Buttmunker

Sure he made money, but my point is - Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George are TV icons! I wonder if Larry, in hindsight, regrets not being one of the main or supporting characters?

(I know Larry David is legendary on his own show, but that's very different from "Seinfeld.")

Groucho

I don't think David was ever considered as a main character, either by himself or by the "powers that be". The show made him a household name, despite not being one of the "stars", and he's since gone on to be able to his own thing.

So no, I don't think he has any regrets. Who would you rather be right now: David or Michael Richards?

Patman

But he was Steinbrenner on the show.

Jericho

Exactly. Plus, while he was a creative mind, I doubt he had any chance of realistically being cast as a main character on the show.

Sweet Baby James

He was also the mysterious man in the cape.

sergtv

not sure but i think that he sold gum to george at a news stand.

dick_grayson

with Jerry not being able to act, they couldn't afford having LD in there as well.....perhaps

Vipper II

Why was he wearing a cape? Was it good cape weather, or something?

sb5

I'd say that's more of a positive than a negative. He made huge piles of cash from being the creator/executive producer/writer of a massive hit show, yet he could walk down the street without being bothered by anyone (at least until Curb Your Enthusiasm), and didn't have to worry about being locked into his "TV icon" role for the rest of his career.

Timber

I'd venture to say that Larry David made more out of his career then Jason Alexander. If he played the Costanza role he probably wouldn't have been able to make Curb.

Michael Corvin

and the original Newman

Michael Corvin

He was also a disgruntled guy on one of Elaine's flights.

Andy Griffith is an obvious one that managed two shows. As well as Michael Landon. Ted Danson has come close but Becker was never really huge, just kinda serviceable and there. It's probably been a while since that's happened.

That would be an interesting topic in-and-of itself.

Sweet Baby James

Garner did it in Maverick/Rockford. O'Connor did it in All in the Family/In the Heat of the Night. Those are just two quick ones off of the top of my head.

wendersfan

Bob Newhart did it, but he's just played variations of the same character in nearly everything he's done.

Michael Chiklis
Raymond Burr
Jack Klugman

Groucho

Don't forget Ted Danson. Becker wasn't as big as Cheers but it was quite successful. More recently he's been on Damages as well.

derekjet

he most definitely did not regret it.

Michael Corvin

Is there an echo in here?

Groucho

I have you on ignore.

Michael Corvin

Michael Corvin

Frasier wasn't the main character on Cheers. Grammer wasn't even close to being the lead.

Trevor

He also plays pretty much the same character in that new series. I saw it once, not good enough to watch again.

WallyOPD

From the genre realm, there's Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver and Stargate SG-1), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules and Andromeda), and to some extent Jerry O'Connell (Sliders and Carpoolers, although that one probably won't last long). Peter Krause has done very well for himself with 2 network shows and an HBO series.

Edit: And there's always David Hasselhoff with Knight Rider and Baywatch.

Trelach24

How much coin does Larry David have?

Drexl

Buddy Ebsen: The Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones

Sweet Baby James

Lee Majors-Colt Seavers/Steve Austin

William Shatner-James T. Kirk/T.J. Hooker