Larry David is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary on HBO’s new show Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Misery: Almost an American History, but he didn’t feel all that patriotic when President Donald Trump commemorated the anniversary with a UFC fight at the White House.
“It was a travesty,” David told me Tuesday night at the premiere of “Life, Rally and Misadventures” in Hollywood. “What else can I say about that? I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed to be American.”
“Life, Rally, and the Pursuit of Misadventures: Almost a History of America,” which premieres June 26 on HBO, is a sketch show that satirizes key points in American history.
The series features many celebrity guest appearances, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bill Hader, Kathryn Hahn, Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, Sean Hayes, Joe Manganiello, Jane Krakowski, Greg Kinnear, Alan Tudyk, Rita Wilson, Jerry and David Seinfeld. Vince Vaughn will also guest star, as will “Curve Your Enthusiasm” alums Jeff Garlin, JB Smoove and Susie Essman, who plays Susan B. Anthony.
Barack Obama also appears in one of the skits. He and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground are producing the series.
Details of the skit are being kept secret, but David said Obama had “perfect” comedic timing. “He was really good at improvising,” David said.
He called having Obama as a scene partner “really weird.”
“It was very exciting. We had a great time,” David said, adding: “I tried not to think about it too much because I didn’t want to spoil it.”
Maybe the former president will win an Emmy for acting for his performance? In typical David fashion, he shrugged and said, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
It was Higher Ground who approached David about this project.
“I know the president a little bit. We played golf together and he was in a Super Bowl ad four or five years ago where I was in the costume and all that. So maybe that was part of their idea,” David said. “I don’t know. Maybe they just like ‘Curb.'”
David certainly wears a lot of period costumes and wigs. Understandably, he didn’t like spending that much time on his hair and makeup. “I don’t understand how people walk around wearing wigs and hairpieces,” he says. “I feel like I have 1,000 bugs crawling on my head and my beard is even worse. It’s so itchy I can’t even eat.”
The series is directed by co-creator Jeff Shaffer. Higher Ground’s Ethan Lewis will serve as executive producer.
To avoid spoilers, guest stars who attended the premiere, including Garlin, Esman, and Winkler, were not allowed to speak to the press. Only David, Schaefer, and Lewis agreed to be interviewed.
Lewis said the Obamas wanted to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, but in a “way that felt unexpected and unique.”
Schaefer said one of his biggest concerns was what to call President Obama when leading the charge. “I was telling people at Higher Ground, ‘What do I call you when I want to pass a note?'” he recalled. “They were like, ‘Just give it a shot.’ We’re moving so fast that we’re trying to avoid just saying, ‘Okay, Barack, you have to do this.’ But he was great. ”
