Curb your
Ess-Susie-asm!

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

For those who can’t seem to get enough off-kilter comedy, Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City is bringing Richard Lewis and Susie Essman, stars of HBO’s critically acclaimed show Curb Your Enthusiasm, to their venue on Aug. 16.
Lewis has taken his lifelong therapy fodder and carved it into a commanding, compelling art form. The Screen Actors Guild nominated him for his work in the ensemble category for his recurring guest star role in the hit TV show.
Essman has earned legions of laugh fans playing the venomous Susie Greene, a no-nonsense wife in Curb Your Enthusiasm. In fact, sarcasm and uninhibited insults have become her character’s trademark — a far cry from the real Essman.
"I’m not as flamboyant as she is, and I don’t have a mouth like she does either," said Essman. "So I’m really not like the character I play.
"On the other hand, there are certain ways I am like the character. I don’t suffer fools gladly. I tell the truth, cut through the bull, just like she does. She’s much more reactive than I am, but I do tend to analyze everything, because that’s what comedians do."
Greene responds to everything immediately, and Essman tends to like that about her.
"I don’t know if I could be friends with her, but I really enjoy playing her. In fact, I think one of the reasons the show works so well is that we all enjoy being those people. The chemistry works," she said.
Essman’s original pursuit was never comedy. In fact, it was all a fluke.
"I never thought of being a comic," she said. "I was waitressing, taking acting classes, and one day, friends sort of forced me into it. They kept telling me how funny I was, that I needed to get up on stage and do it. So I just tried it and when I did, I found I liked it. Suddenly, it all became clear to me."
Still, there weren’t many women doing stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, so she wasn’t sure how it was supposed to work. Fortunately, she explained, there were these guys who were opening a new comedy club called Comedy U in New York.
"They saw my first show and invited me to work at their club," she recalled. "Every Thursday was an all-female comedy night. If it hadn’t been for those guys I don’t think I’d have ever ended up a comic. I guess it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time."
Essman said the guys were very nurturing and helpful in many ways. She also met a funny comedian by the name of Joy Behar, who is still her friend today.
"Watching her helped me a lot. So much of what I had seen was contrived, and that didn’t feel right to me. But Joy did her comedy just by being herself," she said.
And that’s exactly what Essman decided to do. And by being herself, her fate was sealed. Larry David saw Essman on Comedy Central and liked what he saw.
"He had seen me doing stand-up (comedy) for years before," Essman recalled, "but when he saw me on that special he thought, ‘This is a woman who could handle that language.’ And, obviously, I could."
Today, thanks to David and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Essman has taken cursing to longshoreman levels, making us roll with laughter as she uses her potty-mouth to its best advantage.
And although she’s done many other things along the way, including Law and Order, The King of Queens, The Vagina Monologues, Politically Incorrect and much, much more, we seem to think of her often as Susie Greene. The thought even pleases Essman.
She said, "I’m truly enjoying making people laugh. It’s just a privilege that I’m able to do that. In fact, people come up to me just to tell me how much I make them laugh. If that’s my contribution to the world — to make people happy — then I’ve had some impact.
"And just think, at this point in my life, I get paid for cursing at people. That fact really tickles me. Most people would be vilified if they did that. But me? I am lauded and well paid." ••
For more information, call 1-800-736-1420.