Larry David Saw O.J. Simpson Hours Before Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman Were Murdered

Larry David saw O.J. Simpson at an exclusive Los Angeles country club on June 12, 1994, just hours before Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered, according to a new biography of the Seinfeld co-creator.

The encounter took place during breakfast at the Riviera Country Club, where David was dining with his family and fellow comedy writer Alan Zweibel. In Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David, author Blake J. Harris recounts David's recollection of seeing Simpson "in the dining room the day of the murder."

Zweibel, who had known Simpson since the former NFL star hosted Saturday Night Live in 1978, spoke with him that morning and encountered him again that evening at a school dance recital in which both men's daughters were performing. The second conversation took place hours before Simpson's ex-wife and her friend were fatally stabbed outside her Brentwood home.

David had invited Zweibel and his wife, Robin, to join him, his wife Laurie, and their infant daughter, Cazzie, for breakfast. Simpson recognized Zweibel at the club and approached him, drawing on an acquaintance that had continued through occasional social gatherings in Los Angeles.

Zweibel recalled greeting Simpson at the evening recital with a joke that he had nothing new to tell him because they had already spoken that morning. Looking back, the comedy writer said he wished he had told Simpson to stay home that night, order food and avoid going out.

The encounter occurred on the day Brown Simpson, 35, and Goldman, 25, were killed outside her condominium in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Their deaths led to a murder investigation that eventually resulted in Simpson's arrest and one of the most closely watched criminal trials in American history.

Simpson was acquitted of both murders on October 3, 1995, after a jury found prosecutors had failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In a separate civil proceeding, a jury found him liable for the deaths on February 4, 1997, and awarded the victims' families $33.5 million in damages.

The differing verdicts reflected the separate standards governing criminal and civil cases. Criminal prosecutors must establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while civil plaintiffs generally must show that their claims are more likely true than not. Simpson's criminal acquittal did not prevent the families from pursuing damages through the civil courts.

Simpson died in April 2024 at age 76. David's recollection of seeing him on the day of the murders appears in Emperor of Nothing, Harris's authorized biography drawing on interviews with David, his family and longtime collaborators. The book is scheduled for release on October 20, 2026.