He Laughed Along With Larry David and Borat. Until He Didn't.
His book, a must-read for comedy nerds, is an account of nearly half of a century attempting to crack those codes, mostly as a director and writer, working with the most famous funny people in show business (Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld) and some of its most notorious bullies (Scott Rudin, the Weinstein brothers).
Charles, 68, describes them all with entertaining candor, while also illuminating the creation of several of the greatest comedies of the modern era, including 'Seinfeld' (he wrote for the first five seasons), 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' (he directed episodes for two decades) and 'Borat,' which he directed.
His career, which began by selling a joke to Jay Leno, is a pocket history of modern comedy, anchored by surprisingly melancholy portraits of his two most fertile artistic relationships — with Larry David and Sacha Baron Cohen. In a recent interview over Zoom, he reflected on the path from Coney Island to Hollywood.
You grew up in Trump Village, a then new housing complex in Coney Island built by the President's father, Fred. You meet him?
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