Larry David

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David in 2014, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Lawrence Gene David

Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 2, 1947

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Larry David is an American comedian, writer, actor, director, and television producer.

Larry is the son of Rose (born Regina Brandes) and Mortimer Julius David. His father was of German Jewish descent, with many of his ancestors having settled in the U.S. in the 1850s. His mother was born in Tarnopol, Galicia, now in Ukraine.

Larry is married to Ashley Underwood. He has two children, including actress and writer Cazzie David, with his former wife, environmental activist Laurie David. Laurie is also Jewish.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2017) stated that Larry’s genetic ancestry is:

*97.8% Ashkenazi Jewish
*0.1% East Asian

Genetically, he was found to have a common ancestor with politician Bernie Sanders, to whom he is often compared; actress Anjelica Huston; and actress, filmmaker, and writer Lena Dunham, through shared Ashkenazi ancestry.

Larry’s paternal grandfather was Frederick Gebhard “Fred” David (the son of Julius David and Henrietta Bernstein). Frederick was born in New York. Larry’s great-grandfather Julius was from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and was the son of Moses David and Minna Löwenstein. Larry’s great-grandmother Henrietta was born in Mobile, Alabama, the daughter of Hirsch “Henry” Bernstein, who was from Mittelfranken, Bayern, Germany, and of Bertha Pauline Heidelberger, who was from Binkosher, Baden, Bavaria. Larry’s great-great-grandfather Hirsch “Henry” owned slaves, and fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Larry’s paternal grandmother was Caroline “Carrie” Levy (the daughter of Gabriel Levy and Miriam “Mary” Zacharias). Caroline was born in New York. Gabriel was born in New York, the son of German Jewish parents, Philip Levy and Blume “Mena” Kamak, who were from Prussia. Miriam “Mary” was born in New York, the daughter of Elias/Ellias J. Zacharias and Paulina/Pauline Sperling, who were from Żerków, now in Poland.

Larry’s maternal grandfather was Leib “Louis” Brandes (the son of Izrael Brandes and Blume Bogner). Leib was born in Tarnopol, Galicia. Blume was the daughter of Moses Bogner and Marjem Elki/Elkl.

Larry’s maternal grandmother was Sara Golda “Sadie”/”Sali” Superfein (the daughter of Abraham Superfein and Chana/Chany Marmor). Sara was born in Tarnopol, Galicia. Chana was the daughter of Moses and Golda/Golde.

Sources: Information about Larry’s appearance on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 2017 – http://www.thedailybeast.com

Genealogy of Larry David – http://www.geni.com

Family history of Larry David (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.recordclick.com

Larry’s paternal grandfather, Frederick Gebhard “Fred” David, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Death record of Larry’s paternal great-grandfather, Julius David – https://www.familysearch.org

Larry’s paternal great-grandmother, Henrietta Bernstein, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage records of Larry’s paternal great-grandparents, Gabriel Levy and Miriam “Mary” Zacharias – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org

Larry’s paternal great-grandfather, Gabriel Levy, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Larry’s paternal great-grandmother, Miriam “Mary” Zacharias, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

21 Responses

  1. bearboy says:

    Like it said on his ethni celebs page.

  2. bearboy says:

    Didn’t a DNA test say he is 37% Native American?

    • follers says:

      Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak discussed Lopez’s tests here:
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/playing-with-dna-is-larry_b_402795.html

      “This same test pegged me as eight percent Native American and six percent African, which is curious, given that I’m half-Irish/half-Slavic and most of my family has only been in America for three or four generations. More current testing identified me as one hundred percent European – admittedly blander, but certainly more credible for someone of my ancestry.”

      • bearboy says:

        Ah okay. But how do we know for a fact that George Lopez is Sub Saharan African and East Asian?

        • follers says:

          We don’t. Actually, he probably isn’t. Megan writes, “So George, are you really 55 percent European, 32 percent Native American, nine percent Asian and four percent African? Maybe”.

          • Check7t says:

            He’s obviously not part Native — those DNA tests on George’s show were just done for entertainment.

          • fuzzybear44 says:

            Since I have often stated that the avg Mexican Mestizo is 3-8% African, and the ones living in the states avg 6% The odds are pretty good that George is part African. Megan offer no proof that he wasn’t

        • Morrigan Ni Boii says:

          George Lopez’s roots from Spain. And in Spain lived arabian muslims in 1st century.

      • passingtime85 says:

        A better quote from that article that specifically deals with Larry’s results, “The best known quirk of the test Lopez Tonight is using is its problem distinguishing between Asian and Native American (understandable, given that if you go back far enough, Native Americans originate from Asia), but a lesser known quirk is its tendency to assign Native American percentages to many of Iberian, Italian and Ashkenazi heritage – and Larry David is Ashkenazi.”

    • follers says:

      It appears that he is not Native American after all.

      • passingtime85 says:

        Like there was ever any doubt.

        • bearboy says:

          I don’t think he is Native American either but how would you know from the results? Last time I checked 97.8% + 0.1 does not = 100%.

          • passingtime85 says:

            Balderdash.

          • bearboy says:

            @Passingtime85, can you actually explain what was “Balderdash” about my question? I did NOT suggest Larry David is Native American I simply asked how we know the remaining percentages since it didn’t equal 100%.

          • passingtime85 says:

            You made the ridiculous implication his remaining percentage of ethnic makeup could somehow be Native American.

          • bearboy says:

            You ass wipe I said I did NOT think he is Native American. To say it appears he isn’t Native American is accurate but based on the DNA results ALONE wouldn’t because it doesn’t equal 100%. I was assuming the other 2.1% would be Italian or other southern European regions anyway.

          • passingtime85 says:

            Be more implicit then. Side note, don’t get so offended, it’s not worth your time.

          • bearboy says:

            You’re right I guess I misinterpreted your previous comment as condescending when it wasn’t. Sorry I won’t be so defensive.

          • passingtime85 says:

            It’s fine, everyone gets upset from time to time. Sorry if I sounded like a dick.

          • bearboy says:

            Thanks for understanding. BTW I’ve read your responses to my questions in the past, you’re one of the most informative people I see online and in general :)

          • passingtime85 says:

            Thanks, I try to helpful. Keep questioning, it makes the site more accurate.

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