Ted Danson Thought The Curb Your Enthusiasm Pilot ‘Sucked’

Highlights

• Curb Your Enthusiasm was a turning point for Ted Danson’s career, bringing back his love for work and laughter.
• Despite thinking Larry David’s pilot “sucked,” Danson joined as a favor, which ended up changing his life.
• Playing himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm became Ted Danson’s longest-running role and boosted his net worth significantly.

Ted Danson has admitted he was at a crossroads in his career when the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm changed his life.

Although Curb Your Enthusiasm is now one of the 21st century’s most iconic comedies, Ted Danson thought the comedy’s pilot “sucked,” and only signed up to help out its creator, Larry David.

Ted Danson admitted his career was in a period of transition when Curb Your Enthusiasm started. “I felt a lot of doubt,” Danson admitted on The Off Camera Show. “And then Curb Your Enthusiasm came along. Larry David, who I thought I was doing a favor because his pilot sucked.”

Danson is not relieved he took on the role of playing himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. “It changed my life, and it really did going off and doing that show… Besides, it’s brilliant. And he turned half hour on its ear.”

“It also brought happiness. It brought a giggle back to my work. All of a sudden, I was enjoying going to work, and I was laughing again.”

In the following, we take a look at why Ted Danson joined Curb Your Enthusiasm if he thought Larry David’s pilot wasn’t great and how the role changed his life and career for the better. We also reveal how Curb Your Enthusiasm has helped Ted Danson’s net worth.

Why Ted Danson Joined Curb Your Enthusiasm For Larry David

Although Ted Danson was less than impressed with the pilot of Curb Your Enthusiasm, he joined the show as “a favor” for Larry David, who he felt bad for.

Danson didn’t meet Larry David until after the creator shot the pilot of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The pair met on Martha’s Vineyard, where they both spent time when not in California. The experience was less than positive for Ted and his wife Mary, who also appears as herself in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It was boiling hot, it was after dinner, and… a couple of folks watching fell asleep. Please quote me. I think—and I’ll speak for myself, I don’t know if Mary felt this way—I felt a little sorry for him. I thought, ‘You know, it’s a nice idea, but…’ But I said, ‘Well, let’s be supportive and say, ‘Hey, Larry, if you ever need anybody, please call us. We’d love to take part in it in any way, shape, or form.’ And a year later or something, we got a call.

When Danson signed up for Curb Your Enthusiasm, he had yet to see Larry’s most famous comedy creation. “I think I hadn’t yet begun to catch up with the rest of the world at that point, so I hadn’t seen any Seinfeld. I wasn’t in on the joke until later.”

Luckily, Larry David’s show exceeded expectations for both Ted Danson and fans. It didn’t just change the comedy landscape; it helped Danson climb out of his career hole.

“I had fun being funny with Larry again, so I really do owe him a lot.”

He added that while “obviously Cheers was a big moment, and I loved doing Becker, but then I think the next kind of game-changer for me—and perhaps for the way I was perceived—was Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

So, while Ted Danson signed up for Curb Your Enthusiasm to help out Larry David, it was the Seinfeld writer who ultimately helped Ted. “So Larry, who I love to mock as much as possible—I actually owe him a great deal. He’s kind of one of my heroes, besides being a friend.”

Ted Danson’s Curb Your Enthusiasm Character Became His Longest-Running Role

Despite being known for his role in Cheers, Curb Your Enthusiasm has now become Ted Danson’s longest-running role. The actor has appeared in the Larry David sitcom since the first season, which aired back in 2000. He most recently appeared in the 12th season, which is expected to be the last.

In Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ted plays an exaggerated version of himself. In the early seasons, he appears alongside his real life wife Mary Steenburgen but in a plot twist, they split, and Danson starts to date Larry’s on-screen ex-wife. Danson and Steenburgen are still together in real life, which confused friends and fans alike.

This on-screen twist was also tricky for Danson, who found it “a little bizarre to take Mary’s and my relationship, and say we’re now divorced, and I’m dating Cheryl. We got barraged by phone calls and inquiries by some people who should know better, wondering whether we’re still together. It was kind of a perfect Larry David moment, in a way.”

Like most of Larry’s long-term acquaintances on the long-running HBO show, Ted Danson is one of Larry’s biggest rivals despite their decades-long friendship. On the show, Danson often gives Larry a gift, causing the man more harm than good, as it often causes Larry to get into trouble.

Despite their on-screen rivalry and his curmudgeonly Curb Your Enthusiasm persona, Ted Danson reveals that Larry David has a “huge heart of gold.”

“Mary once told him, it almost brought tears to his eyes, she said, ‘If I were ever really in trouble you’d be one of the first people I’d ever call.’ He has a huge, generous heart of gold. Very sweet.”

How Curb Your Enthusiasm Changed Ted Danson’s Net Worth

Ted Danson has an estimated net worth of $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Most of his net worth comes from playing Sam Malone on Cheers. At the height of the show, he was making around $500,000 per episode.

His long-running appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm has boosted his net worth. Danson has appeared in every season except for seasons two and eight.

It is unknown how much Danson makes from his appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm. As of 2023, Larry David earns an impressive $20 million per season from the HBO show, which he stars in, writes and produces.

Source: NewsFinale