June 6, 2007

"I heard nothing about the environment for all our lives and now this. I wish she would at least take back her own name."

The Boston Herald has this about the Larry David-Laurie David breakup:
Back in 2004, Larry David, a career crank, told The Atlantic scribe Eric Alterman in an article about Hollywood fund-raising: “I heard nothing about the environment for all our lives and now this. I wish she would at least take back her own name.”

A joke? Maybe not!

Of course, the “Seinfeld” creator and his tree-hugging spouse haven’t exactly been hailed as consummate conservationists on the Vineyard.

The Chilmark town fathers were miffed in 2005 when the Tinseltown twosome made many posh improvements to their property without getting required permits. (They built a BBQ pit and elevated stage too close to the oh-so-dear wetlands).

And Laurie David, whom some say is the inspiration for Susie, the potty-mouthed wife of Larry’s agent on “Curb,” was once labeled a “Gulfstream liberal” for her own brand of do-as-I-say-not-as-I do activism.
Oh, she's Susie? I love Susie... as a character... on a show....

Anyway... all that hypocrisy... it's funny! Now, will Larry will be able to talk about how funny it is?

Let's get some more from that Eric Alterman piece in The Atlantic:
[Laurie] David's combination of moxie and money has made her the It Girl of Hollywood progressive politics. She invited John McCain to dinner so that she could try to talk him into switching to the Democratic Party. (She failed.) John Edwards, a guest early in his presidential candidacy, was interrogated on his so-so environmental record. And then there are the fundraisers. In March the Davids hosted 200 people at a $1,000-a-plate party for Barbara Boxer, California's junior senator, who is up for re-election this fall. Larry David says that he forgot about the Boxer event, only to come home and see "all these cars parked." "Next thing I knew," he says, "Bill Clinton was showing up. I'm proud of my wife and I do support her, but there are other houses out here. Sometimes I think she thinks this is the only house in L.A. But what do you want me do? Stay up in my room? I do roll my eyes a lot.["]...

Talking to me in his office over salad and CNN, Larry David admitted that if he were married to someone else, "chances are [the NRDC] would never have seen a nickel from me." Playing to type, he went on, "Personally, I would give money away to people, because then I could get the personal satisfaction of playing the benefactor and have the obligation for the rest of my life. I would enjoy that."
It always sounds like a joke, right? Who knows how much he means it? I think maybe he means it a lot. Living in that milieu has to be stifling, if you're a great humorist like Larry. Not that there isn't comic material, but that you can't use it. If you're in the milieu, catering to a wife who's totally into the politics of it, maybe you'll be allowed to use your comic gifts to attack the other side. But all your raw material, the people who are crowding into your house, is off limits. Or nearly off limits. I could see Larry having his own misanthropic character say terrible things about them in a way that lets us know he the one who's terrible. But now! Now, the possibilities are endless. I want to hear him bitch about how Bill Clinton won't get out of his house.

So anyway... Eric Alterman... anything new about the arrest? (His description of the arrest has a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" flavor to it, doesn't it?)

39 comments:

Laura Reynolds said...

I only know Larry David from Seinfeld and the types of characters and humor in that show would seem incompatible with emotion-based environmentalism. In fast something to be mocked in a conversation at Monks.

Unknown said...

If I recall, there was a Curb episode that focused on neighbors being upset at Larry's wife for putting something in their backyard that was obnoxious. I cannot remember what it was, though...

Hoosier Daddy said...

Well he hadn't heard anything about it before because it's only become fashionanable in the last 8 years or so.

But like many liberal causes, it's all about getting everyone else to cut back, reduce footprints, buy a hybrid and fly commercial. In other words, people like Laurie David can show how much they care while the rest of the unwashed make the real sacrifices.

John said...

A new barbeque pit? Do you know how much CO2 that thing must release? Oh well. I wish he would divorce her so I could forget who Laurie David is. I am tired of asking myself, "Why do I know who this woman is?" I know it is too much to ask but can we leave fame and noteriety to those who have done something to earn it?

SWBarns said...

Ann says "I love Susie... as a character... on a show...."

I think the same could be said about Larry, he is hysterical but he must be tough to live with.

Ann Althouse said...

"I think the same could be said about Larry, he is hysterical but he must be tough to live with."

I'd insist on separate apartments. Meet for laughs and sex. Then retreat to safety and solitude.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Meet for laughs and sex. Then retreat to safety and solitude.

Isn't that called dating?

Heh....

Ann Althouse said...

I'm picturing a committed relationship, even marriage.

Unknown said...

In other words, people like Laurie David can show how much they care while the rest of the unwashed make the real sacrifices.

Laurie David is a chickenhawk?

Hoosier Daddy said...

Laurie David is a chickenhawk?

I go with hypocrite but whatever floats your boat.

LarryDavid'sAgent said...

I'd insist on separate apartments. Meet for laughs and sex. Then retreat to safety and solitude.


I'm picturing a committed relationship, even marriage.


Larry has requested you wait until his divorce is finalized to begin picking out his underwear.

He's got two young daughters to consider before he begins sizing up the hawt and available.

Too Cool for School said...

k as some one who is married to a neurotic Jewish narcisstic hypochondriac crybaby - my husband is basically Larry with hair - I can tell you with authority that this is not about environmental politics. Got it?

And Ann, narcissistic guys aren't exactly givers. I'm just sayin.

Hoosier Daddy said...

k as some one who is married to a neurotic Jewish narcisstic hypochondriac crybaby

So out of curiosity, are those his redeeming qualities?

I think its funny to see spouses who lay out such disparaging terms on each other yet are 'still married'. Life's too short folks.

Joe said...

Larry David strikes me as a classic introvert.

His house is where he controls access to the world and you can't do that if someone else is inviting the world in.

It's also fairly clear that he thinks his wife (soon to be ex) is a hypocrite who is using his name and reputation to make herself the center of attention at his expense. In other words, his name is being attached to issues he doesn't support and it's ticking him off.

Aero! said...

Oh my god. She claims to be an environmentalist, yet she did some minor home remodeling without a permit? What a hypocrite! Stop the presses, you guys!

Ann Althouse said...

Too Cool for School said..."my husband is basically Larry with hair"

You lucky dog.

"And Ann, narcissistic guys aren't exactly givers. I'm just sayin."

(Note: I was married.) I know, that's why I want my own apartment.

****

LarryDavid'sagent: "...underwear...."

You know, I've said I think Larry is sexually attractive, but somehow the mere mention of his underwear is a big turn off. No one wants to think about an old man's underwear!

Bissage said...

"No one wants to think about an old man's underwear!"

Not even old men.

Which is why I intend to go without.

TMI?

froggyprager said...

I really like Curb but for some reason it harder for me to watch the show with this news. I will probably still watch but I liked the format where it was basically a take off of his real life. It bothers me if he will play a happly married man on a show about his life.

Too Cool for School said...

Hoosier Daddy - I'm like Susie. I have to wallow in my misery and spew expletives at my loved ones. It's cultural. Nevermind.

LaurieDavid'sagent said...

You know, I've said I think Larry is sexually attractive, but somehow the mere mention of his underwear is a big turn off. No one wants to think about an old man's underwear!

Mrs. David says what's contained inside an old man's underwear is nothing to crash a car over either. She has no comments on how giving he is in bed.

The wallet comes with the underwear though for added incentive.

Tim said...

It will be interesting, in a middling sort of way, to see what ends up happening to the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. David.

And what the divorce papers on snopes.com say.

Any guesses?

Tim said...

My own guess is that he'll be happier than she.

KCFleming said...

Perhaps Larry got tired of the Sheryl Crow-inspired one sheet rule Laurie instituted.

WHAT?! Okay, that's it.

blake said...

Not only does Alterman's arrest sound like CYE, so does the "one square" thing.

One can picture a mishap where Larry ends up completely covered in toilet paper, earning the wrath of all the right-minded people he associates with.

TJ said...

In the last episode of the season where Larry stars in The Producers, just before he sleeps with his costar, he discovers that she voted for Bush. He's so revolted, he can't close the deal.

Ann Althouse said...

Trevor: True, but I think Laurie made him do that. I'll bet underneath it all he's a tough War on Terror guy!

TJ said...

I kind of doubt it. There's also the terrorist threat episode when Larry wants to leave Cheryl in LA arguing that it's pretty selfish of her to want both of them to die in the event of an attack. His character, at least, seems decidedly craven in most situations. Is the whole character Laurie's then? She's going to clean him out in the divorce.

Ann Althouse said...

I don't think that would be inconsistent, Trevor. He takes the war on terror seriously, so he wants to protect himself.

LaurieDavid'sagent said...

It's consistent. He takes the War on Terror seriously, so he can't get a hard for a Bush voter.

LaurieDavid'sagent said...

Sex and protection. It all fits.

JorgXMcKie said...

I don't remember where I picked up this comment, but it's out there.

"That was my first lesson - never let knowing next to nothing stop you!"
--Global Warming activist Laurie David on what it takes to be an activist

Unknown said...

Oh, please.

Who really thinks Larry David could give a flying fuck what Ann or anybody here thinks?

Can you say...$25-50 million a year?

Jealosy is ugly.

Unknown said...

does anybody here know what "satire" is?

Unknown said...

hoosier,
you REALLY NEED TO GET OUT MORE.

DBrooks17 said...

Luckyoldson said...
hoosier,
you REALLY NEED TO GET OUT MORE.

This from a person who spends half his time here commenting on this blog.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

Too Cool for School said...

k as some one who is married to a neurotic Jewish narcisstic hypochondriac crybaby - my husband is basically Larry with hair - I can tell you with authority that this is not about environmental politics. Got it?

And Ann, narcissistic guys aren't exactly givers. I'm just sayin...

Hoosier Daddy - I'm like Susie. I have to wallow in my misery and spew expletives at my loved ones. It's cultural. Nevermind.


Experiencing a little bit of selbst hass?

Also, while the clinical definition of narcissism is a lack of empathy for others, according to my shrink narcissists can often be rather generous - but then it's all about the giver, not the giftee.

Unknown said...

DBrooks17...why not track back and see when i last posted before 6/6.

duh.

rhhardin said...

And Laurie David, whom some say is the inspiration for Susie, the potty-mouthed wife of Larry’s agent on “Curb,”

That would be ``who.'' It's no wonder the environment is going to hell.

harkin said...

Laurie David should be an inspiration to you all. After condemning people who own SUVs, she was exposed for frequent use of private Gulfstream jets.

Her magnanimous response was a promise to 'cut down' on the private jet use.

With people like David and Gore leading the way, we will defeat global warming......but some are going to have to fight harder to make up for the hypocrites.