List of Curb Your Enthusiasm recurring roles

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy series starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as himself. It is produced and broadcast by HBO. The show features a large cast of recurring characters.

Frequently recurring characters

Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis (as a fictionalized version of himself, Season 1-) is a neurotic stand-up comedian who has recently recovered from alcohol and drug problems. Richard is one of Larry's oldest and closest friends, both having moved from New York City to Los Angeles to pursue careers in comedy. Despite this, his relationship with Larry is often volatile and complicated. Often, Richard becomes the victim of Larry's follies, causing Richard to blame Larry for almost everything wrong in his life. He is usually more sensible and moral than Larry. He has also had numerous very attractive girlfriends over the course of the show, which Larry often tends to offend or clash with in some way. Richard Lewis first appeared in the show's first episode (after the pilot), "The Pants Tent."

Ted Danson

Ted Danson (as a fictionalized version of himself, Seasons 1, 3-7) is an old friend of Larry's despite the fact that Larry often insults him behind his back. When Cheryl and Larry separate, Ted chooses to side with Cheryl as the two often do charitable work with the NRDC. Danson often appears with his real life wife, Mary Steenburgen, who also plays a fictionalized version of herself. Ted invests in a restaurant with Larry and Jeff in season three, but he ends up leaving the project because he is upset with Larry. Larry and Ted constantly have problems exchanging gifts such as when Larry gives Ted a shirt with a hole in it, something Ted calls "a problem" rather than a gift. In the episode "The Freak Book" Larry gives Ted a book titled "Mondo Freaks" which offends Ted and Mary, then crashes Ted's birthday party by bringing his driver in, who gets drunk and harasses Mary. In "The Hot Towel" Larry gives Ted and Mary a $300 gift certificate to a restaurant, but gets offended when he sees them using the gift certificate with Jeff and Susie instead of with him. Danson first appeared in the show's second episode, "Ted and Mary."

Sammi Greene

Sammi Greene (Ashly Holloway, Season 2-) is Jeff and Susie's daughter who is now a teenager. Sammi has developed an interest in singing publicly, even though she does not possess much talent. When Sammi sang at a party hosted by Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Larry David interrupted her song to save the crowd from having to listen to it, but he ended up upsetting the partygoers. Sammi, as a child, once said she would choose her dog, Oscar, over her father, if the two could not live together. Sammi was originally a boy, being only spoken of in the first episode of the series "The Pants Tent." She first appeared in the Season 2 episode, "The Doll."

Nat David

Nat David (Shelley Berman, Season 3-7) is Larry's Jewish widowed father. He usually tends to make mistakes that Larry calls him out on. His physical resources are diminishing because of his age, leading him to glaucoma and occasional hearing loss. He is not very confrontational, but he does have a high sensitivity for their Jewish culture. Nat calls bad drivers "Schmohawks". Nat first appeared in the Season 3 episode, "The Special Section."

Marty Funkhouser

Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein, Season 4-) is one of Larry's oldest friends. Despite this, he and Larry tend to disagree on many topics such as whether or not he is too old to be called an orphan, and he also argues that he is Larry's best friend, which Larry constantly tries to refute. He has a wife, Nan, and one daughter, Jodi, who is an on-and-off lesbian, as well as a sister with mental health issues named Bam Bam (Catherine O'Hara). He is often very methodical and by-the-book about most of his actions and puts much emphasis on family first, making sure the entire family takes one opinion on a certain matter. Despite that, he has been known to take credit for things which may or may not necessarily apply to him. Funkhouser is an avid golfer, golfing at the same country club as Larry and Jeff. Funkhouser first appeared in the fourth season episode "The Weatherman." Uninvited, he turns up to Seinfeld reunion rehearsals, much to Larry's disdain, and befriends Jerry Seinfeld. Funkhouser divorces his wife in the episode "The Divorce".

Leon Black

Leon Black (J. B. Smoove, Season 6-) is the brother of Loretta Black, a single mother whose family was a victim of Hurricane Edna. When Larry and Cheryl take in Loretta and her family, Leon moves in, too, even though he was living in Los Angeles already long before the hurricane. After a while, however, Loretta and her family move out of the house, but Leon simply stays behind. He often displays that he has Larry's back, tending to be a lot more blunt and confrontational than Larry could ever be. This involves him helping out Larry with his various misadventures and giving him reassurance and tips for how to fend for himself. Leon is also quite promiscuous when it comes to women, regardless of if they are married. Leon first appeared in the Season 6 episode, "The Anonymous Donor".

Other recurring characters

Throughout the series

Antoinette

Antoinette (Antoinette Spolar, Seasons 1-4, 6, 8) is Larry's inept assistant who predominantly appeared in the first four seasons. She first appeared in the very first episode, "The Pants Tent."

Nan Funkhouser

Nan Funkhouser (Ann Ryerson, Seasons 4-8) is Marty Funkhouser's wife and the mother of Jodi Funkhouser. She first appeared in the Season 4 episode, "The Weatherman." She and Marty get a divorce in the episode "The Divorce".

Dr. Saul Funkhouser

Dr. Saul Funkhouser (Saul Rubinek, Season 4) is Marty Funkhouser's cousin and Larry's dentist. He first appeared in the Season 4 episode, "The Weatherman". He returns a second time in the episode, "The 5 Wood," where he speaks at his uncle's (Leo Funkhouser's) funeral.

Wanda

Wanda (Wanda Sykes, Seasons 2-5, 7-8) is a friend of Cheryl's who rarely agrees with Larry. In "The Bowtie," (Season 5 Episode 2) Wanda tells Larry that she is "not his link into the black world" after he gets himself in an awkward racial incident. In "Funkhouser's Crazy Sister," Wanda and Cheryl use Larry's name to get a table at a crowded restaurant. She tends to 'appear' anytime Larry has a misunderstanding with a black person.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as a fictionalized version of herself, Seasons 1-2, 7) is an actress Larry worked with on Seinfeld and Saturday Night Live. They have known each other since 1984. Julia Louis-Dreyfus first appeared in the Season 1 episode, "The Wire." In the episode "The Wire", Larry and Cheryl have been trying to convince their neighbors, the Weinstocks, to help get an electrical wire removed from their property. In order to sign off on it, the Weinstocks, who are big Seinfeld fans, wanted to meet Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In Season 2, Larry worked on a sitcom with Julia, but the project fell through with ABC, CBS, and HBO. Julia returned in Season 7 to star in a Seinfeld reunion episode.

Cheryl's parents

Cheryl's parents (Paul Dooley and Julie Payne, Season 1-5) are very Christian, which often leads them to disagreements with Larry. Cheryl's father is often very loud and likes to sing Christmas carols. They first appeared in the Season 1 episode, "Beloved Aunt."

Becky

Becky (Kaitlin Olson, Seasons 1-4, 6) is Cheryl's sister who is often at odds with Larry over religious and personal reasons. Cheryl moves in with Becky after she leaves Larry. Becky first appeared in the Season 1 episode, "Beloved Aunt."

Norm

Norm (Paul Mazursky, Seasons 4, 7) first appeared in the Season 4 episode, "Mel's Offer" as an assistant of Mel Brooks who advised against casting Larry as Max Bialystock in The Producers. Throughout the rest of the season, his strong disdain for Larry is evident. Norm was a member of the same country club that Larry, Jeff, Ted Danson, and Funkhouser belong to. Larry blames Norm when he receives a reprimanded by the club for having a messy locker. Norm was the slowest golfer on the course, so others dreaded golfing behind him, until Larry, not knowing Norm had high blood pressure, yells at him and tells him off for his slow golfing. Norm dies soon after this encounter, because the stress caused his already-high blood pressure to rise. He died in Season 7, Episode 7, "The Black Swan."

Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld (as a fictionalized version of himself, Seasons 4, 7) co-created the hit sitcom Seinfeld with Larry. Jerry Seinfeld attends the opening night of Larry David's play The Producers, grimacing after Larry failed to remember his lines. Jerry returned in Season 7 to star in a Seinfeld reunion episode. Throughout the season, Jerry writes and produces the reunion show with Larry, often spending time with him outside of working on the show. Jerry pushes Larry to hire an actress named Virginia for the role of George Costanza's ex-wife Amanda, but Larry wants to hire his own ex-wife Cheryl. Jerry first appeared in the season four finale, "Opening Night."

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen (as a fictionalized version of herself, Seasons 1, 6-7) is Ted Danson's wife, who frequently appears alongside her real life husband Ted Danson. Ted and Mary are good friends with Larry and Cheryl. She first appeared in the show's second episode, "Ted and Mary."

The Greenes

The Greenes (played by Louis Nye and Mina Kolb, Seasons 1-3) are Jeff Greene's elderly Jewish parents. Larry is constantly offending the Greenes by accident with careless remarks. They first appeared in the show's very first episode, "The Pants Tent."

Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander (as a fictionalized version of himself, Seasons 2, 7) is the actor who played Larry David's alter ego George Costanza in the hit show Seinfeld. In season two, Jason and Larry plan to do a new sitcom about an actor who could not get work after appearing on a mega hit because people always see him as that character, but the two could not agree on whose office to hold the meeting at. Jason constantly refers to George Costanza as a "schmuck," a "yutz," and an "idiot," which irritates Larry because the character was based on him. Jason returns in season seven to star in a Seinfeld reunion episode. During the filming of the reunion, Jason begins to get too close to Cheryl David, who has the role of George's ex-wife. Larry gets upset and makes changes to the script to keep Jason and Cheryl apart, but this causes Jason to leave the show. Larry attempts to fill in the role of George to the cast's dismay causing Larry to quit and Jason to return. Jason is the author of Acting without Acting, a pamphlet-length "book" whose length and title Larry and Jerry Seinfeld frequently mock. Jason first appeared in the season two episode "The Car Salesman."

Andy David

Andy David (Richard Kind, Seasons 3-5, 7) is Larry's obnoxious cousin. In "The Special Section", Andy gets upset when Larry does not call him when he was in New York. He goes golfing with Larry, Jeff, and Funkhouser in "The Black Swan" when Larry accidentally kills a swan. He first appeared in the season three episode "The Special Section."

Stu Braudy

Stu Braudy (Don Stark, Seasons 3-4) is a friend of Larry's, but hates Paul Reiser. Larry and Stu end up playing golf in the rain in "The Weatherman" when they ignore the weatherman's forecast of showers. He first appeared in the episode "The Terrorist Attack."

Rosie O'Donnell

Rosie O'Donnell (as a fictionalized version of herself, Seasons 5, 7-8) is an actress who is friends with Larry from their days as stand-up comedians. In "The Bowtie" confirming to Larry that the lesbian community had accepted him again after Jodie went back together with her girlfriend. Her appearance in Season 7 was less amicable as she got into two fights with Larry in "Denise Handicap". And in Season 8, she and Larry went to war when they both fell for a very attractive bisexual Jewish woman (Rosie won when the woman dumped Larry in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame for using male enhancement products). She first appeared in the season five episode "The Bowtie."

Doctor Morrison

Doctor Morrison (Philip Baker Hall, Seasons 4, 7) is a doctor who treats Larry for a cut he got when Mel Brooks hit him in the head with a door in "Mel's Offer." He returned in "The Hot Towel" to treat a hand injury Larry received due to a hot towel on a flight that Larry thought was "put in the microwave". He ended up giving Larry his personal number to ease the communication between the two, but regretted the decision instantly. He first appeared in "Mel's Offer."

Dr. Mark

Dr. Mark (Rob Huebel, Season 5) is a neighbor who Larry accuses of stealing his newspaper in "The Seder". In "The Korean Bookie" it is revealed that Mark performed the breast augmentation surgery for Rachel which was partially paid for with money Larry gave to her father when he hit his car. He first appeared in "The Seder."

Dean Weinstock

Dean Weinstock (Wayne Federman, Seasons 1, 7) was Larry and Cheryl's next-door neighbor with a fixation on Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Weinstock first appeared in "The Wire." Later appeared in "Vehicular Fellatio."

Anna

Anna (Gina Gershon, Seasons 4, 6) a Hasidic dry cleaner. Larry regularly brings his dirty items to be cleaned by her, including a semen-stained sheet in "The Anonymous Donor". Larry almost has sex with her in "The Survivor" as part of his 10th anniversary gift from Cheryl. She first appeared in "The Survivor."

Fran Metzgar

Fran (Jane Carr, Season 2) - Julia Louis-Dreyfus's agent.

In a story arc

Season 3

Restaurant management and investors

In season three, Larry, along with Jeff and Ted Danson, invests in a new restaurant. The management staff of the restaurant, as well as the celebrity investors, grow increasingly upset with Larry. These characters first appeared in the episode "Chet's Shirt."

• Jim Swenson (Jim Staahl) is the manager of the proposed restaurant.
• Theresa Nakamura (Suzy Nakamura) is the restaurant's assistant manager.
• Michael York (as a fictionalized version of himself) is one of the other celebrity investors.
• Lou DiMaggio (Lou DiMaggio) is an investor in the restaurant. He reappears at a dinner at the Greenes' house in season seven.

Season 4

The Producers - Cast and Crew

• Cady Huffman (as a fictionalized version of herself) is the female star of The Producers with Larry David and David Schwimmer. She plays the role of Ulla. Larry tries to use his 10th anniversary gift (Cheryl letting him sleep with one woman one time, no questions asked) on Cady, but is turned off and repulsed to find out that she is a Republican. She suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Cady first appears in the episode "Mel's Offer."
• Ben Stiller (as a fictionalized version of himself, Seasons 4, 7) is originally cast in the role of Leo Bloom, opposite Larry; however, he frustratedly leaves the project because of a series of incidents with Larry, such as him not moving to the front of the car when his wife got out, not singing Happy Birthday at his party two weeks after his actual birthday, and poking him in the eye with a food stick while showing Jeff a new golf move. Ben resurfaces in the season six episode "The N Word", in which Jeff unsuccessfully tries to hire him as a client. He first appeared in the episode "Mel's Offer."
• Mel Brooks (as a fictionalized version of himself) is the writer of the musical and the film it was based on. Mel Brooks asks Larry David to star in The Producers on Broadway. In "Opening Night", it is revealed that Mel Brooks cast Larry David hoping he would fail and that Brooks would never have to run The Producers again. Larry does temporarily forget his lines, only to perform his stand-up act to get the crowd back on his side, and then continues on with the play. He first appears in the episode "Mel's Offer."
• Michael (Patrick Kerr Seasons 1, 4) is a blind pianist who plays the music for The Producers. Larry and Richard Lewis meet the Michael when they help him move in his first appearance, in the season one episode "The Bracelet."
• David Schwimmer (as a fictionalized version of himself) replaces Ben Stiller in the role of Leo Bloom. David also gets in a series of arguments with Larry. Larry and David constantly argue over things such as the number of cashews that should be in a mixed bag of cashews and raisins (in "The 5 Wood") and who is responsible when David Schwimmer lost his watch, and Larry found it only to lose it before he could give it back to Schwimmer (in "The Opening Night"). He first appeared in the episode "The 5 Wood."
• Christine Taylor (as a fictionalized version of herself) is Ben Stiller's wife. Christine unintentionally causes a huge argument between Ben and Larry when Christine, who had been sitting in the passenger's seat, exits the car and Ben demands Larry come up from the backseat and sit next to him. She first appeared in the episode "Mel's Offer."

Season 5

Omar Jones

Omar Jones (Mekhi Phifer) is a Muslim private investigator who Larry hires to find out if he is adopted. Jones charges Larry a higher rate than his other clients because he heard that Larry told a group of black people to "keep it down" in "The Bowtie". In the same episode there was a running gag with Larry continually forgetting to give Omar his bathroom key back. In "The End" Omar informs Larry that he is not adopted. He first appeared in the episode "The Bowtie."

Doctor

Doctor (James Pickens Jr.) treats Richard Lewis's cousin Louis Lewis after his accident. In "The Smoking Jacket" the doctor accuses Larry, who is constantly visiting Lewis, of wanting him to die so he won't have to give his kidney to Richard Lewis. Larry admits that this is the reason. He first appeared in "The Smoking Jacket."

Seasons 6

The Blacks

The Blacks (Season 6-7) are a family of African-American victims of Hurricane Edna, a category 5 hurricane reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. The Blacks consist of single mother Loretta Black, her children Keysha and Daryl, and their Auntie Rae. In season six, Cheryl convinces Larry to take the Blacks in, and they end up leaving in season seven. The Blacks first appeared in the season six premiere, "Meet the Blacks."

• Loretta Black (Vivica A. Fox) is the family's mother who begins a relationship with Larry in "The Bat Mitzvah" after the two danced during Sammie Greene's Bat Mitzvah. In the seventh season, it was revealed that she had cancer, and left Larry when she thought she saw Larry getting fellatio in his car from Leon's best friend's wife, who was having an affair with Leon.
• Keysha and Daryl Black (Carla Jeffrey and Nick Nervies) are Loretta's daughter and son who move in with the Davids in Season 6 and move out the following season. In "The Ida Funkhouser Roadside Memorial" Keysha does not get into a private school because Larry tries to steal back flowers he gave to the head mistress that he stole from Ida's memorial site.
• Auntie Rae (Ellia English) is Loretta's aunt who also moves in with the Davids. In "The Anonymous Donor" Larry dresses up as a ghost while playing with Daryl and Keysha, but Rae tackles him thinking he is a member of the KKK.

Also, Leon Black, played by JB Smoove was also a part of the family during these seasons.

Cha Cha

Cha Cha (Tia Carrere, Season 6) is Richard Lewis' girlfriend. She is often quite friendly to Larry, despite some of his faux pas, including one where he inadvertently admitted he found her sexually attractive. Larry had gotten her a job when his friend needed a receptionist. But he found that her friendliness was sometimes too overbearing, since whenever he passed her desk to use the restroom she would talk to him constantly, and expressed too much concern for his bathroom habits. She first appears in the episode "Meet the Blacks."

Season 7

Michael Richards

Michael Richards (as a fictionalized version of himself, Season 7) is an actor Larry worked with on Seinfeld and Fridays. He appears in season seven to play Cosmo Kramer in the Seinfeld reunion. He was once diagnosed with Groat's Disease and came to Larry for help to cope with it mentally. The show even addressed his 2006 racial incident; in "The Table Read" episode, he finds out that Leon has lied to him, and yells at him about that ("if only there were a terrible name that I could call you!"); random passersby take out their cell phones and start filming the event, causing him to look at the camera in frustration. He first appeared in the episode "The Reunion."

Mocha Joe

Mocha Joe (Saverio Guerra, Season 7) runs a coffee stand on the NBC lot as well as delivering coffee to certain offices at the studio. He develops a grudge against Larry when he refuses to tip him for a small favor. He first appears in the episode "Seinfeld".