---
name: "David Steinberg"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-steinberg"
fi1m_id: "david-steinberg"
imdb_id: "nm0825731"
tmdb_id: 15452
wikidata_id: "Q3018825"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "9 August 1942"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_as: "director"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-17T14:15:43.018058+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Steinberg

## Identity

David Steinberg

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/david-steinberg
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** david-steinberg
- **IMDb ID:** nm0825731
- **TMDB ID:** 15452
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3018825
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Steinberg, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3018825, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825731/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15452

Director. Born 9 August 1942 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 9 August 1942, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- **Active:** 1985–2005
- **Frequently works with:** [Alec Berg](https://film.one/person/alec-berg.md), [Andy Ackerman](https://film.one/person/andy-ackerman.md), [Arlene Sanford](https://film.one/person/arlene-sanford.md), [Bryan Gordon](https://film.one/person/bryan-gordon.md), [David Mandel](https://film.one/person/david-mandel.md), [Jeff Schaffer](https://film.one/person/jeff-schaffer.md), [Larry Charles](https://film.one/person/larry-charles.md), [Larry David](https://film.one/person/larry-david.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 83, as director, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 89 (2), 1990s 78 (1), 2000s 80 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 76 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 5, Crime 1, Drama 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Steinberg, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3018825, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825731/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15452

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Curb Your Enthusiasm*](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md) (84), [*Friends*](https://film.one/tv/friends.md) (78)
- **Netflix:** [*Seinfeld*](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md) (90)
- **Disney+:** [*The Golden Girls*](https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls.md) (88)
- **Paramount+:** [*Weeds*](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md) (76)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on David Steinberg

> We rate David Steinberg as a television director with a firm grasp of comic timing and ensemble acting. The programmes benefit from that skill, though their writers and performers deserve at least as much of the credit.

In *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Larry David keeps talking long after a disagreement might sensibly have been settled. The supporting cast know how long to let him continue, and the delay makes his behaviour funnier. We laughed at how much trouble he could make out of an everyday disagreement, then found the repeated quarrels wearing. Steinberg’s skill with comic timing makes him a good fit for a programme so dependent on how its actors respond to one another.

His move behind the camera began with *Paternity* (1981) and *Going Berserk* (1983), before television became his principal directing work in the mid-1980s. *Mad About You* (1992), on which he directed approximately 50 episodes, suggests how thoroughly he settled into the form. His earlier work as a stand-up comedian helps explain the attention to performers. He works closely with actors to refine material and is willing to challenge writers; collaboration here need not mean simply accepting what is on the page.

*Seinfeld* (1989) is the stronger recommendation, with plotting that gives its selfish quartet ample opportunity to behave badly over almost nothing. The pleasure comes from the ensemble as much as the individual joke, and Steinberg’s aptitude for managing comic exchanges fits the programme well. We should not give an episodic director sole credit for the writing or performances, but making those elements work together is a substantial job. The series takes a little time to settle, with tentative opening episodes, but we would happily spend another evening with these people.

With David on *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, the test is how long an argument can remain funny. Steinberg’s collaborative approach is useful here: performers need room to prolong a disagreement without losing the exchange’s timing. That does not make the series inexhaustible, and the accumulation of quarrels can leave us wishing somebody would change the subject. We rate his television work because he takes these small adjustments seriously, rather than treating the format as a lesser occupation. Start with *Seinfeld*; save *Curb Your Enthusiasm* for evenings when one episode will do.

## Biography

David Steinberg (born 9 August 1942) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer and director. He began his career in stand-up comedy and as a member of the Second City troupe in Chicago, later appearing more than 130 times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Steinberg has directed numerous episodes of television sitcoms, including *Seinfeld* (four episodes, 1991–1998), *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (eight episodes, 2000–2017), *Mad About You*, *Friends*, *Designing Women* and *Weeds*. He has also directed feature films such as *Paternity* (1981) and *The Wrong Guy* (1997). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards for writing on Academy Awards broadcasts.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Weeds* (2005), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md)
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *Friends* (1994), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *Seinfeld* (1989), Fi1m 90, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *The Golden Girls* (1985), Fi1m 88, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls.md)

## Complete filmography (62)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up* (2022), Executive Producer
- *When Jews Were Funny* (2013), Actor
- *Norm Macdonald: Me Doing Standup* (2011), Director
- *Living in Your Car* (2010), series, Director, Executive Producer
- *Help Me Help You* (2006), series, Director
- *Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached* (2006), Director
- *Sons & Daughters* (2006), series, Director
- *Weeds* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md)
- *The Comeback* (2005), series, Director
- *One by One* (2004), Associate Producer
- *What's Up, Peter Fuddy?* (2001), Director
- *Big Sound* (2000), series, Actor
- *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2000), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/curb-your-enthusiasm.md)
- *Even Stevens* (2000), series, Director
- *Switching Goals* (1999), Director
- *Living in Captivity* (1998), series, Director
- *The Wrong Guy* (1997), as Outpatient · Director
- *Cats Don't Dance* (1997), Executive Producer
- *Ink* (1996), series, Director
- *The Parent 'Hood* (1995), series, Director
- *Friends* (1994), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *It Had to Be You* (1993), series, Director
- *Daddy Dearest* (1993), series, Director
- *Rick Reynolds: Only the Truth Is Funny* (1993), Director
- *Mad About You* (1992), series, Director, Bad Eulogizer
- *Kevin Pollak: Stop With The Kicking* (1991), Director
- *The One, the Only... Groucho* (1991), as Narrator
- *Good Grief* (1990), series, Producer
- *Get a Life* (1990), series, Director
- *Evening Shade* (1990), series, Director
- *Dad's A Dog* (1990), as Charles Dryden
- *Seinfeld* (1989), series, Director — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood* (1989), Executive Producer
- *Annie McGuire* (1988), series, Director
- *Family Man* (1988), series, Director
- *Eisenhower and Lutz* (1988), series, Director
- *Duet* (1987), series, Director
- *Designing Women* (1986), series, Writer, Director
- *Casey at the Bat* (1986), Director
- *The Tommy Chong Roast* (1986), Actor
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, Director
- *Tall Tales & Legends* (1985), series, Director
- *The Golden Girls* (1985), series, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls.md)
- *The Comedy Factory* (1985), series, Director
- *David Steinberg in Concert With John Candy* (1984), Writer
- *Going Berserk* (1983), Director, Writer
- *Newhart* (1982), series, Director
- *Paternity* (1981), Director
- *Nothing Personal* (1980), as Talk Show Host
- *Something Short of Paradise* (1979), as Harris Sloane
- *The End* (1978), as Marty Lieberman
- *The Sonny and Cher Show* (1976), series, Actor
- *A Night Train to Terror* (1973), as Paul
- *The Bobby Darin Show* (1973), series, Actor
- *The David Steinberg Show* (1972), series, Actor
- *The Odd Couple* (1970), series, as David Steinberg
- *Fearless Frank* (1969), as The Rat
- *The Music Scene* (1969), series, Actor
- *The Lost Man* (1969), as Photographer
- *The Oscars* (1953), series, Writer
- *The Place I Belong*, Executive Producer
- *The Return of the Smothers Brothers*, Writer

## Gallery

- ![David Steinberg](https://film.one/media/person/61624/gallery-989279b8d97b.jpg) David Steinberg — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/David_Steinberg_2009_portrait.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![David Steinberg at the Vanity Fair party celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival. (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/61624/gallery-affbd21e4701.jpg) David Steinberg at the Vanity Fair party celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival. (2011) — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/David_Steinberg_2011_Shankbone.JPG/1280px-David_Steinberg_2011_Shankbone.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![David Steinberg and Susie Essman at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Woody Allen's film Whatever Works.](https://film.one/media/person/61624/gallery-78a26cd61145.jpg) David Steinberg and Susie Essman at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Woody Allen's film Whatever Works. — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/David_Steinberg_and_Susie_Essman_2009.jpg/1280px-David_Steinberg_and_Susie_Essman_2009.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![David Steinberg's star on Canada's Walk of Fame (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/61624/gallery-838944d7a96d.jpg) David Steinberg's star on Canada's Walk of Fame (2009) — Tabercil, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/David_Steinberg_star_on_Walk_of_Fame.jpg/1280px-David_Steinberg_star_on_Walk_of_Fame.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Publicity still of David Steinberg, Carly Simon, and Tiny Tim for PBS's Great American Dream Machine series, 1971.](https://film.one/media/person/61624/gallery-a6854c36e009.jpg) Publicity still of David Steinberg, Carly Simon, and Tiny Tim for PBS's Great American Dream Machine series, 1971. — Unknown; press photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/PBS_Great_American_Dream_Machine_-_David_Steinberg%2C_Carly_Simon%2C_and_Tiny_Tim.jpg/1280px-PBS_Great_American_Dream_Machine_-_David_Steinberg%2C_Carly_Simon%2C_and_Tiny_Tim.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Canada's Walk of Fame 2003: Canada's Walk of Fame (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-steinberg