25 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

Here are 25 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld.

1-5 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

1. As Kramer became more popular, his entrance applause grew so prolonged that the cast complained it was ruining the pacing of their scenes. Directors subsequently asked the audience not to applaud so much when Kramer entered.

2. Jerry Seinfeld turned down an offer from NBC that would have made him $110 million for a 10^th season of the show.

3. After the ‘Soup Nazi’ episode aired, Seinfeld visited the man it was based off, Ali Yeganeh, who got angry. Seinfeld responded with “the most insincere, sarcastic apology ever given.” Then, Yeganeh bellowed “No Soup for You!” and ejected them from his restaurant. – Source

4. Larry David famously instituted a policy of “no hugging, no learning”, meaning that the show must avoid sentimentality and moral lessons, and the characters must never learn or grow from their wrongdoings. – Source

5. M&M, Lifesaver, and others turned Seinfeld down when looking for a candy to use in the famous, ‘Junior Mint’ episode. – Source

6-10 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

6. Jerry Seinfeld has made more than $400m from syndication of the show Seinfeld since the final episode. – Source

7. Throughout Seinfeld’s run, the chance to sit in the first booth at Monk’s Cafe and thus be included in a scene, was auctioned off for charity. – Source

8. Frank Sinatra’s death coincided with the Seinfeld series finale. Sinatra’s ambulance was able to arrive to his house and then the hospital quickly because of low traffic due to much of Los Angeles being inside to watch the show. – Source

9. In the very first episode, the first conversation was between George and Jerry about a button. In the very last episode, when they were sitting in jail, the last conversation they had was the same thing about the button.

10. Jerry says “Hello, Newman” only 15 times in the entire series.

11-15 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

11. Julia Louis-Dreyfus did not appear in the series’ pilot episode. In fact, she was unaware that the episode existed until it was released as part of the DVD box set in 2004.

12. Out of the four main characters, Kramer is the only one to have never had an “inner monologue”. In other words, his inner thoughts are never heard.

13. When the final episode aired on May 14, 1998, the TV Land network honored the occasion by airing no programming in the show’s timeslot. Instead the network just showed a still photo of a closed office door.

14. Director Steven Spielberg once commented that while filming Schindler’s List (1993), he got so depressed that he would watch tapes of “Seinfeld” episodes to cheer himself up.

15. The character of Cosmo Kramer is based on Kenny Kramer, a man who worked across the hall from co-creator Larry David. In a self-confessed move to cash-in on the sitcom’s popularity, Kenny Kramer formed the “Kramer Reality Tour”, an officially-recognized New York City tour which visits the real-life locations often featured in the sitcom. In the 1997 season of “Seinfeld”, Cosmo Kramer’s memoirs are published by J. Peterman as his own. Wanting to make the most of the situation, Cosmo Kramer starts a “Peterman Reality Tour”, offering a tour of the real-life locations featured in the memoirs.

16-20 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

16. Jason Alexander originally based his portrayal of George on Woody Allen, which is why he wore glasses. When he realized that George was actually based on Larry David, he began basing his performance on David’s mannerisms.

17. Michael Costanza, Jerry Seinfeld’s friend whom George is named after, filed a $100-million lawsuit against Seinfeld, Larry David and NBC, claiming invasion of privacy and defamation of character. Costanza claimed damages due to the show’s alleged use of his likeness. The case was dismissed. – Source

18. Jerry Seinfeld is the only cast member to appear in all 180 episodes. Jason Alexander comes in a close second, missing only one episode “The Pen”.

19. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was pregnant while shooting part of this series. Her pregnancy was disguised with her carrying props to hide her changing body. This was parodied on The Nanny (1993) when the very-pregnant Lauren Lane mentioned them hiding Elaine “behind all these huge props” while standing in front of a poster with “Baby” on it.

20. In the episode where Elaine dates a man named Joel Rifkin, she tries to have him change his name, since Joel Rifkin is also the name of a man involved in a notorious New York City murder case. One of the initial suggestions for a new name was O.J. This episode was shot in 1993, a year before O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

21-25 Interesting Facts About Seinfeld

21. The puffy shirt used in “The Puffy Shirt” episode is currently placed in the Smithsonian. A doll-sized replica was included with the fifth season DVD set.

22. Kramer’s famous “I’m out of the contest!” moment, was his 100th entrance into Jerry’s apartment.

23. It was originally intended that Elaine’s formidable father, famous author Alton Benes, be a recurring character, but in an odd case of life imitating art, veteran character actor Lawrence Tierney so terrorized and intimidated the other cast members that it was decided he should never return. – Source

24. The apartment used for exterior shots of 129 West 81st Street, New York is not actually in New York at all, but is 757 S. New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles, California. There’s a Taco Bell directly across from it.

25. Every episode of the series except “Male Unbonding” begins with “The…” and names something from the episode. This was done because Jerry Seinfeld didn’t want the writers wasting time creating witty titles.