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HBO
What contemporary comics influenced you?
Susie
Richard Pryor. He had everything that a comic should have. First of all, he was hilarious--just drop dead funny. And he was warm and accessible. He was down and dirty, and honest, and there was a rawness about him and his comedy that was so exhilarating to watch. You know his first concert?
HBO
"Richard Pryor: Live in Concert," from 1979?
Susie
Such genius! I think he's the best stand up comic that ever lived--I really do! He could be so vulnerable and yet he was always in complete control of his craft. He had everything that I wanted to have as a comic. I always wanted to be a black male comic.
HBO
Were you influenced by any women stand ups when you were young?
Susie
Unfortunately, there weren't many female stand up comics when I was growing up. It wasn't an area where women were really allowed in. When I first started it was such a boys club I can't even tell you. It was a battle!
You take somebody like Phyllis Diller, whom I adore. In order for her to do what she did, she had to dress in wacky outfits and deny that she was a beautiful woman--which she was. That's the only way the audience would accept her. All the men comics just assumed you were not going to be funny. And there have always been funny women! Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett... When I was growing up I loved the Carol Burnett show! I thought she was the funniest thing in the world, and she was!
But she and Lily Tomlin and Gilda Radner--they were sketch comedians. Stand up is a very different art form. Stand up is an extremely aggressive, hostile art form. And I think most women have not felt comfortable with that kind of aggression. So there were only a handful of female stand up comics when I was growing up--Joan Rivers, Totie Fields, Jean Carol--and they were all great.
HBO
And there was Moms Mably.
Susie
Moms Mably was drop dead funny!
HBO
You're the only cast member who still lives in New York. Do you like working in Los Angeles?
Susie
I don't like LA, but that's where I work, so it's fine. We have so much fun and I think it shows on the screen. It feels like we're a television family.
HBO
Do you and the other cast members put a lot of pressure on Larry to do another season of Curb?
Susie
Like it would work! Larry does what Larry wants to do. We work so many hours a day when we are shooting and when the season is done Larry will always say, "I'm not doing another season." And then after he's finished editing, and is doing nothing for a couple of months, then he gets a little itchy to do another season. I'd be very happy to do the show for another ten years. The problem is Larry doesn't want to repeat himself, and he wrote all those Seinfeld episodes and now fifty episodes of Curb. He's got to keep coming up with these new ideas and new ways to be fresh and funny, and it's hard.
HBO
How long do you spend shooting each episode?
Susie
In general it's a seven day shoot. Some episodes might be a little longer if they're more complicated. It takes us about five months to shoot ten episodes. It's usually like two weeks off, two weeks on.
HBO
Does Larry still show you only your own part of the episode outline?
Susie
No, I see the whole outline.
HBO
You're doing an advice column for the Curb web site. Do you read advice columns yourself?
Susie
No! What am I going to learn from Dear Abby that I don't already know? But it's so much fun doing my column!
HBO
Are you the kind of person who gives her friends advice?
Susie
Yes, everybody comes to me for advice. But for the column I'm doing Susie Greene's character, so it's more fun for me. I don't have to worry about if I'm harming someone, or causing emotional distress. I can just go off on it. I love playing Susie Greene!
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Inside Curb Your Enthusiasm |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm Fact
Jeff Garlin is an alumnus of Chicago's Second City Theatre.
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Long Sleeve Logo Tee
For the Curb Your Enthusiasm fan in your life, this HBO® Store Exclusive long-sleeve tee. |
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