One of TV’s funniest comedies is ending in 2024, but Larry David isn’t sending Curb Your Enthusiasm’s final season into the sunset without a healthy dose of off-screen friction similar to what fictional Larry goes through. After having previously throttled Elmo on the air during a February Today episode — a bizarro stunt that provoked every kind of reaction imaginable — the Seinfeld co-creator broke new cringe-worthy ground during his appearance on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? (available to stream with a Max subscription). Asking David about his financial worth was really just asking for trouble.
When Larry David popped by CNN anchor Chris Wallace’s streaming talking show ahead of the penultimate episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it wasn’t too far-flung from what a specific bottle episode of the HBO comedy would look like if Wallace interviewed “Larry” about his legal case in Georgia. (I’m still not completely convinced it wasn’t.) The conversation had already gone topsy-turvy over the topic of next-day thank you notes and some political fare, but it was when the conversation turned to money that David delivered a declaration that was nearly as amusingly unhinged as choking out a Sesame Street Muppet.
Chris Wallace opened this line of questioning by bringing up his father, the late 60 Minutes vet Mike Wallace, asking legendary talk show host Johnny Carson how much money he was worth, David immediately interrupted, saying:
Terrible, terrible question. Who does your father think he was, by the way? I hope that Johnny Carson said to him, 'Mike, none of your business. That's none of your business.'
As he’d handled things for much of their conversation, Wallace continued his train of thought caught up in a mix of amusement and light frustration, aiming to maintain control of the conversation while keeping things cordial. (“I was cordial!”) But he wasn’t one to take a clear hint in this scenario, so he then cited random online musings to question David if he was really worth a rumored half-billion dollars. Which, in another nod to TV tropes, the Curb star nearly spit his water out upon hearing that total.
Sidestepping the money talk, David then opened up a tangent about getting more water, with Wallace flat-out refusing him before calling the comedian out for avoiding the question. At which point he let loose with the somewhat rare "F-bomb In reference to a person's dead relative." David said:
I'm gonna say what shoulda been said to your father, 'None of your fucking business.' [Laughs.] How about that? And that's ridiculous. That's ridiculous. What you just said. That number is so preposterous, okay? Ridiculous.
Thankfully, Chris Wallace could only laugh at that F-bomb being hurled into the ether, as opposed to taking it too personally. There are certainly situations where that kind of comment might not fly, but here, it not only flew, but Wallace even tried again, asking if Larry David's net worth might be closer to $100 million. Believe it or...well, there' no other option...David didn't disappoint with his rertort, uttered while smiling:
Okay, how about you shut up? How about you shut up? Is that all right?
I like to think that was all Wallace trying to needle his guest to supply a taste of his own medicine, but without as much success as he might have hoped. Hilariously enough, the host's response was to point out that none of his other guests on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? so far had ever spoken that particular turn of phrase. Larry David is an original, it's true.
Curb Your Enthusiasm airs Sunday nights on HBO, with the series finale dropping on April 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Head to our 2024 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows will be popping up after Larry's 24-year reign of neurotic terror is over.
