111 Fun Facts About Curb Your Enthusiasm

In Curb's season ten premiere, what does Larry wear so that people will leave him alone?

A MAGA hat is Larry's 'people repellent' in 'Happy New Year': he wears the Trump cap to get out of a lunch, sure that nobody will want to be seen with him.

In season nine, Larry's ex-wife Cheryl starts dating which of his celebrity friends?

Ted Danson, newly divorced in the show's story, asks Larry's permission to date Cheryl, and Larry tries to bargain for a date with Ted's ex-wife in return.

Who is Larry David's manager and best friend on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'?

Jeff Greene, played by Jeff Garlin, is Larry's manager and closest friend, and his partner in ventures such as a season-eight plan to invest in a car periscope.

In Curb's fifth season, what does Larry secretly swap with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion?

A smoking jacket: Hugh Hefner tries on the one belonging to Larry's father and wears it on a long bathroom visit, so Larry quietly exchanges it for Hefner's own.

Who is J.B. Smoove's character, the houseguest who never leaves Larry's home?

Leon Black turns up in season six when his sister's family shelters with the Davids, although he already lived in Los Angeles, and he simply stays on after they leave.

In Curb's fifth season, Leo's delicatessen honours Larry by naming what after him?

A sandwich at Leo's deli carries Larry's name, but he dislikes its contents so much that he tries to trade with a celebrity friend who has one of his own.

How is most of the dialogue on Curb Your Enthusiasm created?

Improvised from an outline: Larry David wrote seven or eight pages of plot for each episode and kept the cast from seeing the whole story, so that nobody could prepare their lines in advance.

On Curb Your Enthusiasm, what does the fictional Larry David do for a living?

Larry plays a semi-retired TV writer living comfortably in Los Angeles on his Seinfeld money, which leaves him free to blunder through everyday social situations.

Which film star joined Curb Your Enthusiasm in season ten as Freddy Funkhouser?

Vince Vaughn arrived in season ten as Freddy Funkhouser, Marty's half-brother, who gives Larry a present he has no wish to keep.

The 1999 one-hour special that grew into Curb Your Enthusiasm was made in what format?

A mock documentary: the special followed Larry as he supposedly prepared a stand-up show for HBO, and it was meant as a one-off until the network turned it into a series.

In Curb's seventh season, Larry meets a policeman named Krupke, a name made famous by which stage musical?

West Side Story features an Officer Krupke, and Larry is amazed that the real policeman has never heard of his namesake.

Curb's theme 'Frolic', a comic march for tuba and mandolin, was written by a composer from which country?

Italy: Luciano Michelini wrote 'Frolic' for a 1974 Italian film, and Larry David has said the tune tells viewers they are in for 'something pretty idiotic'.

In Curb's ninth season, Larry offends a war veteran by being the one guest who won't say what?

Thank you for your service is what every other dinner guest tells an Afghanistan veteran engaged to his friends' daughter, and Larry's silence starts a feud.

What does Larry call the brief sidewalk conversation he dreads when passing an acquaintance?

A stop and chat is Larry's term for the obligatory small talk when he runs into someone; he argues a wave should suffice and resents being expected to stop.

Which award named Curb best comedy series at its 2003 ceremony?

A Golden Globe for best musical or comedy series went to Curb in 2003, yet the equivalent Emmy never followed despite nominations in 11 of its 12 seasons.

In Curb's final season, Larry is arrested and later put on trial in which US city?

Atlanta is where a paid party appearance ends in Larry's arrest under an election law, and though he flies home two episodes later, the finale drags him back for trial.

In Curb's sixth season, what does Larry take from a roadside memorial to Marty Funkhouser's mother?

The flowers are lifted from Ida Funkhouser's roadside memorial so Larry can smooth things over with a school headmistress, and Marty is outraged when they vanish.

Which actress plays Irma Kostroski, the councilwoman Larry dates in season eleven?

Tracey Ullman plays Irma Kostroski, the city councilwoman Larry courts in season eleven hoping she will help repeal the fence ordinance, and then cannot shake off.

In Curb's second season, a TV executive's young daughter asks Larry to do what to her doll?

Cut its hair is the request, and Larry obliges; when the girl realises it won't grow back, he and Jeff steal the head from a matching doll to make amends.

Which actress plays Loretta Black, who becomes Larry's love interest after his split from Cheryl?

Vivica A. Fox plays Loretta Black, whose family the Davids shelter in season six; by season seven Larry is plotting a pre-emptive break-up with the ailing Loretta.

In Curb's second season, Larry feuds with a man named Thor, who earns his living as what?

A professional wrestler, Thor Olson threatens Larry after a run-in on the road; Larry suspects him of slashing a tyre and tells Thor's children that wrestling is staged.

Outtakes from a Curb shoot at which stadium gave a murder suspect his alibi, a story told in Netflix's Long Shot?

Dodger Stadium footage shot for a season four episode showed Juan Catalan in the stands at the time of the killing, and the capital case against him was dismissed.

Which two season-nine guest stars earned Emmy nominations for Guest Actor in a Comedy?

Bryan Cranston and Lin-Manuel Miranda were both nominated in 2018: Cranston as the therapist who accuses Larry of overstepping, Miranda as himself in the finale 'Fatwa!'.

Why does Larry agree to an NBC Seinfeld reunion in season seven?

Larry agrees to the reunion mainly to win back Cheryl by giving her a part as George's ex-wife, after she tells him she liked him better when he was working.

In season five, a word his hospitalised father mumbles makes Larry suspect what?

That he was adopted: Larry hires a private investigator, flies to Arizona to meet his supposed birth parents, and only then learns the investigator got it wrong.

In Curb's final season, which famous speech does Larry memorise during his time in the bathroom?

The Gettysburg Address fills Larry's bathroom time, but the habit backfires: he now needs the toilet whenever he hears it, which ruins a night at a play about Lincoln.

At the start of Curb's second season, a restless Larry takes a job doing what?

Selling cars is Larry's experiment in the season two opener, and he is fired after arguing with a friend at the dealership in front of a customer.

On ABC's early-1980s sketch show Fridays, Larry David performed alongside which future Seinfeld star?

Michael Richards shared the Fridays cast with Larry David, and in a staged 1981 stunt he dumped the cue cards in front of host Andy Kaufman, who had stopped a live sketch and refused to say his lines.

Which politician did Larry David begin impersonating on Saturday Night Live in 2015?

Larry David began impersonating Bernie Sanders on Saturday Night Live in October 2015, and Sanders himself appeared alongside him in a February 2016 sketch.

What was the title of Larry David's 2015 Broadway debut, a comedy he wrote and starred in?

Fish in the Dark, a comedy about a family squabbling over a dying patriarch, opened in March 2015 with Larry David in the lead; Jason Alexander later took over his role.

Jeff Garlin also played the family patriarch Murray on which ABC sitcom?

The Goldbergs cast Jeff Garlin as gruff father Murray from 2013 until he left in December 2021, after HR investigations into his behaviour on set.

Which future late-night host was Jeff Garlin's roommate in Chicago in the 1980s?

Conan O'Brien and Jeff Garlin were young comedians sharing an apartment in Chicago's Wrigleyville in the summer of 1988, and O'Brien later recalled his flatmate as a 'madman'.

Susie Essman voiced which character in the 2008 Disney film Bolt?

Mittens the cat is a cynical stray whom Bolt forces to guide him across America, convinced that she works for his television enemy.

Cheryl Hines married which political figure in 2014, after Larry introduced them?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had doubts about dating an actress, so he asked Larry David's advice, and David told him Hines was 'the most solid person I've ever met'.

Cheryl Hines starred as Dallas Royce on which ABC sitcom?

Suburgatory cast Cheryl Hines as Dallas Royce, the neighbour who ends up dating single father George Altman and invites her life coach along on their first date.

J. B. Smoove plays Julius Dell, a teacher chaperoning a school trip around Europe, in which superhero's films?

Spider-Man: Far From Home gave J. B. Smoove the part of Julius Dell, written for him after the film-makers enjoyed a commercial he had shot with Tom Holland.

Which NBA star does Larry accidentally trip at a Lakers game in season two?

Shaquille O'Neal plays himself: Larry trips him from a courtside seat, and being hated across Los Angeles suits Larry so well that his luck only turns once Shaq forgives him.

Which role did Larry's friend Richard play in the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights?

Prince John, played by Richard Lewis, has seized control of England while King Richard is away at the Crusades in Mel Brooks's 1993 spoof.

In Curb's season two finale, Larry is convicted of stealing what while dining out?

A fork lands Larry in court, and his sentence is to stand outside the scene of the crime wearing a sign that confesses the theft as television executives walk in.

In Curb's eighth season, what label does Larry earn for bluntly telling people what others dare not say?

A social assassin is what Larry becomes when friends enlist him to say the unsayable, such as telling one man's wife to stop saying 'LOL' out loud.

In a Curb Christmas episode, Larry eats what, not realising it was his wife's family's nativity scene?

A batch of cookies shaped as nativity figures goes down as a midnight snack, so Larry hires a live nativity troupe to make amends.

In Curb's third season, Larry hides allergy medicine in what to treat a woman who refuses all drugs?

A brownie laced with Benadryl is Larry's fix for a friend's girlfriend, a Christian Scientist with a nut allergy, but one suspicious bite and she pushes it away.

What is the name of Jeff and Susie's daughter on Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Sammi Greene, played by Ashly Holloway, has her bat mitzvah in the season six finale, where Larry takes the microphone to deny an embarrassing rumour about himself.

In Curb's sixth season, Cheryl phones Larry from a turbulent flight, but what is he too busy dealing with?

The TiVo repairman is at the house when a frightened Cheryl calls from a storm-tossed plane; Larry brushes her off, and she walks out on the marriage.

In Curb's seventh season, whose antique table gets the ring stain that Larry is wrongly blamed for?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus's antique table is stained at her house, and when Larry works out that Cheryl left the ring, her refusal to own up ends their reunion as season eight begins.

Who plays Cheryl's sister Becky?

Kaitlin Olson plays Becky, who calls off her wedding in season two after Larry blunders into her fiancé's baptism and the groom decides not to convert.

Which actor plays Larry's cousin Andy?

Richard Kind plays Larry's cousin Andy, first seen in season three helping Larry sneak into a cemetery at night after his mother's burial goes wrong.

In Curb's second season, Larry wants to quit therapy after spotting his therapist on a beach wearing what?

A thong on his psychotherapist at the beach puts Larry off his sessions, in the same episode that Rob Reiner talks him into being the lunch prize at a charity auction.

In Curb's sixth season, Larry fills in as a limo driver and ends up chauffeuring which tennis legend?

John McEnroe is the passenger, and he quickly loses patience as his stand-in chauffeur peppers him with personal questions.

Where did Larry David first hear the tune that became Curb Your Enthusiasm's theme?

In a bank commercial: Larry David heard the tune years before Curb, loved it, and had an assistant track it down after the advert vanished from the air.

In Curb's final season, which rock star catches COVID from Larry?

Bruce Springsteen, in town on tour, wants to meet Larry after his arrest makes him a hero, and goes home with the virus instead.

Which Hollywood star plays one of Larry's guides in heaven in Curb's season five finale?

Dustin Hoffman greets Larry in heaven after he dies on the operating table, but an argument with his guides gets him sent back to his hospital bed.

Which rapper built the track 'Crip Ya Enthusiasm' on a remix of 'Frolic'?

Snoop Dogg rapped 'Crip Ya Enthusiasm' over a remix of the theme on B.O.D.R., the 2022 album marking his takeover of Death Row Records, the label that launched him.

Season 3 revolves around Larry investing in what?

A restaurant is the season-long headache: chefs come and go, and on opening night the owners and diners shout obscenities to cover for the new chef's Tourette's outbursts.

Which acclaimed director does Larry work with on a film during season 3?

Martin Scorsese gives Larry a part in a mob film shot in New York, and Larry later has to hunt down a replacement costume jacket for the reshoot.

Which HBO drama gave Curb a ratings boost as its lead-in during season 3?

The Sopranos aired immediately before Curb on Sunday nights that autumn, and Curb's audience doubled from the season before to about 4.5 million viewers.

In season 3, the rapper Krazee-Eyez Killa is engaged to which actress, who plays herself?

Wanda Sykes is engaged to the rapper, who confides in Larry that he cheats on her; when she finds out, he accuses Larry of betraying his secret.

In season 2, which Seinfeld star's complaint about being typecast first gives Larry the idea for a new sitcom?

Jason Alexander, playing himself, pitches with Larry a show about an actor typecast by a sitcom role; after Alexander annoys him, Larry takes the idea to Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

In season 4, Larry is cast in which Broadway show?

The Producers casts Larry as Max Bialystock because Mel Brooks secretly hopes he will bomb and close the show, freeing Brooks from its demands; Larry triumphs instead.

In season 4, what tenth-anniversary present from Cheryl does Larry struggle to use?

A one-time act of adultery is Cheryl's tenth-anniversary gift, and Larry's bungled attempts to cash it in before the deadline run through the whole of season four.

In season 5, Larry offers to donate what to his friend Richard?

A kidney is what Richard needs in season five; Larry spends the season hoping another donor turns up, then gives up his own in the finale, 'The End'.

Which actor plays the private investigator Larry hires in season five?

Mekhi Phifer plays the investigator across season five; his 8 Mile co-star Eminem name-checks him in the hit song 'Lose Yourself'.

Who plays Marty Funkhouser's unstable sister Bam Bam in season seven?

Catherine O'Hara plays Bam Bam in season seven's opener, 'Funkhouser's Crazy Sister', in which Jeff promptly sleeps with her.

Why does Larry go on a three-month trip to New York in season 8?

To avoid a charity gig, Larry claims he will be in New York for three months; the organiser then kindly offers him a friend's Manhattan apartment, so he has to actually go.

Which New York mayor appears as a season 8 guest star?

Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor at the time, plays himself in the season-eight finale: a fundraiser crowd turns on Larry, the mayor tells him to get out of town, and Larry ends the season in Paris.

On which talk show does Larry mock Iran's ayatollah in Curb Your Enthusiasm's ninth season, earning a fatwa?

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is where Larry, promoting his new musical, does an impression of the ayatollah; the next day the real one issues a fatwa against him.

Larry's musical Fatwa! is centred on the controversy over which novel?

Salman Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses provoked Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa; Rushdie himself appears in season nine to advise Larry.

What does Larry call the coffee shop he opens next to Mocha Joe's in season 10?

Larry calls Latte Larry's a spite store, opened purely to drive Mocha Joe out of business, and he explains the concept to friends throughout season ten.

In season 11, what happens in Larry's backyard pool that leaves him open to blackmail?

A burglar drowned in it, and because the pool lacked the barrier the law requires, the dead man's brother extorts Larry into giving his daughter a part in his new show.

In season four, which Friends star becomes Larry's co-star on Broadway?

David Schwimmer, playing himself, replaces Ben Stiller as Larry's co-star, and the two open the show together in the season-four finale 'Opening Night'.

What is the title of the Curb Your Enthusiasm series finale?

'No Lessons Learned' closes the series with Larry's trial, replaying the Seinfeld finale's courtroom ending that Larry David had long been criticised for.

Who directed the Curb series finale?

Jeff Schaffer directed the finale and wrote its story with Larry David; he said it erased the usual line between the real Larry and the one on screen.

In season eleven, which hopeless actress is Larry blackmailed into casting in Young Larry?

Maria Sofia Estrada is the talentless actress Larry is extorted into casting; Keyla Monterroso Mejia was hired to play her for one episode and ended up in six.

How does Larry end up walking free at the end of the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale?

A juror broke sequestration: Jerry Seinfeld spots him out at dinner, the conviction is thrown out, and Larry tells Jerry this is how their own sitcom should have ended.

In the Seinfeld reunion, George's fortune came from which iPhone app?

The iToilet made George rich in the reunion script by steering users to the nearest decent public toilet anywhere in the world; by the time the story opens he has lost the lot.

How did George lose his fortune in the Seinfeld reunion storyline?

George lost his app fortune to the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, while his ex-wife Amanda, who had divorced him earlier, kept her half, so he schemes to win her back.

What is the title of Jason Alexander's slim book, mocked in the Curb Your Enthusiasm season 7 finale?

Acting Without Acting gets a launch party in the finale, where Larry and Jerry Seinfeld scoff at how short it is; Cheryl later quits the reunion after arguing about its size.

Which former baseball star befriends Larry in season 8 and catches a baby thrown from a burning building?

Bill Buckner, long blamed for a World Series fielding error, plays himself in 'Mister Softee' and ends the episode a hero with a diving catch of the baby.

Al-Abbas's plan to open beside a Jewish deli was a nod to which real controversy?

A mosque near the 9/11 memorial, in fact an Islamic centre planned near Ground Zero, was in the news at the time, and the episode's director says its dinner-table row was written to echo that fight.

Where did Larry David and Kenny Kramer live across the hall from each other?

Manhattan Plaza, a subsidised artists' complex in Hell's Kitchen, housed Larry David and Kenny Kramer across the hall from each other, inspiring Seinfeld's Jerry-Kramer set-up.

Which Seinfeld character copies Larry David's real stunt of quitting a job, then returning as if nothing happened?

George Costanza does it in 'The Revenge', which Larry David based on the night he quit a late-night sketch show in a fury and turned up for work days later as though it never happened.

Which Seinfeld character did Larry David voice, uncredited, with the face never shown on screen?

George Steinbrenner's voice was David's the whole time, and he also played Frank Costanza's cape-wearing lawyer on camera.

Which Seinfeld episode written by Larry David did TV Guide rank the greatest TV episode of all time in 2009?

The Contest won Larry David a writing Emmy, though NBC's unease about its subject meant the script never once names what the four friends are betting on.

What was the title of the 1998 film Larry David wrote and directed?

Sour Grapes, about two cousins feuding over a casino jackpot, flopped with critics and audiences in 1998, the same year Larry David returned to write Seinfeld's last episode.

Which Woody Allen film gave Larry David a leading role in 2009?

Whatever Works (2009) cast Larry David as misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff opposite Evan Rachel Wood, in a script Woody Allen had originally written decades earlier for Zero Mostel.

Larry David starred in a Super Bowl 2022 commercial for which cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed later that year?

FTX aired its Larry David commercial during the Super Bowl in February 2022 and filed for bankruptcy that November; David was then sued with other celebrity endorsers in a class action.

What health event did Jeff Garlin suffer in February 2000, just before filming season one?

A stroke hit Jeff Garlin in February 2000, when he was 37, and his speech is noticeably slurred in the early episodes of season one that he went on to film.

Jeff Garlin voices Buttercup in which animated franchise?

Toy Story 3 introduced Jeff Garlin's Buttercup, a fluffy white unicorn who, despite the name and the looks, speaks in a gruff, sarcastic voice; he returned in Toy Story 4.

Susie Essman played Bobbi Wexler on which Comedy Central series?

Broad City cast Susie Essman as Bobbi Wexler, Ilana's mother, who in the episode 'Knockoffs' takes her daughter shopping for counterfeit designer handbags.

Cheryl Hines trained in improv at which Los Angeles theatre?

The Groundlings, the Los Angeles improv theatre, trained Cheryl Hines, who says her thin list of credits helped her: Curb's makers wanted an unknown actress for the part.

In season 8, Larry competes with which comedian to win over the same woman?

Rosie O'Donnell, playing herself, courts the same bisexual woman as Larry in 'The Bi-Sexual'; Larry gains an edge by taking Leon's advice, though it does not last.

In season 10, which actor, playing himself, shadows Larry to prepare for an upcoming role?

Jon Hamm trails Larry to research a part, and before long the pair are causing a scene together at a friend's dinner party.

On which sketch show was J. B. Smoove a writer from 2003 to 2006?

Saturday Night Live employed J. B. Smoove as a writer for three years; after that job ended, a trip to Los Angeles for a friend's funeral let him audition for Curb.

J. B. Smoove won a 2021 Emmy for Mapleworth Murders, a comedy made for which short-lived streaming service?

Quibi shut down in December 2020, less than eight months after launching, so the Emmy for its Murder, She Wrote spoof arrived the year after the service itself had died.

In season 7, which animal does Larry kill with a golf club on the course, then try to cover up?

A black swan named Kyoko flies at Larry on the course and he swings in self-defence; his cover-up fails when a stonemason carves 'swan killer' onto his mother's gravestone.

Richard Lewis co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis on which ABC sitcom?

Anything but Love paired Richard Lewis and Jamie Lee Curtis as colleagues at a Chicago magazine; unusually, it was the studio rather than ABC that ended the show in 1992.

Which stock phrase did The Yale Book of Quotations attribute to Richard Lewis?

'The ____ from hell' was credited to Richard Lewis by the Yale Book of Quotations in 2006, four years after his campaign to get into Bartlett's became a subplot of 'The Nanny from Hell'.

Curb Your Enthusiasm regular Richard Lewis revealed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with which neurological disease?

Parkinson's was the diagnosis Richard Lewis revealed in April 2023, saying he was done with stand-up but would keep writing and acting; he died in February 2024 while his last Curb season was airing.

Which comedian is Bob Einstein's younger brother?

Albert Brooks, born Albert Einstein, is Bob Einstein's younger brother; both are sons of radio comic Harry 'Parkyakarkus' Einstein.

Which satirical stuntman character did Bob Einstein create?

Super Dave Osborne, Bob Einstein's ever-optimistic daredevil, first appeared on The John Byner Comedy Hour in 1972, and the joke never changed: every stunt went disastrously wrong.

Bob Einstein won an Emmy writing for which 1960s variety show alongside Steve Martin?

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour won Bob Einstein, Steve Martin and its other writers the Emmy in June 1969, two months after CBS had abruptly cancelled the show.

In season 4, a man who lived through the Holocaust argues over who suffered more with a star of which reality show?

Survivor runner-up Colby Donaldson arrives through a mix-up over the word 'survivor', then spars with a guest of Larry's father who endured the camps over who had it worse.

Robert B. Weide received an Oscar nomination for a documentary about which comedian?

Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth profiles the comic convicted of obscenity in 1964 over his nightclub act; New York pardoned him in 2003, 37 years after his death.

Larry Charles directed which hit 2006 mockumentary starring Sacha Baron Cohen?

Borat began filming under Todd Phillips, who quit after the rodeo scene over creative differences with Sacha Baron Cohen, and Larry Charles stepped in to direct.

Which famous Seinfeld prop is the director of Curb's finale credited with inventing?

The Festivus pole was his addition, says the writer whose family invented Festivus: their real celebration had no pole, only a clock in a bag nailed to the wall.

In 'The Divorce', Larry hires a lawyer after wrongly assuming he is what?

Jewish is what Larry takes his lawyer, Berg, to be, and he loses faith in him on learning otherwise; the character borrows the surname of Curb producer Alec Berg, who is of Swedish descent.

Which Yiddish folklore figure have scholars compared Larry's character to?

The schlemiel is folklore's hapless bungler, and scholar David Gillota argues Larry is a modern one whose social disasters double as a challenge to life's unwritten rules.

In Curb Your Enthusiasm's final season, Larry is arrested for giving what to a woman waiting in line to vote?

A drink of water for Leon's aunt breaks a real 2021 election law against handouts to voters in line, and the arrest puts Larry on trial in the series finale.

Which guest star earned an Emmy nomination for playing himself as Larry's feuding upstairs neighbour in season 8?

Michael J. Fox got the 2012 guest-actor nomination for the season-eight finale, in which Larry suspects him of using his illness as cover for petty acts of revenge.

In season 11, Larry's new streaming show is about himself at what stage of life?

In his 20s is where Young Larry finds him; Netflix buys the pitch, fires Larry in the very next episode, and Hulu ends up making the show.

In season 4, Larry sets out to buy marijuana to ease which condition of his father's?

Glaucoma is his father's complaint, and Larry gets the errand done with help from a sex worker he has hired as a passenger so that he can use the carpool lane.