Prior to Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and that legally-dubious crypto ad, Larry David worked as a writer for Saturday Night Live. But, as is the case with so many SNL employees, the experience wasn’t a great one.
David lasted for just one season, and only managed to get a single sketch on the air. “Going Up” was about an architect insisting that their new building should include a built-in stool for elevator operators to rest on between riders (a joke that was later recycled as a George storyline in Seinfeld’s “The Maestro”).
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The biggest thing to come out of David’s SNL tenure is arguably the now-legendary anecdote about how he once furiously quit the show, immediately regretted losing the money, and sheepishly returned to work. This, too, was later used in a Seinfeld episode.
Seeing as how Curb turned Larry into one of TV’s most famous comedic performers, and a two-time SNL host, it may seem somewhat odd that he never actually acted on the show back in the ‘80s. But as publicist Danny Deraney recently pointed out on social media, David did perform on SNL back in 1984, albeit in a minor, audio-only capacity.
In November of ‘84, This is Spinal Tap star and future SNL cast member Michael McKean hosted the show. During his monologue, McKean tells the audience that he can do more than just comedy, announcing that he would like to “break the ice” by performing an “18th century acapella Scottish dirge.”
But not long after launching into his melancholy solo, an unseen heckler (played by David) interrupts, bellowing “Yo Lenny!” in reference to McKean’s Laverne & Shirley character. “How’s your short friend Squiggy? Hey, where’s Squiggy, Lenny?!”
McKean has no choice but to stop singing and address the audience member. “If I don’t deserve your respect, at least I deserve your attention!” he barks, pointing out that he “received marvelous reviews” for his work in Spinal Tap and performed at the 1969 Eugene O’Neill Playwright’s Foundation Conference.
“What do I have to do to get your respect sir? Do you want me to do Hamlet? I’ve done Hamlet!” he declares. “And, frankly, I think my Hamlet would be wasted on you.”
David seemingly quiets down. But then, moments after McKean resumes his song, the heckler yells, “Hey Hamlet, where’s Squiggy?!”
While this was the only real example of David acting on SNL during his time there, he did also briefly appear as a silent judge in the unfortunate “Run, Throw & Catch Like a Girl Olympics” sketch starring host Howard Cosell.
In retrospect, we can totally see why he quit.
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