S4 Ep. 5 - “The 5 Wood” with Bryan Gordon

You can watch the original episode we'll be discussing in every other episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, including the new and final season, on Max. You can also watch the video version of the history of curbyr Enthusiasm podcast on Max and YouTube as well. Links available in the episode description. Okay, so we're here. This is season four, Episode five. The five would a classic. I'm Susie Esman, I'm Jeff Garland and our special guest today.

Brighten, whatever you're doing just made a lot of noise.

Our special guest today is making noise. Is Brian Gordon, who directed this episode.

Does anybody still use a pen?

I do?

I do? Yeah, we all use pete.

By the way, whenever I write, I write long hand and then I have my assistant. I'm an assistant. Yes, hype it up for me. That's how I do it.

Good and Brian, this is season four. So this is the fourth episode you directed, because you directed one per season.

Yep.

The first one was Affirmative Action, the second was The Acupuncturist, and season three was the Classic Special Section, which for which you won a DGA Award. Hey, Brian, and nominated for an Emmy. If I'm correct, Yes.

Brian am.

I was talking about in that episode how sad I was that two things. One is that we lost the scene of Larry and I sitting and talking outside the graveyard with Richard and Shelley coming up and Richard wanted to test out the drive. I was so sad to lose that. That's one of my favorite scenes ever in the history of the show. It was a tough one.

Do you have a series of episodes that you could put together of scenes that didn't make the cut.

If Megan Murphy was still working for the show, he could have done that.

But he was our post coordinator, post production coordinating.

And so she knows, she knows where the dead bodies are if he was, And that's I was also sad because we lost great stuff that because of time we had to make the grave digging a montage that killed.

Oh my god, that killed me because we spent all night digging that damn grave. I know that, Yes, I know, And so we're up till like three in the morning digging easy.

By the way, I actually remember five, sir, five five in the morning. It was an all nighter in a graveyard.

Oh you know.

And I'm sorry, I wasn't there, even though it was till five in the morning. In the graveyard.

My graveyard shoots are really fun. I'm being totally serious. They're really fun because they're just so absurd that you're in a graveyard shooting at night.

Well, especially that episode you're in a graveyard digging up his mother's grave because she had a tattoo on a rass.

I mean she was put in the special section, this special section.

I did a number of graveyard episodes.

Are you did the other ones too?

Well?

We were always it seems we're always at that cemetery. I believe it was an Alta Dina, Yeah, that same cemetery.

But this one, I think we switched off. We did the memorial in another the Hollywood behind.

The part where he's talking to the guy exactly.

There's a lot of funerals in this show. A lot of funerals and a lot of golf. This episode has one of my favorite scenes that I've ever done of all time. But we're going to start at the beginning. This is a classic, it really.

It is considered one of the classic Curb episodes.

Yeah by far, grateful, Yeah, grateful.

You know you've directed several class I mean the Black Swan you directed. Also, didn't you write.

Another another memorial that's Paul Mazerski died in that episode.

Yeah, Paul Mazerski with the sign and yeah that was And by the way, that's the famous with mister Takahashi and it was the first big one.

Yeah. I love that scene where he just says, you have big mouthed wife. Okay, So we start the episode, Brian, what are you doing noise every time?

Oh my god, I'm just I'm moving furniture. I mean, what's the problem.

You have no idea?

Okay, okay, right, So you know we were discussing the last week or the week before, Jeff about how sometimes the sound gets all fucked up and we have to redo it because of the sound Exhibit A. Brian Gordon's fucking up the sound.

But thank god, we're not going to have to redo this.

No, we're not. So we start out with we see Larry David and David Shwimmer now is playing the part of Leo, and we see them rehearsing in their black hats and they're dancing and Patrick the what was his name as the choreographer was Steven. I believe Patrick is the actor's name. Steven is the choreactor. He said to Larry, Larry, you've been doing your homework.

I am all astonish man.

It is fantastic, fierce, absolutely.

Yes, yes, it was really fairs, really fierce.

You are fierce doing your homework. You are so fierce. And David Swimmers like, what about me and the pod deray? I have no idea what a pod deray is? Whatsoever?

Jeff would know, right, Jeff with if.

Anyone would know, if anyone would know, it's Susie because she's a big Broadway person and her sister is a producer.

I was with a very famous ballet dancer yesterday and I should have asked him, but I will ask him tomorrow.

When the pod deray is Yes, Well, the fierce thing was was really the beginning of and then you know, we shot this in two thousand and five? Was it? And Larry taking on a persona of being gay, right, which was okay? You know, and then you put it to twenty twelve and you question whether how would he do it today?

I think he would do it the same.

I think you're right.

But the truth is the reason it works is obviously it's funny, but he's embracing the culture. Yes, he's embracing the culture. It's not him commenting or being mean spirited. But you know what's lost nowadays with people who are easily offended, who don't have sense of humor nuance, so they just see black and white and say you can't do that. It's difficult. Comedy's a little bit more difficult now.

Well. I don't think Larry really cares or listens to the political correctness. Thus the beauty of this show.

And by the way, that part of the popularity of the show is all types of people love it for its lack of political correctness.

So he goes through this whole thing with Schwimmer about the pod day and Larry system, if you want to do extra work, and Swimmer says he can't because he's meeting his father, and we find out that his father is the creator and maker of health Glow Nuts, and Larry right away I have ideas about mixed nuts, so I why not put a pecan with a blueberry or a dried cherry with a filbert, which later on that goes to last season's episode about the mini bar, and you know, all this stuff.

He loves, loves bags of nuts, he.

Loves bags of nuts and trail mix, and he wants to pitch to David Swimmer's dad, and David says, yes, stay in your own elements. So already we see Larry's creating problems with Schwimmer as he did with Ben Stiller. Yes, and Larry and Steven the choreographer go to get a snack and we see Larry what we were discussing doing all Stevens extremely gay mannerisms, fierce and the way he's using his hands, and it's hilarious.

You and David are so good together.

Love him, oh god, love that ch mystery together. It's fierce, absolutely fierce, totally fierce, so much better than Ben.

Don't you think that was so bosso?

Yeah, he had that kind of entitled attitude.

I don't care for it at all, totally.

I know.

Hilarious, It is fucking hilarious.

One thing that Larry does is great. He says to the whats then the piano player, too bad, you can't see. He says to Michael, too bad you can't see. And that is so wildly inappropriate but hilarious, and it's a real relationship. See, that's why that one works because it's a real relationship, and Michael has taken advantage of Larry in earlier relationships.

Totally taking advantage of it exactly. I mean almost on an abusive level. Michael's almost abusive to Leally, I know, yes. And then Steven the choreographer brings up his friend Anthony, who's a doctor who's gorgeous and who just broke up with his boyfriend. So Larry then sees a bag of the health glow nuts.

Wait wait, wait, wait, wait, you're passing your passing?

What what did I passed on?

Pirate's booty, pirates booty, Pirate's.

Booty, embarrassing his topet. No, I can't have Pirate's booty. No, but you can have a pair.

First off, my favorite all time snack and just him singing a song holding up Pirate's booty. I'm sure I went up to him after we shot that and went that stays in. I'm sure because I do that to him. I always say to him, and I think I've said on the show before, I will wrestle you if you don't keep that in the show because it's such a thing of beauty and that I love the little moments that have nothing to do with story. They're completely absurd, but that's my sense of humor. But still, god, damn,

I didn't even notice the Pirate's booty.

Well that you're not looking.

You're not looking, and I know that that that that Larry loved Pirate's booty, and his kids love Pirate's booty.

By the way, mine too, booty is and we later on somewhere else's Pirate's booty. Oh, I know what it was. It was the scene in season eleven where Kelly Cuoco, however you say her name drops the Pirate's booty, right right, right, right.

Right right right, by the way, Pirate's booty best snack for comedy, just say.

Well, you know, it's interesting how sharp the humor is on this show. And everything means something, and I think the audience got to learn even story when you sort of you don't say any If you say something, it has something to do with something.

Yeah, you would not. The Pirate's booty did. By the way, the show works, And now you pay attention to the first five to seven minutes, everything's laid out for you. Now, Larry David is brilliant, so he knows how to push the dominoes to where they end up. And you go, oh, but everything you need to know is in the first five to seven minutes. If you want to use kerb as a mystery.

That's true. Yeah, very true.

So Larry sees the health Glow Nuts in the store and he notices there's only four cashews. The cashew raise and balance is a skew. And this is a typical Larry thing to notice and to be upset about. And next he's in his office, walks in singing, and Antwinette is like, hey, Broadway, and Larry starts talking about it.

On hold, on, hold on a couple things. Number one, what's his name? The choreographer agrees with him, So Larry, Larry is not proved.

Wrong about the clow nuts. You may yes.

And then I wrote story though, oh, I have filmed so many times. In that story, I filmed the movie called I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With in that store. I forgot what else I shot got one other thing, but three things. It's on Callfax and the church across the street is where you have lunch. I'm just saying that's the way It works because the church lets cruise park there and such. That's how a church makes extra money. And that little gross re marked was in my movie.

Here's another fun fact for me is that David Swimmer I directed him on The Wonder Years fourteen years before that where he was It.

Was the boy's friend, wasn't he? He was the boy.

Olivia Olivia Diabo's boyfriend on The Wonder Years at the Sportsman's Club. How about that one? Yes and.

Yes, yes, And I'll give you a fun fact about David Swimmer. I actually played his mother in a pilot. I'm not that much older than him, but I played his mother.

I did that once too. I was in movie with what the hell's her name? Oh, Christen Christy fuck anyhow, I played her father the movie before. She played Steve Carell's girlfriend in the movie and Steve Carell and I are at the same exact age.

Well, that's like Anne Bankrupt, you know, in the graduate of Justin Hoffmann. What was she like three years older than him? Yes, the magic of filmmaking will be right back. Stay tuned, and we're back. So Larry also mentions to Antoinette that David Swimmer is fierce. So he's using that word, he's owning that word. And Antona got Larry a gift of a picture frame. And in the picture frame, when you buy a picture frame.

Frequently, Karen Knightley, Karen Knightley.

Karen Knightley, thank you, brain dam But frequently when you buy a picture frame, there is a fake picture in the picture frame. So he's planning on putting a new picture, but he hadn't yet, so there's a picture of a very handsome young man in the picture frame.

Okay, I want to just give a little aside here. Yes, when I was younger, and this is gonna be a weird one, I used to collect picture frames and keep the wrong picture in there, keep the picture that came with it.

The original picture.

And I remember an aunt who I They had one of those cubes, Remember the picture cubes. There's a picture on everything. Yeah, and you know she was older and I must have been like ten or eleven, and all the pictures that were in there, I discussed with her as if they were family's members. Here's the twins. Here's this, here's that. My parents laughed, but they were very angry at me.

It's borderline means Jeff well, no.

No, no, it is mean. Yeah, but as a ten year old, it's jew Nile as opposed to if I did it now would be terrible. E.

So then the dental hygienis.

You ignore me.

You ignore me quite often, but I've never gotten the.

Delilah calls the dental HYGIENI is from the episode before, and she says, let's get together, and she says, you gave me the tongue sign in the episode prior, so.

You were right by the way last when we discussed that episode. I thought she can't do that, but yes she did.

And he's like, why do you want to go out with me? And she's like, she says, he reminds him of her history teacher or whoever she says, and he says, in a buncular was your history teacher? Or in avuncular bold jew? And then Patrick comes in the office because Larry left his Stephen, Stephen the choreographer.

Yeah, excuse me, just before that, I mean the backstory of it is that he went to a dentist.

We just discussed that in the episode we talked we did that episode.

But I also think that when the choreographer comes in, I mean, who brings a script across town? I got the feeling that he was developing a crush on Larry. Do we do that later, because it certainly felt like that.

No, No, it's really what it's well, we'll see towards the end of this what happens.

Yeah, I know, I know with the picture, and then he sees, yeah, the picture serves see all right, here's but we'll hold on though, hold on though the purpose he Sometimes people have to come into places where it might not make sense, like under normal circumstances, if someone brought a script like that, you might think they have a crush on them. But I realize now it's because he looks at the picture.

Correct and thinks that Larry has a boy. Steve Stephen comes in to give Larry the script that he left at the rehearsal hall, and and we don't know that it's Crosstown necessarily, whatever it is.

It's next door. It's in the office base.

And the door yea. And he sees the framed picture sitting on Larry's desk, with the handsome young man in the photograph, and we see Stephen looking at it and noting it, noting that, oh, he's got a picture of a man on his desk. Hmmm, do do do doo? Okay, So next we're in the locker room at the golf club and he tells you that you're all set up. He's all set up with Delilah the dental hygienist for next Thursday.

Did I do this? Is it wrong?

You're never getting another opportunity like this for the rest of your life. You have to do this. It's a gift from your wife. She wants you to do it.

It's my tenth anniversary pressent.

It's your tenth anniversary present. You have to do it.

Oh, I hope I can do it. She's fierce.

Okay, at first I thought it was my imagination. But you're talking really gay? No, no, no, really fierce. Where does fears come from? And everything is this?

And that?

You know?

What do you think?

Steve's choreographer says it all the.

Time, Steve, You've spent a lot of time with him.

I probably picked up some of his manners some all.

You're him, you're him, You're Steve the gay choreographer. Okay, there's nothing really about that in the script. That's the stuff that I do that makes Larry laugh is when I question him about anything that he's doing that is out of the ordinary, or for that matter, sometimes at the moment he doesn't think is out of the ordinary, and then I pull him into reality. And this was one of the ones where I killed him because I asked him very specific questions and had very specific opinions

And then Jeff goes into a whole thing. They discuss Stephen the choreographer, who's fierce, and.

That was really a terrific scene.

Yeah, it was a great scene. And Jeff points out Larry's locker's open, and his locker is filthy, it's disgusting. He's just got crap in there and it's a mess. And then Norm comes in Paul Mazerski and notices. We see Norm notice the locker and something comes up about Marty and Norm says, well, tells them that Leo Funkhouser, Marty's father died. Hodgkins at Lars I thought he had the good Hodgkins, like in Party of five, that's brilliant.

Well, actually he should have said non Hodgkins, if that's corrected. No, but he's said Hodgkins. And then Larry says, I thought he had the good Hodgkins right, But maybe Paul the way I took it where you can throw it is that Paul was just in general saying Hodgkins right.

Can I just say something on the Paul? Okay, I will, but I just want to say I'm sure all of you have felt this on KURR because at that time it was a season three or four? What was that season four?

It's the season four, the.

Four to four. Yes, that we the ball rolling and getting unbelievable actors to play this play on curb. Just it just you know, it just fell into our lapse in such a great way. And here, I mean I must say that, you know the Missouri the Scor says, he thing, you know, directing Scurse of Marty. He hit his mark.

You know as a director, Brian, is that intimidating to be directing other directors?

Well, I gotta tell you something, but let me just go back to Scor says, because he was nervous and the reason he was nervous. And he told me, he says, I have done things as an actor, but as an improv actor no, And he was sort of you know. And so when he when when he was he began working on those seeds with Larry and everyone, he said this is this I'm a little and I said, fine, well, you know everything's going to be good, that kind of thing. But I was telling him that, you know, it's all

But also I'm not going to say he was a complex man because he was not a complex I mean, he was so lovely and so funny, hysterical, but he could be, like Larry, a bit of a curmudget abit missanthrow and he did not suffer fools. Bob Einstein same way did not suffer fools. So he went into full not suffer fools mode. That's where he was. And I

Right, And then what do you call Sven? What is that in the golf club? What do you call him? The starter?

No?

He?

How do I fucking know you? Playing nine?

All right?

Whatever you bring up? Then we're all ask Jimmy when we get off. Then we're with the venn who Larry assumes is Swedish, but he's not. He's Norwegian and he takes umbrage at that.

Thank you, Sven, welcome?

All right? What is that? Is that Swedish?

Sven?

It's Norwegian?

I'm sorry, I thought I thought then was a Swedish name.

It's not.

So I don't look Swedish, do I.

It's a big difference, apparently, what's the difference mask culture, looks, names, history, food, Okay, okay, sorry.

Honest mistake.

And you know which, I didn't know that the Scandinavians. I learned this from alec Burg. I don't know if it was No. He was not on this season. They came on season five. Yeah, but but ali Bert Si who became one of our executive producers and directors and who also did Silicon Valley and Barry and et cetera, et cetera. He told me that because he's Norwegian, I believe,

The fun of each other.

Absolutely, And next thing we know, Larry comes to rehearsal in a suit because he has to go to the funeral, Leo Funkous's funeral, and he tells David Swimmer that he was in a grocery store and he saw his dad's glow whatever that's called. What is it called again, health glow nuts health, and that the cashow to Raisin. He's skimping on the cashews, he tells David Swimmer.

I mean they're very.

Good, the delicious, but you know, would killed him to put three more cash in there?

It is, I mean the cashews are expensive. First of all, there's a you know, there's a shortage right now. Yes, it's for the last several actually the last several years.

I've read about a cash show.

Well, that's because you're not in the industry.

Can I give him a little piece of advice, please? I would call it raisins and then let people be surprised by the Cashews.

And David gets a little upset about this, there's a Cashew shortage.

Well, by the way, you know, it's obvious that he's lying about the Cashew shortage.

Oh yeah, yeah, And Larry says they should call it raisins and then be surprised by a couple of cashs. He always has good ideas. Larry always has good ideas, he really does. And he says, give me three more cashews, I'd be a happy man.

Yeah.

Next we're at the funeral and Larry tells Jeff that he got a letter from the club that he's being put on probation for having a dirty locker and it was norm who told on him, who snitched on him, little tattletale. And during the whole thing, Larry is eating his from his health glow bag and complaining not enough cashews. Jeff says, it's not enough cashews. It's a whole problem. And then he confronts Norm and he tells them about the letter, and Norm says they don't like dirty lockers

Want to say about the stare down because I don't want to gloss over this. There was that episode with a lot of staredowns that we had talked about this. Yeah, but there's two big things besides Larry David's you know, great writing. The two things about it are number one, the characters actually laugh at each other, which you don't see that on shows. You know, It's like someone will say something funny, audiences laugh, but none of the other

You remember the first first staredown was the first.

Stair down, Susie, you corrected me. I thought it was in that episode.

You know, I don't remember now, but we discussed it when it happened that it was the first stair down. It was in prior seasons. It was not in this season.

Yes, and I and I must must admit I when I saw the first staredown, I wondered, it's just going to work, and I wait.

On the set. Here's the thing. I'm never quite enjoyed the staredown on the set.

Right, And then when it went on the air, people started to me doing the stairdown and.

We caught on like wildfires.

And they caught on and it was like, yeah, and I think it was mentioned on a television show. I mean it was like a late night show. They started doing.

Like this, and it being you became a thing.

Yeah, And I never thought when I was watching it.

On and pretty pretty pretty yeah. Yeah, we'll be right back, stay tuned. Okay, we're back. So then there's an open coffin, which I found very odd at a Jewish funeral.

Well hold on, hold on, you're going past him going down the line, which is terribly awkward of the Funkhauser family.

Well, yeah, but no, no, I'm not. That's I have that next. Okay, I have that next. But first they show the open coffin.

Which, by the way, is not a Jewish thing.

No, that's what I just said. I have never seen that at a Jewish have either of you?

You've never been to a funeral with an open cast?

No, neither.

Just and I know we're into specifics here on the show, but that you let go.

Story purpose.

By the way, story thing has to serve the story, that's all. At Second City, a second City they taught us serve the scene, yes, don't say anything that's not serving the scene.

Yes. And can I just say, in the evolution of this show, yamaka's start to go away in various episodes.

Really yes, Well, by the way, there's a key yamica episode, Palistinian Chicken exactly. Yeah.

Well, we had the yamaka in a couple of episodes ago with Boris, the Russian guy who Larry accused him of wearing the yamula to cover his bald spot, right, which was not true. And then he goes through the you know, the receiving line and we see Saul funk Kowser and Marty and Marty's wife, which over the years we were never sure if her name was Nan or Anne, and I think we changed it.

No, no, No, in real life it was the character was Nan.

But frequently we'd call her Anne. We would mess it up all the time, Anne Ryerson, Second City.

I actually think she was in the committee, the.

I don't know, the San Francisco one. No, I don't think she was. No, I don't. I don't think, Brian, I'm not going to say I know. I don't.

I thought she was. Maybe she's not.

What was Tell me what was the committee? I don't even know.

It was a group out of San Francisco. Oh, no, she was in the committee. I'm thinking of the one out of San Francisco, you know, the committee she was part of.

Wonderful, I think so.

But what was the one in San Francisco with Fred Willard? Which one was that? You know, I'm talking about Fred Willard and the group of it was like.

Four guys trucking company.

No, it wasn't. There was a lot of groups in the seventies who had record contracts and I had them all, you know. But yeah, the committee, she might have been part of the committee.

I'm hessman Hessman was his name, Howard Hessman. Howard Hessman, I remember because Esmond Hessman. That's how I always remembered it. I think about Anne Ryerson, you know.

That's how I remember George Carland's name, of course, Garland carl. Yeah, that's how I think. I never could remember that fella's name.

But Richard Richard Lewis always calls Jeff Jeff. Garland always refersd TOI as Jeff Garland.

I don't know if you know he's doing that to mock me, well, because he does know my name.

So the thing about Anne was we never gave her a lot to do. She was always just I think.

Towards the end she didn't really want to show up. Because when you work with Bob, it's about Bob, which I loved.

And I will say this, Bob wasn't always gracious to her.

I don't think he was ever creationous.

No, he wasn't.

That's part of Bob's magic, and I'm not saying that sarcastic.

Speaking of Bob. So Larry then is on the receiving line and Larry asks Marty for the weatherman's tip.

Very sorry, sorry that, good dad. Thanks Lorry, that's a good man. He was a great man. They've looked like golf.

Sometime when you're feel better, feel up to it. I don't want to give me that weather Man's tip.

You know.

Right now I'm in mourning. No, I'm not saying that.

What's some other time we'll talk about it.

Do it.

Before that. It's the first real I mean, it's one of those moments that the minute it comes out of Bob's mouth, that's funny, and it's so simple. Larry looks at him and goes, he was a good man, and Bob, with not even taking a beat, he was a great man. And it's just so funny. You wouldn't think an exchange like that would be funny. And the way he says

And then Larry sees Jeff Rosenthal, who was a writer on Party of Five, and here's his chance.

Well, by the way, Jeff Rosenthal in real life was actually a writer and it performed.

No, he never worked on part okay, and this is where he gets to go ask about the Hotchkins and he's like, remember when Charlie had Hotchkins, didn't he have the good Hotchkins? And then he's explained, is Hotchkins is non Hodgkins love foma. It's better, but it's not good. And I think this is all very confusing. And then Larry goes over to the coffin and what does he see?

Hold on? Just to clarify something, because it's really clarified in this scene. Hodgkins is if there is, it's the better Hodgkins because there's a higher survival rate. Correct, non Hodgkins.

Non Hodgkins lymphoma.

pH lymphoma is a big ball of fuck bad.

Yeah, but the good Hotchkins isn't so good either.

No, no, no, it's better Hodgkins. That's what he's saying, is better. And by the way, when Larry comes to the coffin and tells me about it, I also say not good better like that, you know.

Yeah, yeah. And then Larry looks at the coffin and he sees Leo Funkhouser is holding a golf club. It's a five wood, and Larry notices.

By the way, Brian, the way you shot that up at Larry's face looking was great because as an audience, the way he's look looking, in the way the shots set up, you have no fucking clue what's about to happen. You don't have any clue. No, And that was a great shot.

And we see that it's Larry's five wood in the coffin that he's holding and he's going to be buried with it, and Larry makes the assumption that's been put Larry's club in there because he was pissed off that he calls VNN Swedish, not Norwegian. So to get back at him, he took his five wood and he put it in the coffin, and Larry's apoplectic about it. It's not replaceable, it's ten years old. He wants that five wood back, and it's kind of unconscionable that he should

Who gives a shit? Leave well enough alone. You lose the guy died, you lose the five wood.

Well not according to mister David.

No, but that's what the show need exactly.

Then he asks you, he asked Jeff, you got your clubs in your car, in your trunk, And Jeff's like, yeah, but I'm not giving him. I like the feel, you like the feel, but yours can be replaced. You can get your club any where. And Larry says, I'll buy it for you today, and then they're at the car. They're getting Jeff's club. Then they go back to the funeral and Jeff stands watch.

I was just eight.

Yeah. Yeah. One of my favorite visual scenes is Jeff and Larry walking back in with Larry with his stiff leg with the with the club.

But he's got the club down his leg, down his.

Leg well, by the way, the tone starts at the trunk, Yes, at the trunk, we're looking very serious. I even put my arm up to block anyone seeing the club. And then you continue with the limp in There was the second limp I think the episode before this, he's limping and the weatherman he's limping, yes, because he fell on the toilet.

And then even when you go into by the coffin, when you are guarding the coffin, Jeff in a way that you know this is real, this is serious. You turn your back to the camera. It's like you're you're you're maintaining you know, you're you're like Mossau.

He's on the lookout. Yeah, he's on the lookout.

And Larry fighting with his hands.

Yeah, really well, he said, riga mortis already he's trying to pry the golf club out of Leo's hands.

His hands are so tight.

Yeah, and he finally gets it and he replaces the golf club, Jeff's golf club into Leo's hand and takes his own and puts it back down his leg. And then we cut to Saul Is giving a eulogy for his uncle Leo. And I love this eulogy.

You know.

He he loved a good walk. He like you see this man as as dull as could be. You know, he liked Jeopardy. He liked ginger Ale. If anybody says in theology.

She likes Saul, I got to give him credit. He had the greatest the part of that, the couplet, that's beautiful me. I wrote it down. He loved ginger Ale. A nice with the fizz, yes, A nice with the fizz. Well that's very Jerry Lewis, you know, A nice with the fizz, because Jerry used to leave words out, but you knew what he was saying. But when he said a nice with the fizz, I love that.

He loved a nap, He loved Jeopardy, I mean the most simplistic things.

But what was it he did every Tuesday? I forgot that's really good.

Yeah, oh yeah, I forgot that.

There was one moment when Larry was sitting there with Jeff, is that the guy had dandruff in front of him?

Yes, oh got cut right, I remember that.

And that was just the one little moment, and you guys your faces were like, oh my god, this is horrible.

Well, of course didn't serve the show. No, see it later, alligator, you know, right?

And then wait, who goes over to the casket? Is it Marty or is it Soul? Over to the casket and he says, is this is five wood? Somebody switched the five wood? And Marty picks up a cashew, and from the back of the room in the audience, Norm gets up and says, is that a cashew? Because he saw Larry eating.

Susie.

You just played Larry Susie.

You played it like yourself. The way Paul plays it is like, excuse me, is that a cashu and then it starts, but he does it in an inquisitive way. No one would have any idea why he's asking that.

Right, and everyone stares at Larry and then we cut to our house. One of my favorite scenes.

Well, let's take a step back here. What was the episode that we just had or it's the one before where Larry can't stand up because of his back.

Yes, that was.

And remember I was talking about how it bothered me even when we were filming it that all the people from the far side of the room to the next table began yelling at him and caused chaos, and how it made me nuts. What's beautiful about this scene the way Brian directed it. Everyone just gives them a dirty look, which is the way it would be played dirty looks, and you're feeling Larry's the pressure and if there's ever any excitement, it's in the look on Larry's face of

This is one of my favorite scenes period me too, uh, And I will always say it only because Jeff and Larry are backed up in their chair, in their seat is with such they the strength of Susie is really it's so fucking powerful. It's I mean, they can they're trolling in their seats.

The truth of the matter is Cheryl cares about that club. I care about that club. Sammy goes to. They can't there with the same kids she's been with for years. And you two don't give a shit about anybody but yourself. You're a fucking narcissist.

Okay, you are powerful, thank you, and you've been called on the car.

I'm pissed off. I'm pissed off, and they're all sitting and I'm standing, which you know.

Yeah, by the way. The problem also is she's completely right. There's nothing in this that she's wrong.

She's right, well, yes, absolutely as usual, and you know the club had your name on it, and what kind of fucking idiot are you? And where's Cheryl gonna play tennis? And then Larry comes up she's not that Because I start carrying on what a great tennis player Cheryl is. Larry's like, she's not that good, and I'm just like, it's all a big fucking game to you. Too, and

By the way, a line Larry says in this scene is I don't know any doctors.

I don't know any doctors. I don't know.

Any doctors, which is so absurd.

That's right, because all he does is go to doctors. We have scenes in doctor's offices all the time, and dentists. And then Larry gets up to go to the bathroom and Oscar is lying on the floor in the bathroom and he won't get up. Larry asks him to get up, he won't get up, and then what happens.

Oscar bites his wiener.

Oscar And then there's actually there's a callback whether should I sit down or should I?

Yes, in past episodes previous episode he is peeing sitting down, he.

Covers himself so wonderfully.

Yes, you know, yeah, he's always got the whole you know, the.

Art, whole thing on.

Yes, he comes running out of the bathroom with his skinny little legs and his pants around his ankles, hold crossed.

Hold on there they're tidy Whiteyes, which is what makes it even more funny.

I always kid him about that he's ahead of his time in terms of showing tidy weddies on screen. Absolutely, yeah, I mean you know it's.

Like, yeah, Brian Cranston did it on Malcolm in the Middle. Malcolm in the Middle, he wore his tidy whites on there, and of course he wore him on Breaking Bad.

Well, that's specific.

And then I wore them on TV not too much later, and I remember calling Brian Gordon and I said, can I recover from this?

And as you did the Brian Cranston episode in season nine, if I recall.

Yes, but yes, yes, but you were you did one with your whities on in the bed. I remember that, Jeff, what episode was that?

I don't know what was I doing in bed?

We'll come to it, yes, see when we get.

There, you remember, yes, okay.

And then we're in the er waiting room and you know, Larry's carrying on that dog should be put to sleep, and Jeff says, it's not the first time with you and that dog, because prior I thought the dog had given Larry an erection. Jeff even says he put the dog it got in an erection. He tells Cheryl and Susie saw it and He's like, I was pettying the dog and I was just adjusting my pants. And Cheryl says, is that why Ted didn't want you to take care of his dog? This is all from the prior episode.

That I forgot the name of the actor, which.

Also William Ragsdale.

William Ragsdale who was on a TV show called The Head, Herman's Head, but he was in a movie that holds up and is great called Fright Night. Fright Night is just the greatest, and so if you can pick that up.

On a network scary, A lot of it.

Is scary, but it's a comedy.

I can't watch it now.

You could it, Believe me, you could watch it about a vampire who moves next door and has eyes for William Ragsdale's mother.

Let's leave it at that, okay. So then Larry is in the examination room with the doctor and he tells the doctor very reluctantly, a dog.

A dog, but.

My penis a dog picture penis okay, Well that sounds painful. Sorry.

Then we find out that Larry David is Larry David and the doctor is Steve the choreographer's best friend.

I love the shot in that where Larry is absorbing in realizing the story. Yes, he's realized. The doctor is Evan, Yes, absolutely.

And the guy just broke up with his partner exactly. And we get the sense that Stephen told Evan about Larry and the framed picture on his desk, because we see that Evan might be a little interested in more than just the penis bite. And Evan says to him, all right, give me, mister baggy, which is like whatever. So now we are at one of my favorite scenes of all time, and this is Larry and Cheryl's interview at Beverly Park with Ken Howard and James Sicking.

And let let me tell you a story about Ken Howard. Yes, he and I were i'll say acquaintances. We became friends. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guilt correctly, and they wanted to make it sag after after was against it. Some people and SAG were against it. But the only way that the actors of which I was one, could deal with the studios was at one unified unit. Because if you remember, if it shot on video, it's

Great Show and Thomas Jefferson in seventeen seventy six.

Yes, but that's more your speed. Yes, because it's a musical. I like the one about basketball.

And you know who played his wife was blythe Danner. Oh, blythe Danner seventeen seventy six. Jeff already talked about his relationship with Ken Howard and it's Larry pretending to be a wasp basically, which is hilarious.

Could I ask you a few more questions about organizations that you belong to?

Please?

Absolutely, goll I'm a moose, uh.

An a Elk, You're a moose and Elk, I'm a moose elk extraordinary.

I'm in the Rotary Club. Yeah.

Why what other organizations are your members?

We're in the Council for Conservative Citizens, National Rights to Life Committee, or in the Heritage Foundation.

What do you remember about this shooting this scene, Brian.

I remember laughing, but I also remember, uh the how sharp it was, just in terms of the specifics of Larry uh not only sailing and needing a captain occasionally a board, but also he was a member of the Rotary and he was a member of various conservative.

Hold one of those the references were so republican and just openly republican.

Com he said, hold on republic very not not jewish as not jewish as can be. And I love But here's the thing. I don't think he improvised those. I think he thought about them ahead of time and very prepared.

We put a list together of conservative groups that I.

Do remember, and that he and Cheryl met at a Reagan fundraiser, and that Larry Polo is more of.

His game and he developed his golf swing exactly getting hit in the head with.

A And I love how Jim sicking is like, well, yes, it is quite a similar kind of a swing. And they all just played so beautifully.

Oh well, and Cheryl saying they were more of a September, December, December and October October. That was that was yes.

I mean, there's there's so much gold in this scene, just little things like when Larry takes his glasses off and and he puts the tip in his mouth. Yes, and he's you know, thinking. There was just so many little subtle things about this scene. Do you remember how many times how many takes you did on this scene?

Not that many. I don't think we did that many, only because I think we were. It was so sharp, and maybe two or three at the top the top, you know, just going through it, because I remember everybody feeling so good about this. It really ran so well, but the questioning of each one was so so dead on how the two of.

You meet was I mean, and Larry saying, you know, I think I noticed a log cabin Republican in the parking lot. You know, just there's so many This scene is hilarious and the elk moose. What's funnier than I'm an elk and a moose and a moose. Yeah, And then in the very end, it's all going very well and you feel like they're going to be accepted, and Larry brings up it gives them his doctor's note because because of the polo accident that he was in he

But therein lies the beauty of curb, which is called back that was set up so early, and it it was used and it was just it was perfect.

There's very few things that are that are left hanging. There's very few things that are not used. And then, of course the denu ma of the episode is Larry is in his office where he calls Delilah, the dental hygienis who is supposed to have an assignation.

With Hey, Delilah's Larry David. Hi, Larry, I'm sorry, but I'm noting able to Mega tonight.

Why not a dog bit my penis? The end hangs up very fun, by the way, because I'm always very self conscious. I cannot. I mean, I'm yawning a lot. And then I got very excited because I thought you didn't have coffee this morning? He didn't sleep, all right, I got that out.

Well, thank you Jeff for sharing. Brian. Any last words about directing this episode.

Eighteen years ago. It was on eighteen years ago, and it's as fresh as.

Today, by the way, for me too. I remember locations, I remember where I was standing, like every that comes flying back.

Yeah, And that is because I can remember other shows I have done that I have no memory.

Of, you know, ild on hold on the Michael Richards show that we did together. The only thing I remember from that show what the sideburns Ryan.

I do believe also that this is the first time you directed me, not the lasting.

If I may just ask you in terms of your own wardrobe and what you go through to put it. You know, at that point in time, where were you in terms of you of your own design of how you're going to dress?

I think I was fully Susie Green, but as the seasons progressed got more so.

Yeah.

She What we discussed is this is stuff that she's making. Because in the last episode, I believe you wore one of your bedazz old sweatshirts. Oh no, yeah, yes, because it was I forgot Buffalo, but it was a team that made no sense for you to wear no affiliation. But it's it's popping in at this point, Ryan, it's popping in and it'll soon be taken over.

It'll win. H wait till people see the season twelve, unless they've seen it already by the time this years, Oh.

My es twelve is a big ball of wow. Basically it was it was wow. That's all I can say.

You're you blessed through it in a way that you know, it just gives it such.

Thank you love. The wardrobe was actually my idea. I mean, I worked in conjunction with our designers, but the way she dressed was my idea.

Well, oh my god, yeah, I love it.

Yeah, thank you for coming right, you'll come back in a later season.

Thank you, and thank you so very much, and we'll see you all next week.

Bye, Jeffy Bye. The History of Curb Your Enthusiasm is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.