Larry David cut straight to the chase when he finally met Paul McCartney at SNL50 — but he didn’t start with a question about the Beatles.
The Curb Your Enthusiasm star recalled his conversation with the legendary rocker at a celebratory dinner during the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary festivities in February.
“I was introduced to Paul McCartney,” David recalled on the Fly on the Wall podcast. “I said to him, ‘Has anyone ever punched you in the mouth?'”
The podcast’s cohost Dana Carvey laughed. “Instead of ‘Hello. We love all your albums’?”
David elaborated on how he broached the topic. “I said, ‘Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been hit in the face with a fist? Has anybody ever punched you?'” he recounted.
The show’s other cohost, David Spade, remembered witnessing the conversation during the meal.
“You were sitting right next to Paul,” he told David. “You were hilarious. He was a good laugher, too. He was into it. I think he likes having these goofball comics around.”
David then revealed McCartney’s response to his inquiry.
“There was an incident in his youth when he was like 13 or 14, and somebody headbutted him, he told me,” the comedian said.
Kevin Winter/Getty
Larry David at Paley Fest in Los Angeles on April 18, 2024
Spade had a disappointing experience at the dinner, as he said he “felt embarrassed” because he arranged to meet Chris Rock for dinner, and the Top Five star then looped him into plans for a larger gathering that Spade “was 100 percent not invited to” by the original host.
“Paul was very nice,” Spade said, but said that he struggled to actually hear anything substantial that the former Beatle actually said. “Every time Paul gets to a story where he says something, where he’s like: ‘You know, “Yesterday,” the way I came up with it was one night when I was dreaming —’, the [waiter] is like, ‘Who had potato skins?'”
Spade continued: “He goes, ‘And that’s how I came with “Yesterday.”‘ I go, ‘Uh-huh.’ Then he goes, ‘The last thing John ever said to me —’ ‘Hey, coconut shrimp! Hot plate, hot plate!’ I’m like, ‘Goddamn, dude, I’m missing every — I couldn’t pay enough to hear Paul McCartney talk about this s—!'”
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Carvey observed the disparity between McCartney’s casual demeanor and the complexity of his artistry.
“The dichotomy between how humble Liverpudlian he is and the genius of the music —” the comedian began. “He’s like, ‘We just sat down for a plonk, you know? John and I — like looking in the mirror — and that’s how we came up with Abbey Road. You know? We just plonked.'”
Listen to the full conversation between David, Spade, and Carvey above.
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