Larry David Regrets His First Authorized Biography — Probably Joking

By Elena Vasquez

Blake J. Harris published "Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David" on Oct. 20 — the first authorized biography of the man behind "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The subject's verdict: he regrets it.

David told Harris he "regretted" his participation "immediately, and I still do." Harris, speaking in a new interview, says he is still not certain whether David was joking.

How did Harris get access?

Harris, previously an author of books on the video game and tech industries, approached David during the pandemic through his friend Alan Zweibel. His opening move, he admits, "felt very George Costanza scheme-like": the first conversation would cover only the New York Yankees. No "Seinfeld," no "Curb."

It worked. For six months, the two talked weekly by phone or FaceTime — an advantage of COVID, Harris notes, since "Larry not being able to go anywhere." Over the following five years, they spoke roughly monthly by phone and met in Los Angeles every six months.

The turning point came on the third or fourth call, when Harris explained his theory that the "Seinfeld" finale failed because NBC aired a 45-minute clip show before it — itself effectively a clip show. David's reaction: "Oh my God! People were so sick of a clip show by the time it came on." After that call, David agreed to keep talking on Harris's schedule.

What did David want cut?

David read the manuscript. He objected not to unflattering material but to the flattering kind. Harris had a quote from Mary Steenburgen calling David "really a sweetheart" and naming him as a possible in-case-of-emergency contact. David crossed it out: "Too nice, embarrassing!" Harris used half the quote.

"It feels very Larry that he didn't care about looking stupid, but he didn't want to look nice," Harris said.

David also wanted material about his daughters, Cazzie and Romy, removed because, he said, "this isn't funny." Harris refused: "It's not supposed to be funny. It's supposed to show you that you're a human and a father."

The book largely omits David's marriages and divorce. Harris calls that "the fairest criticism of my book," attributing the gap to his own lack of interest and David's likely reluctance.

Will David pull the book?

One precedent fuels Harris's anxiety. Larry Charles declined to participate and was directing an HBO documentary, "The Larry David Story," that had commercials running before David had it pulled on its scheduled air date.

"After all these years, Larry is still going to try to yank my book at the last moment," Harris said of his fear. He acknowledges it is unreasonable: David had sway at HBO, where "Curb" aired, but none at HarperCollins.

Only Charles sat out; nearly every other intended interviewee participated.

What comes next?

Harris has no insider information on David's future. He speculates that David's HBO special "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," conceived around America's anniversary, could serve as a flexible format for seasons on famous sports incidents or music history — a vessel David might return to.

The takeaway: six years of interviews produced the definitive portrait of a subject who insists he is boring — and who, on the evidence, still believes it.