By Barry Dougherty
Comedy is not nice,” says Friar Susie Essman in that honest, no-nonsense tone of hers. Don’t be mislead by semantics here though, that’s not to say that for Susie comedy doesn’t reign supreme. When it comes to this comedy dynamo, it’s all about the edge–something she’s well equipped to handle.
As the venomous Susie Greene on the critically acclaimed HBO hit, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Essman plays the wife of Larry David’s agent Jeff Greene. “She’s Larry’s nemesis. She doesn’t give a s--t if he created Seinfeld, or whatever the hell he did. She’s completely unimpressed with him and has no qualms about telling him to go to hell whenever he needs to be told. Although she does overreact, he provokes her non-stop. 
Friar Jerry Stiller tries to hide from Friar Susie Essman’s sharp wit at his Roast in 1999
He gets her kid drunk, he steals her dog, he steals the head off her doll, I mean, he does things that Susie Greene legitimately should get angry about. What mother wouldn’t be furious about that? Susie Greene just has a way of expressing herself that’s very particular to her,” reasons Essman.
The funny Friar freely gives credit for her Curb gig where credit is due, “The Friars Club was instrumental in my getting the job on Curb Your Enthusiasm, because of the Jerry Stiller Roast. Larry saw the show on Comedy Central and that’s when he was first getting Curb together. He had this character in mind who was Jeff’s wife, who was this filthy shrew. He saw me do the Roast for Jerry and he just called me and offered me the part. If I recall, his response was, ‘Oh look at the mouth on this one. She could handle the language I want her to use.’” says Essman.
Susie Greene has evolved into one of television’s more entertaining characters, one whose impact can be found literally on the street, “People come up to me, begging me to tell them to go f--k themselves,” laughs Susie. Without missing a beat of that Essman essence, she adds, “Sometimes I’m not in the mood, but sometimes it feels good to just tell someone to go f--k themselves in the middle of Zabar’s.”
Susie does admit that while her stand-up stage persona is somewhat Susie Greene-ish it is really just one more facet of her many talents, “In my stand-up, I would be a little frightened of me if I was the audience but it’s not how I go through my day. I’m not that angry of a person. Actually, my stand-up persona is not particularly angry, it’s tough. Whereas, Susie Greene is angry. I think what people respond to the most is that Susie Greene is so comfortable with her anger, which I think many people, especially many women, are not.
Working on a show that has no scripted dialogue can be unnerving for many actors but the casual improv style that Essman has perfected during a successful stand-up career lends itself perfectly to the genre. “I love it. To me, it’s much more nerve-wracking to memorize lines. That’s how I perform on stage, I don’t know what I’m going to say. I’m used to working that way,” says Susie.
The actors are given an outline from Larry David and it’s anybody’s guess what the viewers will hear once the various takes are edited down for the half hour show. “The stuff that comes out of my mouth, all that filth, it’s all mine!” boasts Essman which can throw even the show’s creator and star off balance sometimes. “He ruins all my best takes, because whenever I start yelling at him, he starts giggling. Like his 3rd grade teacher was yelling at him, he’s uncontrollably giggling,” laughs Susie.
Essman’s stint on Curb piqued the interest of CBS enough to have her tape a pilot for her own sitcom. The premise loosely paralleled Susie’s real life that involved a boyfriend who lives in the suburbs with his four kids. “All of a sudden I have this family in the suburbs and I’m soccer mom. When I’m up there on the weekends, going to softball and soccer games, it’s hilarious because I do not fit in at all. I’m with the other
parents, and half the time they know who I am, which is weird. They expect me to tell them to go f--k themselves any minute. The women are three degrees away from lesbian. Soccer moms, they wear aluminum siding, they use their wombs to store their kid’s winter clothes. They’ve completely given up their sexuality. I show up in like high heel Manolo mules, and little Prada outfits, and they’re wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts.” jokes Susie.
While she acknowledges her stand-up roots are firmly imbedded into her career, branching out as an actress is not a new concept. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a comedic actress. I never thought of being a stand-up comic, it never occurred to me.
I wanted to be like Carol Burnett, do sketch comedies and that kind of thing,” says Essman. She got her wish having appeared off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent and King of Queens (not to mention her own HBO comedy special and Politically Incorrect). She has also been in the films Keeping the Faith, The Siege, Volcano, and Punchline. Recently, Susie wrapped up work on a new film, The Man, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy.
Roast Awards
That is certainly apparent in any of her Friar-related appearances. For a comedian who becomes a Friar all roads lead to one destination–the Roast. “The Roasts are a particular ability or talent that is completely different from other stand-up talent. It’s different than doing a club. It’s different than performing in that way. It’s a particular art to do a Roast and you have to be really well prepared. First of all, that Grand Ballroom at the Hilton is a nightmare. It’s this huge cavernous room, it’s a horrible comedy room. If you had to pick the worst comedy room, that would be it. So, right away, you’re behind the eight ball in that room. You’ve got to bang out the punch lines,” says Essman who has excelled at any Roast in which she’s appeared including the ones for Danny Aiello, Richard Belzer, Jerry Stiller, Donald Trump, and the Smothers Brothers, for which she was the Roastmistress.
“The thing is that in delivering in a Roast, you’ve got to find a way to be mean and edgy and you always have to keep the smile, because it has to be, we roast the ones we love. I just want to be funny and mean is funny,” admits Susie.
She also admits that she has a soft spot for the Friars Club. “The Friars is a place where I can always feel incredibly welcome. This is my town, I live here, I love it here, I’m a New York City girl–it’s one of the places I feel very much at home. And especially because I came up through comedy clubs–Catch a Rising Star was my home. It doesn’t exist anymore. That was my Cheers as was the Comic Strip in the old days, where you walk in, you knew every comic, you knew all the waiters and waitresses and the bartenders. That was a home feeling. Those places are gone, and there’s not that many places that I have like that anymore. But the Friars Club is a place where I always feel loved and welcome, and it’s a home to me.” Who says comedy isn’t nice–oh yea, that nice comedian Friar Susie Essman, go f--king figure.