today; and since I am in a remix mood today, here’s one dedicated to the good Doc: 

It sucked to hear that former Tonight Show sidekick and Star Search host Ed McMahon passed away this morning, he was 86 years old.  I watched Carson as a young boy, and there are two things I will always remember about McMahon: 1) His signature phrases, namely “Hi-Yooo” and “You are correct sir” (Phil Hartman’s impression on SNL played a big part in that, too) & 2) the interaction between Johnny, Ed, and the audience during their legendary Carnac the Magnificent bits.  The crowd often booed the intentionally lame jokes that Carson threw in; when the boos started, Carnac would unleash some weird insult like “May a diseased yak squat in your hot tub” or “May a love-starved fruit-fly molest your sisters’ nectarines”.  But whether the punchline was good or bad, you would always hear Ed McMahon’s boisterous laugh.  The Tonight Show never felt the same after Johnny & Ed left (I was never a fan of Leno), and it’s sad that both of these legends have now passed on.  My condolences go out to Mr. McMahon’s family and friends during this difficult time.

This video has been featured on numerous media outlets since Monday, and it happened on Jimmy Fallon’s show of all places.  Mark-Paul Gosselaar took time away from his Steven Bochco legal drama to revisit the role that made him famous – the mega pimp of the early 90′s, Bayside’s own Zack Morris:

My feelings towards Fallon himself remain unchanged, he just happens to have at least one writer who is creative and talented.  One good bit doesn’t make up for all the skits he almost single handedly ruined on Saturday Night Live.  Peter Griffin probably explained it best in this Family Guy clip:

Now remember what Peter said, and watch Fallon in this classic SNL video:

Sphincter Pratt

Last night I was flipping through the channels, and happened to stop on the premiere of NBC’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!  Anyone who has read this blog knows that I absolutely despise reality shows, and this one may be the worst yet.  First and foremost, they take serious liberties with the term celebrity – Lou Diamond Phillips is the most legitimate entertainer on the show if that tells you anything.  The only other participants I even recognized was former NBA star John Salley, and the least successful Baldwin brother. 

The part I happened to catch involved mega douche Spencer Pratt, and his wife, a brainless drama queen named Heidi Montag.  I was aware of these pseudo-celebrities because I watch E!’s The Soup, but knew nothing beyond their presence on an MTV reality series that is obviously scripted.  But thanks to last night’s peek into their fantasy world of self-importance, I have a new reason to hate them both – besides being famous for trying to become famous. 

Sphincter Pratt in action:

Mean people make Heidi cry: 

Sphincter’s hardcore rap about Twitter and surfing the Internet (Warning: Watching video may result in a headache & severe nausea):

Look at the video still shot above.  What is with these metrosexual “men” and the pouty, effeminate look they have clearly mistaken for being hardcore?  I think this deserves a post in the future…