Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, actor, writer and television producer.

Since 2015 he has made recurring guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, where he impersonates 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is his sixth cousin once removed.

His parents are Rose (née Regina Brandes) and Mortimer Julius "Morty" David, a men's clothing manufacturer, and he has an older brother, Ken.

[12] David graduated from Sheepshead Bay High School, now defunct and operating as Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex, in 1965.

[12] After college, David enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and received training as a petroleum storage specialist.

[16] To avoid the final year of his six-year enlistment, he paid a psychiatrist to write a letter declaring him unfit for duty.

[18] From 1980 to 1982, David became a writer and cast member for ABC's Fridays, where he worked with Michael Richards, who later played Kramer on Seinfeld.

[19] From 1984 to 1985, David was a writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) and met Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who also worked on the show in this period.

[26][27] In 1987, David was a writer and performer for Way Off Broadway, a variety talk show on Lifetime hosted by Joy Behar.

David made occasional uncredited appearances on the show, playing such roles as Frank Costanza's cape-wearing lawyer and the voice of George Steinbrenner.

[31] David left Seinfeld on friendly terms after the show's seventh season and returned two years later to write the series finale in 1998.

[39] The show revisits many of the themes of Seinfeld[40] and is improvised from a story outline only several pages long written by David (and, from the fifth season onward, additional writers).

[42] The character's numerous and frequent social faux pas, misunderstandings, and ironic coincidences are the basis of much of the show's comedy and have led to the entry into the American pop culture lexicon of the expression "Larry David moment", meaning an inadvertently created socially awkward situation.

Celebrities, including comedians Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, and Bob Einstein, appeared on the show regularly.

David is quoted as saying "Finally, thanks to the TV Guide Network, I'll get a chance to watch actual, intelligent people discuss and debate the issues addressed on 'Curb'.

[46] David played the leading role in Woody Allen's 2009 comedy film Whatever Works alongside Evan Rachel Wood.

[48] David appeared as a panelist on the NBC series The Marriage Ref and also played Sister Mary-Mengele in the 2012 reboot of The Three Stooges.

[10][53][54][55] On January 8, 2020, David joked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, "I would say, I would beg him [Bernie] to drop out so I don't have to keep flying in from Los Angeles to do SNL.

"[56] David has named Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Phil Silvers, Abbott and Costello, Jackie Mason, Alan King, Don Rickles, and Mad magazine as influences.

[73] Most of David's wealth originates from syndication deals of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, the former having netted $3.1 billion in rerun fees as of 2013.

"[76] In a 2015 interview with CBS, David confirmed that half of his wealth was eroded by his 2007 divorce in the community property state of California.

[79] In February 2022, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a lawsuit against Bitconnect that the Securities Act of 1933 extends to targeted solicitation using social media.