“I’m not an actor, I’m a [comedy legend/failed SNL writing] star!” With Larry David returning to host SNL tonight, it’s tempting to view it as a victory lap. After all, back in the 1984-85 season, David, having already cut his teeth with some conceptually ambitious work on ABC’s SNL clone Fridays, no doubt thought he’d be able to ply his singular talents on the mothership. Instead, he infamously butted heads with producer Dick Ebersol, who had taken over the show from Lorne Michaels for five years in the ’80s and, notoriously, didn’t get David’s humor at all. (In a move that later became a classic Seinfeld episode, David reportedly quit the show and stormed off in frustration before returning a few days later as if nothing had ever happened.) Indeed, what David most likely took away from his time on the SNL—apart from an acquaintanceship with similarly unappreciated cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus—was the idea that he was smarter than the suits at NBC. Advertisement But, as evidenced by his performance tonight and his recent appearances on the show, David can afford to be gracious. Apart from the fact that Lorne wasn’t around to incur his legendary wrath back in the…