The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve - "The Life of Larry" (1995)

"The Life of Larry" (1995)

"The Life of Larry" is a 1995 animated film directed by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as the majority of the characters. It also features a brief appearance from American politician Newt Gingrich in a cutaway gag that employs audio of one of Gingrich's speeches. The short features a middle-aged slob named Larry Cummings, his cynical talking dog, Steve, supportive wife Lois, and pudgy teenage son Milt. The film also features live-action segments shot at MacFarlane's home in Kent, Connecticut where he describes the film and its characters in the form of a pitch to a television network. During the live action segments, MacFarlane is being served cheesecake by his Asian servant, Wang, played by fellow student Chang S. Han.

"The Life of Larry" was created as MacFarlane's thesis film during 1994 and 1995, while he was studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. The animated film was created almost entirely by MacFarlane alone, with the exception being the live action sequence, which was filmed by classmates Sean Leahy and Greg Scalzo. Many of the jokes and cutaway gags used in "The Life of Larry" were later used in many of the first season Family Guy episodes.