He was also a prolific cartoonist, and guest-starred on lots of TV shows in the '80s and '90s, capped with his Emmy-nominated turn in "Seinfeld." Related: Why Elaine Benes' Father Was Only On One Seinfeld Episode. Actress Ruth Cohen made a career of extra work on shows like The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote, with her main success as Seinfeld's most prolific background star. It was all because of a comically fraught relationship with his overbearing, overprotective, judgmental, and often shrieking mother, Estelle Constanza, or "MA!" Kruger's first major story involves a trip to the beach with his family and a resulting photograph that George mucks up completely. In "The Dog", she tells George she moved to New York in 1986, which, by coincidence, is the year Jerry moved into his apartment across the hall from Kramer. The Season 8 episode, "The Millennium," is like many episodes of "Seinfeld" in that it revolves around an obsession over something deeply unimportant the now-dated and obsolete technology of speed dial as well as exploring the old fairy tale trope of wicked stepmothers. There's little he won't do to get what he wants, no matter how petty it is. Her performance at a J. Peterman company party, the central plot theme of "The Little Kicks", causes George to describe it as "a full-bodied dry heave set to music." There was a rather disturbing incident involving Tierney behind-the-scenes, when it was discovered he stole one of the kitchen knives from Jerry's apartment set. Entertaining audiences with his self-deprecating routines poking fun at himself and his weight, he appeared on all the major TV stand-up showcases, like "An Evening at the Improv," "Make Me Laugh," and "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist," while also costarring as a gym teacher in "Parker Lewis Can't Lewis" and playing Bumpo in the 2004 comic book movie "The Punisher."'. Enter Mabel Choate, an elderly woman who simply wants a nice marble rye. Morty refuses to let Jerry pay for a meal . In "The Fire", Elaine reveals her hate for her overly energetic, always-happy colleague Toby. Now let's see: Stephen and Elaine get married, take out life insurance and then he bumps her off. It's hard to imagineSeinfeld without them. So, theSeinfeld crew felt it was for the best to just write Alton out of the show completely. Seinfeld was made well before de-aging technology was prevalent in visual effects, so there wasn't a way around it. Kramer makes a contact for Cuban cigars. Shows don't often recast recurring roles, due to flack from many. Realizing that he had been caught, Tierney tried to make the strange incident into a joke as he began to pretend to stab at Seinfeld as if in the movie Psycho. No one was more baffled or unsettled by George's unruly work behavior than his boss at Yankee Stadium,Mr. Matt Wilhelm. Previously the female role was supposed to be Claire, the waitress at Pete's Luncheonette played by Lee Garlington, but Monk's Cafe replaced the luncheonette and Garlington was dropped from the role. Those visits usually morphed into meddling and butting in, verging on smothering. Related:Has Seinfeld Aged Badly - Does It Need To Be "Fixed"? [5][10] Various cast members remember Seinfeld encountering Tierney and stating "Hey Lawrence, what do you got there in your jacket? In "The Visa" she and Jerry anger Pakistani immigrant Babu Bhatt after she fails to notice Babu's visa application in Jerry's mail that she is picking up for him. . He was married and has two daughters, Gail and Elaine. [5][11] Cherones stated that, afterwards, Larry David would jokingly threaten to have Tierney back on the show if Cherones did his work badly. This plan was scrapped after Tierney stole a knife from the set of Jerrys kitchen, which the real Seinfeld called him out for doing. In "The Smelly Car", Elaine repulses her boyfriend Carl when her hair smells of body odor from riding in Jerry's car. Elaine, played by the now most-awarded actress in TV history, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, would never think of taking dance class. Elaine's abortion argument with restaurateur Poppie gets him so angry that he loses control of his bladder in "The Couch" and again in "The Doorman". "David said, 'We love what you did, we want you for the movie,'" Olkewicz told The Jersey Journal. She reprised the role during season 41 of Saturday Night Live in 2016. But forSeinfeld, the new actors worked, and arguably, flourished in their respective parts. His most memorable appearance arguably comes when George tries to convince him that his fictional charity, The Human Fund, is real. Actor Paul Gleason made a niche out of playing smug, retreating, and guarded authority figures, particularly in '80s movies. Elaine says to Frank, "I could drop you like a bag of dirt." Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Alton also ruins Jerrys suede jacket when he doesnt allow Jerry to turn it inside out during a snowstorm. In addition to the first episode, Elaine doesn't appear in "The Trip" (Louis-Dreyfus having been in the late stages of pregnancy at the time of filming) and therefore appears in fewer episodes than George and Jerry. Elaine's Dad Only Appeared Once Because The Actor Was Scary Miramax. Jerry and Elaine are asked by some friends to be the godparents of their new baby, and, in accordance with that, must help arrange hiring a mohel, the Jewish holy figure who performs the sacred rite of circumcision, or bris. In "The Soup Nazi", Elaine refuses to abide by the rules of a strict soup stand owner nicknamed "The Soup Nazi" and therefore becomes the subject of his ire. Jerry offends Elaine's assistant. Other references are made to Elaines father throughout the show, including the information that he is an author of the book Fair Game, and is known as an intimidating figure. Leifer, who wrote or cowrote a number of episodes for the show, has said only some elements of the backstory of the character that she and Seinfeld had dated and have remained good friends since the relationship ended relate to her. When she was 5 months pregnant, he suggested that they adjust the script to indicate that Elaine "got fat.". His body was discovered in a hotel room there, and the local medical examiner's office ruled that the comic and actor died of natural causes brought on by a pulmonary embolism. Kates pops up as the bakery cashier once more in the 1996 episode "The Rye." During his quest to get his grizzled mug on television or in a movie, he meets Helena, a former actress who haunts the hallways of his new apartment building. Starting in "The Foundation", she takes charge of the catalog when Peterman suffers a nervous breakdown and flees to Burma. With Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander. Jerry offends Elaine's assistant. While a second remarked: 'Think Elaine will be for . George Costanza: [Nods] Can I say one thing to you? As happy as this tiny thing makes Jerry, it deeply upsets Valerie's stepmother, identified only as Mrs. Hamilton, so much so that he confronts Jerry in his car and tells him to back off of Valerie, or at least her phone. Sid makes one more cameo appearance later in the "Seinfeld" run, watching the TV show Jerry and George make about their lives. In 2002, she starred in the sitcom Watching Ellie and went on to play the lead role in The New . Filson's Mackinaw Cruiser Will Last a Lifetime. [1] In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. NBC executives felt the show was too male-centric, and demanded that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David add a woman to the cast as a condition for commissioning the show, as revealed in the commentary on the Season 1 and 2 DVD. In "The Pen", Elaine shows her love for the movie when she becomes unintentionally high on muscle relaxers and repeatedly screams "Stella" at a fancy awards dinner for Morty Seinfeld in Florida. The following night, Jerry, Elaine and George have dinner with Elaine's father, writer Alton Benes. He was 72. Kramer persuades Jerry to give him his old leather jacket as he will no longer be needing it. . However, they refuse to help because he often underestimates how long things take to do. Eventually, Kramer steps in and forbids Elaine to have any more contact with Noreen. Has Seinfeld Aged Badly - Does It Need To Be "Fixed"? Tierney booked his most famous early-career role in 1945, portraying legendary gangster John Dillinger in the hit film "Dillinger." Izzy first gets our attention when, irritated by Jerry, he challenges him to feats of physical prowess that land Izzy in the hospital. Why Seinfeld Recast Jerry's Dad After Season 1 (And Frank Later), Why Elaine Benes' Father Was Only On One Seinfeld Episode. Jacopo Peterman (normally referred to as J. Peterman or simply Peterman) is a secondary character on the television show Seinfeld. It also left an indelible mark on television comedy in the wake of its controversial finale in May of 1998. However, their theory is ruined when Elaine is furious over Jerry giving her $182 as a birthday gift. In addition to a three-year run in "General Hospital," Nettleton appeared in "Cagney and Lacey," "The Twilight Zone," and "The Golden Girls," which earned her an Emmy nominationfor outstanding guest performer in a comedy series. Unlike George, Jerry and Kramer, Elaine is not a native of New York City, having grown up in the affluent Baltimore suburb of Towson, and is shown to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles. Seinfeld character Elaine Benes . In The Jacket, Jerry and George met Alton, who proceeds to refer to George as "chorus boy" for his singing "Master of the House". "Walter, you did great work," he said. It all boils over into a full-on fight between Jerry and the mohel. The enmity between Morty and Frank Costanza was epic, and his brief turn working with Elaine at J. Peterman was as weird as it was funny. In "The Wait Out", Elaine tells David Lukner her father left the family when she was 9 years old. In a throwaway line, Elaine mentions to someone at a party that her father used to work at the book depository during Kennedy's assassination. According to . [1] In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. While Phil Bruns originally played Jerry's dad, Morty Seinfeld, for his first appearance on Seinfeld, it's Barney Martin that Seinfeld fans remember when thinking of the character, since he played him for 19 episodes. Elaine first appears in "The Stake Out," but in production order she appears in a final scene eating M&Ms in "Male Unbonding." The installment includes one of the most famous scenes ever on "Seinfeld." He was hired by Screen Rant in 2013 to write box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground's Box Office Battle game, and his role at the site grew from there. 27 votes, 13 comments. #DoYouWantAPieceOfMe?! Played by another comedy and Broadway legend,Sandy Baron, for six episodes, Jack Klompus' general suspicion of the entire Seinfeld family goes to some pretty dark depths, culminating in Klompus accusing Morty of stealing. It turns out he is white and he thought Elaine was Hispanic. The veteran character actor was 82. Louis-Dreyfus received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five SAG Awards. A courtroom circus develops, and it's all presided over by Mr. Hoyt, the crusading local District Attorney who swears to do whatever it takes to get Jerry and his friends prosecuted, which mainly involves bringing in character witnesses numerous people done wrong by the four defendants across the run of "Seinfeld.". The New Jersey native was best known for his turn as croupier and bartender Jacques Renault in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" (1990). 19 Jerry Made A Pregnant Julia Louis Dreyfus Cry. Many pop-culture sayings are attributed to the show including Festivus and yada-yada-yada, not that theres anything wrong with that, among others. Whether the two uncles are the same person is not revealed. Jerry Seinfeld may not have intended any harm, but his comments to Julia Louis-Dreyfus were certainly not well received. Incidentally, his other son Clint Howard played the smog strangler when Jerry and George went to LA in search of Kramer. The guy who takes it out is not getting higher than last place on this list. Playing the nosy Helen (immediately after a recurring role as nosy neighbor Raquel Ochmonek on "ALF") was Liz Sheridan, a veteran of multiple '70s Broadway productions and many '80s sitcoms. Despite being the owner . Answer (1 of 3): The character of Elaine Benes did not appear in the pilot episode of Seinfeld. Puddy has a casual approach to their relationship as seen in "The Voice" when Puddy claims he just likes her for the sex. The episode was written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Tom Cherones. Recurring actors like Bryan Cranston and Patrick Warburton found success on hit shows. Jerry offends Elaine's assistant. She goes to extreme lengths to get the smell out but nothing works, and he continues to be grossed out. George Costanza: I wonder how Susan's father's going to react to this. Phil is a sexual harasser, so let's get him out of the way. Read Every Article Esquire Has Ever Published. He's prone to wild mood swings and maybe once faced malpractice allegations for botching another bris. Portraying the unnamed but memorable mohel was character actor Charles Levin, probably best known for apart from "Seinfeld" the pilot episode of "The Golden Girls" and multiple Woody Allen films. Jerry and George are made increasingly uncomfortable by Alton's socially awkward and intimidating manner. Martin, and Jack actor Sandy Baron, both had a stubbornness to their portrayals that made their interactions hilarious to watch. Played by character actor Daniel von Bargen, Mr. Kruger has a few iconic plotlines even though he's only in four Seinfeld episodes. Marty Rackham. Chris' favorite directors include Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino (among several others). They buy a "lesser" cinnamon babka and must deal with the busy, harried counterwoman (Kates) to return it. (The answers: Don't be ridiculous, it's complicated, and no, no soup for you). They started dating in 1986 (as revealed in "The Truth") and dated until 1990. Well before his short stint in "Seinfeld," Gordon Jump made an impression on viewers with important and visible TV roles. "Seinfeld: The Actresses Who Almost Played Elaine Benes", "Rosie O'Donnell was almost cast as Elaine on Seinfeld but was told to get out", Sweeney, Alexis. Kramer makes a contact for Cuban cigars. He takes. Elaine Marie Benes (/ b n s /) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer.Louis-Dreyfus received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five SAG Awards. In February 2012, Lesser passed away from cancer-related pneumonia in Burbank, California, at the age of 88. In an interview Jason Alexander gave to Howard Stern in 2015, the actor retold the story of how Susan's death came to be written. He has doubts about buying the jacket because it is highly expensive and has a pink and white candy-stripe lining. In 2008,Cohen died of a heart attack at 78. Unfortunately, she has to contend with bosses who are all insane to varying degrees. His favorite games include Marvel's Spider-Man, The Last of Us, God of War, and Hades. But the Season 2 episode titled "The Jacket" remains one of the series' best episodes, in large part thanks to the scene-stealing work of the man behind the eternally crabby Mr. Benes. Here's who brought that unforgettable character to life on "Seinfeld.". Seinfeld confronted Tierney about the theft, leading Tierney to try to play it off as a joke and mockingly reenact the classicPsycho stabbing scene with Seinfeld. Kramer is the most inscrutable and mysterious of all the major "Seinfeld" characters, and even the most vital parts of his backstory and identity are doled out slowly over the show's run, and even then, just barely. Seinfeld portrayed a semi-fictionalized version of his life as a stand-up comedian on the sitcom. The implication is Bruns was too laid back for what the co-creators envisioned, so they took things in a different direction. Some mutual friends of the primary foursome get engaged, and Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George agree to buy the couple a big-screen TV and borrow a car from George's father to go pick it up. TIL that Elaine's father on Seinfeld, played by Lawrence Tierney, was supposed to be a recurring character, but he horrified the cast and made threatening gestures toward Seinfeld with a knife. Elaine is the only main character in the series whose mother never makes an appearance. TheSeinfeld seasons 1 & 2 DVD set includes a special inside look at "The Stake Out," which briefly discusses the Morty role. The character known only as Vivian appeared in just a single episode of "Seinfeld" Season 9's "The Blood." He also originated the role of Amos Hart (Mr. Cellophane) in the 1976 Broadway production of Chicago. Even though the episode was well-received and Tierney earned praise for his performance, Alton was never brought back again. Here's why Morty Seinfeld and Frank Costanza were both played by different actors in the series. Harris died in April 2022 at the age of 93. While the '90s brought that rare comedic turn on "Seinfeld," Tierney broke bad again for his best-known late-career role as criminal mastermind Joe Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut "ReservoirDogs." Besides his episode of Seinfeld, Tierney was an accomplished actor known for a number of film roles, mostly as a member of the mob. While Abercrombie was best known as Mr. Pitt, he had a long acting career that began with stage work in the U.K. and ended in Hollywood many decades later. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer. After the gang uncharacteristically signs up to volunteer their time with a nonprofit service to assist lonely elderly people, Jerry is assigned Sidney Fields, a cantankerous old jerk who insults his helper and calls him names, and becomes convinced that he's going to murder him (and then teases him when he doesn't actually kill him). In "The Mango", Jerry is shocked to discover that Elaine had feigned her orgasms while they were together. 29. Reply DrunkOnRedCordial . Making several appearances acrossSeinfeld's nine-season run, the parentsbrought a hilarious dynamic to the show, most notably by providing amusing commentary on Florida's senior citizen communities, and Frank's famous Festivus holiday. In "The Understudy", after she thinks her Korean manicurists are making fun of her, she angers them by bringing in Frank Costanza, who is fluent in Korean, to eavesdrop on them. Regarding Tierney's alleged behind-the-scenes antics on "Seinfeld," that was sort of par for the course for the actor whose personal troubles were well-documented throughout his career. They both felt they were in the right and wouldn't back down from each other. By the time she made it to "Seinfeld" as Kramer's mother, episodic television was familiar territory for actor Sheree North. When Elaine finally arrives, she explains that Kramer promised her a lift if she would wait in his car for two minutes. Hilarity ensued in the season two episode, The Jacket, in which Jerry and George meet . Most of the episode's storyline was based on one of David's personal experiences. Elaine's religious beliefs are never fully confirmed, and she appears to have little interest in religion. When I leave the house in this, it's with a whole different confidence. Among the many memorable recurring characters on the sitcom were Jerry and George's parents, Morty and Helen Seinfeld, and Frank and Estelle Costanza. He was retired from acting following several knee surgeries. In "The Boyfriend", Elaine reveals her disgust for smokers, which leads to a breakup with Keith Hernandez. His career as an author may have been . Some of the main topics of the show include romantic relationships, the challenges of finding a fulfilling career, and the numerous strange experiences and encounters of adult life. There's no reason given for why the show didn't go this route with Alton. Kramer enters the apartment and asks them to guard his illegally parked car for two minutes as he carries down some doves that he is looking after for a magician friend. [2], Lawrence Tierney was cast as Alton Benes. Here's some Seinfeld trivia for ya: Fans of a certain age may not remember, but Jerry Stiller wasn't always the Festivus-creating patriarch of the Costanza family. She only began seriously acting in her late forties, with frequent theatrical and TV commercial roles, according to CNN. While that impressive crew all delivered standout work in their brief time on the show, few "Seinfeld" supporting players left quite as memorable a mark on the show as the actor who played the father of Elaine Benes (series star Julia Louis-Dreyfus). "He just ran out of gas," Mike Erwin said of his father, who died at the age of 96. Elaine's subplot in the Seinfeld Season 2 classic "The Busboy" involves a reunion with a one night stand from Seattle whom she grows to loathe and greatly anticipates his flight home . He also compared Jerry to his tail-gunner friend from Korea. [2][pageneeded], It has been reported that other actresses were in line to play the character, including Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Mullally, Jessica Lundy, Patricia Heaton, Mariska Hargitay, and Amy Yasbeck.[3][4][5]. [9] He was known for his bad-guy roles in films during the 1940s and 1950s, such as Dillinger, The Hoodlum and Born to Kill. George parks it in a handicapped-reserved spot, and it imperils a woman in a wheelchair, and an angry mob forms and destroys the car.