In her role of Susie Green, irascible wife of manager Jeff Green on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” actress Susie Essman nearly stole every scene – her expletive-laced tirades against series star Larry David were a hallmark of each episode.

Although Essman insists she is not like her character, she did share a first name with her fictional counterpart, like the rest of the cast. The “mockumentary” style of the show also called upon her to largely improvise her part, based on detailed story outlines cooked up by David and his staff. She was able to draw heavily on her extensive background in