Kenny Kramer (born May 1943) is an American former stand-up comedian, who was the inspiration for the character of Cosmo Kramer from the television sitcom Seinfeld . [1]
Kenny Kramer (born May 1943) is an American former stand-up comedian, who was the inspiration for the character of Cosmo Kramer from the television sitcom Seinfeld . [1]
Kramer grew up in New York City, in the Tremont section of the Bronx, and dropped out of high school at age 17. He sold magazines, played drums in a Catskills resort band, and had a spotty career as a stand-up comedian that lasted until 1981, when he gave up comedy to sell light-up "electronic disco jewelry" in nightclubs for a couple of years. [2] [3]
Kramer sought to manage Bill Beason, a New York point karate champion, with the hopes that the karate tournament scene would develop along the same lines as wrestling had, since corporate sponsors such as Budweiser and Paul Mitchell were emerging.
Seinfeld co-creator Larry David lived across the hall from Kenny for six years, just as the character of Jerry Seinfeld did from Cosmo Kramer in the show. The two lived in Manhattan Plaza, a federally assisted apartment complex for performing artists in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. [4] David said that Kramer was a little bit eccentric and would be a good character to have on the show. Many of the traits of Kenny Kramer, such as the obsessions with golf, fruit, hot tubs, taking things out of the refrigerator and coming up with strange ideas and inventions, were featured in the show.
Michael Richards did not want to meet with Kenny Kramer to study the character, preferring to create the character himself. This situation was later parodied in the Seinfeld fourth season episode "The Pilot". The character was originally named "Kessler", due to Larry David's fear that using the name would spur the real Kramer to exploit his association with the character. However, Jerry Seinfeld thought that the name was too good not to use. Kenny Kramer then contacted Castle Rock Entertainment with a list of demands, many of which were financial, for the use of his name. One demand not met was that Kramer himself would get to play the character, which is also parodied in "The Pilot". [5] A later episode, "The Betrayal", provided a tongue-in-cheek explanation for the name change.
Kenny Kramer has been the host of Kramer's Reality Tour and Kramer's Reality Road Show since Seinfeld was on the air. He tells behind-the-scenes stories to his audience and gives a bus tour of sites made famous by the show. A DVD version of his reality tour has also been produced. [6] The "Reality Tours" were later parodied on Seinfeld in the episode "The Muffin Tops", when catalog sales company owner J. Peterman uses Kramer's various stories in Peterman's autobiography. Kramer develops a reality bus tour and touts himself as "The Real J. Peterman." The relationship between Cosmo Kramer and Kenny Kramer is explored in the featurette Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo, on the 3rd season Seinfeld DVD.
After achieving some attention as the inspiration for the character Kramer from Seinfeld, Kramer worked as a correspondent for Hard Copy , created and hosted "Kramer's New York" segments for the Fox New York City affiliate WNYW's Good Day New York , and appeared in the original New York company of Tony n' Tina's Wedding , playing himself. He has made appearances on the bonus features of the Seinfeld DVD series.
In 1997, Kramer attempted to gain the Democratic Party nomination for New York mayor; he claimed that his candidacy was "quite serious," saying that he wanted to represent "a lot of disfranchised Democrats out there." [7] He did not get the nomination. In 2001, Kramer was asked by a television reporter about running again, and he replied that "if Jesse Ventura can be governor, why can't I be mayor?" The next day, the Libertarian Party contacted him to run on its ticket, and he accepted. He cited his agreement with the Libertarian Party on, among other issues, the decriminalization of marijuana. [8] During his run, he claimed that the previous run was "a publicity stunt"; his campaign slogan was "Kramer for mayor... this time I'm not kidding!" [2] He finished seventh out of nine candidates in the election, with 1,408 votes. [9]
On June 6, 2013, Kramer became an ordained [11] [12] non-denominational minister with the Universal Life Church World Headquarters [13] [14] and was registered with the City Clerk in New York City. [15] While officiating at weddings, he prefers to be called the "Irreverent Kramer" rather than Rev. Kramer, and offers a "customized lifetime warranty" of providing pro bono weddings if the couple divorces. [14]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Saturday Night Darren and Brose | Self | |
| 2004 | Kramer vs. Kramer: Kenny to Cosmo | Self | Documentary short |
| 2017 | Miracle on 42nd Street | Self | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Seinfeld | Man #2 in Hockey Audience | Episode: "The Face Painter" |
| 1995 | Night Man at the Sardi Building | Parole Board | Video |
| 2004 | Seinfeld: How It Began | Self | Television film |
| 2005 | Dokument: Humor | Television documentary | |
| 2005–2007 | Seinfeld: Inside Look | Television documentary | |
| 2011 | All Night with Joey Reynolds | Episode #1.28 | |
| 2016 | Hayom BaLayla | Episode #1.38 |
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, for nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. The show's ensemble cast stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes, and neighbor from across the hall, Cosmo Kramer.
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom Seinfeld from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special, and went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays.
Lawrence Gene David is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom Seinfeld, on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons. He gained further recognition for creating and writing the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he also stars as a fictionalized version of himself.
Elaine Marie Benes 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. She reprised the role during season 41 of Saturday Night Live in 2016.
George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also remarkably lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen".
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.
Jackie Chiles is a fictional character portrayed by American actor Phil Morris in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. A parody of Johnnie Cochran, he appears in the series' seventh through ninth seasons as Cosmo Kramer's lawyer.
Larry Charles is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom Seinfeld for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film Religulous and the mockumentary comedy films Borat, Brüno, and The Dictator. His Netflix documentary series Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy premiered in 2019.
"The Seinfeld Chronicles" is the pilot episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, which first aired on NBC on July 5, 1989.
"The Contest" is the 51st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hold a contest to determine who can go for the longest time without masturbating.
"The Chicken Roaster" is the 142nd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode for the eighth season, originally airing on November 14, 1996. The episode's story follows the mishaps which follow when Kenny Rogers Roasters opens a branch in the characters' neighborhood. The restaurant's neon sign shines into Kramer's apartment, disturbing first him and then Jerry after they switch apartments, but Jerry opposes Kramer's efforts to shut the restaurant down since a college friend of his is assistant manager at the branch. Meanwhile, Elaine is in danger of being fired from J. Peterman after she misuses the company account for personal purchases.
"The Muffin Tops" is the 155th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode of the eighth season. It aired on May 8, 1997, on NBC. In this episode, George dates a woman while pretending to be a tourist from Arkansas, Kramer starts running a "Peterman Reality Tour" after finding out he is the basis for most of the stories in J. Peterman's autobiography, and Elaine and Mr. Lippman run a business selling only the tops of muffins.
"The Puerto Rican Day" is the 176th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It aired on May 7, 1998, and was the 20th episode of the ninth and final season. It was the show's second-highest-rated episode of all time, with 38.8 million viewers, only behind the series finale. The episode aired one week before the two-part clip show and the two-part series finale aired. It was a rare late-series return to a "plot about nothing" style and filmed in real-time, a format more often seen in early seasons. The episode follows the cast's misadventures as they try to escape from the traffic surrounding the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
"The Soup Nazi" is the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was the sixth episode of the seventh season. It first aired in the United States on November 2, 1995.
"The Secret Code" is the 117th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the seventh episode of the seventh season. It aired on November 9, 1995. In this episode, George is unwilling to share his ATM code with his fiancée Susan, and finds himself entrapped in awkward social situations after he loses his talent for lying. Meanwhile, Elaine finds herself infatuated with a man because he cannot recall their first meeting, Jerry's plans to appear in a television commercial are repeatedly frustrated by his foot falling asleep, and Kramer tries to help out the local fire department.
"The Foundation" is the 135th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the first episode of the eighth season, and as such was the first episode in which Jerry Seinfeld assumed command of the show following the departure of its co-creator, Larry David. It was originally broadcast on the NBC network on September 19, 1996.
"The Friar's Club" is the 128th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 18th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on March 7, 1996. In this episode, Jerry jeopardizes his chances of becoming a member of the New York Friars' Club when he accidentally takes a club jacket home with him, George hopes to spend more time with Jerry by fixing him up with his fiancé Susan's best friend, and J. Peterman saddles Elaine with the workload of her hard-of-hearing co-worker.
"The Understudy" is the 110th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 24th and final episode for the sixth season. It aired on May 18, 1995. This is the second episode in the series not to open with a stand-up routine.
"The Cartoon" is the 169th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 13th episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on January 29, 1998. In this episode, aspiring actress Sally Weaver becomes a success with a show where she vilifies Jerry, Elaine struggles to see the humor in a cartoon that appears in The New Yorker, and George is disconcerted when Elaine and Kramer point out that the woman he is dating looks a lot like Jerry.
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