"Fans aren't shy about approaching him in public, often assuming he and his crass 'Curb [Your Enthusiasm]' alter ego are the same person."

"'Oh, I get Leon all day long,' Mr. Smoove said. Passersby on the street often call out his character's lewd catchphrases."

Ha ha. Which lewd catchphrase do you think they're calling out to him? You won't find out reading this Wall Street Journal profile of JB Smoove (AKA Jerry Brooks), which has stuff like this...

He started studying comedy in earnest in high school. "I loved Peter Sellers," he recalled. "I thought he was the perfect mix of physical comedy with out-of-the-box humor. I loved his tone, I loved his physicality, I loved everything about what he was doing as a comedic actor."

... but you might hear some of those catchphrases here: