J.B. Smoove has been here before.
“This is almost like the old ‘S.N.L.’ story,” he said, referring to when he lost his writing job on “Saturday Night Live” in 2006. “Something has to go away for something to come in.”
This time, what’s ending is “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” on which he plays Leon Black, Larry David’s foulmouthed houseguest who never left.
What’s coming in is Smoove Season.
“Larry might be ready to hang them up,” he said. “I’m ready to take them off. This is my time to introduce all things that I love” — among them, producing and his new lines of watches and hat boxes. “I think there’s something really interesting about building something that you’re always building. It is never finished.”
In fact, Smoove still isn’t certain that this 12th and final season of “Curb” is actually its last.
“I never know what the temperature is because as the world keeps changing, Larry keeps thinking of ways to get us through it and explain it to us in his way,” Smoove said on a video call before talking about sharp suits, cigar cars and his beloved R.V. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1
Close Dancing
My wife, Shah, calls me Twinkle Toes. I started in a dance crew when I was younger. And man, I’ve been dancing my whole life. My wife and I, any event we go to, we are literally the life of the party. We like dirty dancing. We like to do our little moves. And we dance even better when we know people are watching us.
2
Suits, Shoes, Shades
That is the J.B. look right there. I would wear a suit every day if I could. It forces your posture. You have to purposefully have your suit to the point where you have to breathe in and then you button your top button and you don’t exhale for the rest of the night. If that belly is sticking out, you are not doing that suit justice.
3
Classic Watches
I used to wear a watch that didn’t tell the time. The battery ran out, and I kept wearing it. You know what that watch did for me? Every time someone looks at my watch and says, “Your watch isn’t working,” I say, “You know why it’s not working? I know what time it is. And that’s go time.”
4
Cigar Cars
I’ve got a 1968 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors. My personalized plate is 68 STANK. That’s one of my jewels of my car collection. I also have a 1963 Studebaker Avanti. I showed Larry a picture of the car. He went crazy. I said, “We’re going to go for a ride, Larry.” These cars that I have, I call them cigar cars. You got to have a cigar in your mouth with a nice brim when you’re riding by, and you look good.
5
Treating Your Home Like Your Castle
When you’re in the public eye, sometimes you can’t go everywhere. So we redid this whole house as an entertainer’s home. I have a shuffleboard table. I got a pool table. I got cornhole, which is as big as pickleball is right now. We built a guesthouse. We built a pool house. We built a pool. Your home should be your castle.
6
Hat Tricks
You’ve got to find the right brim because everybody’s face is different. I’ve got a very long face, so I like my brims to be a little longer and a little flatter. And it’s got to be a certain height that’s going to accentuate my cheekbones and my chin. Sometimes I grow my beard in, but sometimes I like showing my dimple.
7
My R.V.
We have a Thor Damon Outlaw, and that R.V. is humongous. Going from L.A. to Vegas at night, you could see the stars from the driver’s seat. We only do R.V. resorts. We don’t do campgrounds. We a little bougie.
8
Winter, Baby
I love skiing, tubing, snowmobiling. I don’t even get sick in the winter. My nose hasn’t run in 25 years on a ski trip.
9
Eating Vegan
When I travel, I used to always go to Buffalo Wild Wings, and one day I was tearing the meat apart, and it just didn’t get me no more. I said, “Wow, I think I’m over it.” So I gave up meat, and it has been an amazing, amazing transformation. My one weakness is sweets. Some people have a sweet tooth. I got sweet teeth. Almost every night, after I eat my meal, I have to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
10
Exploring
We love all aspects of travel — seeing amazing things that we’ve never seen before, meeting people from all over the world. It makes you well-rounded. I tell young people all the time to go places. Don’t spend your whole life on your neighborhood. Get off the streets. Go to college. Exchange ideas. Exchange your life story with people. It’s going to make you an amazing adult.
