A Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good Night at the Arlington

“Pretty, pretty, pretty good” is how I’d describe Thursday night’s A Conversation with Larry David at Santa Barbara’s very own Arlington Theatre. The beloved former Saturday Night Live writer and comedian of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, and most recently Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, sat down with his daughter, comedian Cazzie David, for a night of discussion about his long and storied career. 

I grew up on David’s curmudgeonly wit; Curb was a crucial part of my Jewish education. When I heard there was going to be an exclusive performance right here in Santa Barbara, where David lives part-time, I was instantly sold.

The evening kicked off with a bitingly funny montage of some of the unforgettable moments of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s successful 12-season, 24-year run. Many of the clips featured Susie and Larry’s infamously contentious friendship, a series of one-liners from fan-favorite Leon, and the brilliance of David’s ongoing commitment to the bit.

As the evening unfolded, David made it clear that while he does draw inspiration for many of his episodes from real-life occurrences and inconveniences, his onscreen persona is far from the full story. He reflected candidly on his unlikely path to comedy, recalling that it wasn’t until college that anyone considered him funny. He even maintains, “I’m not funny in real life.” I find this hard to believe.

On his journey to comedy, David chronicled the several odd jobs he undertook. He even recounted his time as a limousine driver, when having a blind boss meant he could often get away with not wearing his uniform. This experience later inspired an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. 

David later joined the Army Reserve, but was discharged after obtaining a psychiatric note, a feat he joked required convincing doctors that he was mentally unfit for service. Even David’s brief stint in the Army Reserve would eventually find its way into his comedy, inspiring scenes on the front lines in Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.

David then dove headfirst into stand-up, getting his start on the late-night stages of New York City, where, he joked, he became a “comedian’s comedian.” His sometimes combative relationship with audiences offered an early glimpse into his confrontational, argumentative — yet somehow endearing — onscreen persona. He recalled one night when the crowd relentlessly heckled the comedian before him. When it was David’s turn, he walked up to the microphone, and immediately walked off without delivering any of his planned material. David recalls this time fondly, despite the growing pains of being a struggling comedian, surviving on cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli. 

He continued tracing his career through his time at Saturday Night Live, recounting an impulsive decision to quit after one of his sketches was unexpectedly cut last-minute. Though he returned to work on Monday, as if nothing had happened. Years later, this incident found a new life on Seinfeld, becoming another example of David drawing inspiration from his own trials and tribulations.

When asked what Seinfeld was about, David said “nothing.” An easy sell. As for Curb Your Enthusiasm, “it’s about a lot of small things that are blown up into bigger things.”

Throughout the evening, the conversation also revealed the close relationship between David, and his daughter. She joked that, like many children, she spent much of her childhood embarrassed by her dad. Until she eventually realized other people found him cool. “Once I found out you were cool, I wanted to take you everywhere,” she said.

David’s career earned him 31 Emmy nominations and two wins, and Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm have collected dozens more. But these accolades alone hardly capture the reach of his comedy or the imprint it has left on pop culture. If Larry David taught me anything Thursday evening, it’s that life’s absurdities are always worth a laugh.