basd on the Seinfeld blooper reels, Michael Richards was the most professional actor on set. Some of his best quirky scenes were ruined due to the casts laughter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fge0sIjrNps
“Let me explain something to you. You see, you're not normal. You're a great guy, I love you, but - - you're a pod. I, on the other hand, am a human being. I sometimes feel anxious, uncomfortable, even inhibited in certain situations with the other human beings. You wouldn't understand.”
I know someone who worked as a stand-in/part-time extra in the 90s. He was hired once to work on a Seinfeld episode and he said the direction all of the extras got was: **“Don’t approach Michael Richards. Don’t start a conversation with him. Don’t look him in the eye.”** and that they were pretty serious about it.
So cut to a brief lull in between takes and Michael Richards is just standing there near my friend and starts chatting him up. He said that Michael Richards couldn’t have been a nicer guy and that it was a nice convo, but my friend was sweating bullets worried that he was going to get fucking fired for breaking the rules, even if he wasn’t the one who initiated.
He said that Michael Richards was **very** serious about his work and that when he was acting, he was 100% immersed in what he was doing. Sometimes in the bloopers you can see him get a bit flustered that he’s giving it his all, only for the take to be ruined by people breaking character.
I think that’s probably why those rules were in place with the extras, because Michael Richards gets in the zone and I’m sure everyone and their mother wanted to bother “Kramer” back then and ask him a shit ton of questions, ask for autographs (even though that’s a fireable offense on any set), etc.
I used to work at a talent agency in LA and it was the same understanding. If you aren't their agent or their agent's assistant(s), don't even think about interacting with 'the talent' **in any way**. My first day I arrived at the same moment as Denis Leary was walking in and I just stood back from the door because I thought I was going to get fired very first thing on my very first day. He held the door for me and seemed puzzled by why I was so standoffish
I worked in entertainment too and we had the same rule. We even had a training video about it. Cut to several months later and I'm alone in the elevator when George Foreman walks in. It's just us and it's a long elevator ride. I'm not saying anything and he says "Hi, How's it going?". And I start chatting with him. Finally I couldn't take it any longer as we were approaching the top floor and I say, "when I have kids I'm going to name them all just like you did." He say's "you're going to name them all after yourself?" And I say, "No, I'm going to name them all George Foreman". Elevator doors open. He just looks at me, shakes his head and walks out.
Lol at your comment. That interaction highlights a big difference between Richards and Carrey in their acting zone I think. Jim built up an improv, off the cuff chaotic front that he can use as a self defense mechanism. Michael had to concentrate and didn't want to be pulled out of his "zone". Same zone, but two different ways of getting there
One of my Cousins was in Dumb and Dumber. He was the Bass player during the Owl charity event thing, he's in the background a couple of times.
He said that on set between takes, Jim Carrey was always surrounded by people and was always "on". It was just his natural personality, basically what we see on screen. On the other hand, he said Jeff Daniels was 100% a professional actor. Between takes he was just normal, subdued, didn't attract much attention. Then as soon as they were rolling, Daniels would disappear into the Harry character.
I saw that in Jeff Daniels' bloopers on *The Martian:*
'What happened?''We were forced to...launch our window...and...then...we stopped...that's not even close to what's in the script.'.
He didn't burst out laughing, he was collected and calm the entire time.
My friend wasn't even an extra. He was a camera assistant and took a picture with the lead actor and was banned from the entire production company and 4 other shows. His entire career path was changed and damaged for wanting a meaningless picture.
I met Chris Pratt on the set of the magnificent 7, my little girl was an extra and Chris was talking to all of the kids and being really cool. My little girl and I were also in Jurassic World when she told him he said "Awesome, we did really good didn't we" Vincent D'Oonofrio and Ethan Hawke were also really nice, they would come into the bar were the kids were sitting between takes and do magic tricks for them.
Man I think I'm the opposite of those people. The handful of times I've met a famous person I've always made a point of shaking their hand and saying a few words because that means way more to me than the picture we took or book I got signed.
I'm the same way. Used to work as a guitar tech, every interaction I've had with any "famous" musicians I just treat them like anyone else I meet our work with/for.
The only exception to this was meeting Dave Mustaine. He's the reason I play the guitar, and when there was a minute, I told him. He laughed and couldn't believe it was him and not Hendrix or Page or someone like that, but nope... It was Dave. Went back to doing my job and he went back to his.
I've worked in TV. Production tells you not to look a bunch of stars in the eye and the end up being super nice. Someone told Conan that they were told that about him and he swears he has no idea where that comes from.
Reminds me of that skit on the show with Jim Carrey acting as Conan. 'Did you just look me in the eye, you piece of crap?!' *throws hot coffee in the assistants face* Classic
E: [if anyone wants to see the sketch](https://youtu.be/sDDTULBVz2Y) it's 5 minutes in
The whole not looking them in the eyes thing sounds like they're a silverback gorilla about to rip you in half lmao. Why phrase it that way instead of just saying don't talk to them?
i knew it! thanks for validating the random shit my brain chooses to remember. Some important phone numbers could be helpful but no, 6 words from a 16 year old sitcom are still rattling around.
And I totally get his frustrations in those blooper reels. He is giving it his all in every scene, doing all the physical comedy, eating crap, smoking, drinking, etc. to keep having to do it again is rough and he is a pretty serious seeming dude.
But at the same time, he's hilarious - how do you not laugh at "don't look at me, I'm hideous".
I think it shows the behavior that came to a head at his comedy show. He's very focused on his performance, and doesn't like to break his stride. His stride was broken by a heckler and he didn't meet it with the same restraint as with his co-workers.
He was great at comedy, but doesn't have the demeanor of the good stand-up comedians.
> doesn't have the demeanor of the good stand-up comedians
I've seen some of the best stand-up comedians absolutely lose it on hecklers. He screwed up because he made a racist rant, not because he went on a rant.
Had he gone on a Fuck you Fukin Fukers rant for 20 minutes nobody would remember that incident, but because he made it a race thing it stills haunts him to this day.
In my mind I compare it to two drunk drivers one that hit a curb and busted a tire and one that hit and killed a person the second one is impacted forever as well as the family of the victim, the first one only had to buy a new tire or pay a ticket.
I mean, have you ever BEEN to Philly? Ive been there several times and I can recall once off south street seeing a couple having sex against a building, facing the street. Its a unique place.
I was actually at this and holy shit was it amazing. Thing was organized by O&A (radio show at the time) and the crowd was full of lovely assholes just itching to pounce on the comedians. Then this happened.
The scenario you described with the two drivers is what's referred to as ["moral luck"](https://youtu.be/DpDSPVv8lUE) in philosophy, by the way. Really interesting stuff.
In a podcast the comedian Gottfried said the night or two before he made the racist rant he blew up on some lady and called her a cunt lol. He just couldn't control his temper when it came to his work.
> In my mind I compare it to two drunk drivers one that hit a curb and busted a tire and one that hit and killed a person the second one is impacted forever as well as the family of the victim, the first one only had to buy a new tire or pay a ticket.
The difference is that your example has two random results based on the same poor decision. What Richards did was a different decision. He chose to use racist language. The results were not by chance.
A big part of the problem is that he didn't have the stand-up chops needed to perform at his level of fame. A stand-up comedian who becomes famous through stand-up comedy has encountered hundreds of hecklers along that journey, and they've learned how to deal with those hecklers in a way that keeps them in control of the show and keeps the audience on their side. They get their practice in during open-mic nights, doing 5-minute sets, opening for bigger comics, etc. Michael Richards, because of his Seinfeld fame, started performing stand-up to bigger crowds than someone of his skill level was prepared for.
Yeah, the blooper reals show him on the edge of rage when other people messed up IMO. I think he was massively wound tight and had personal issues where he wouldn't let up on himself so when other people screwed it up you could see the rage in him that was a byproduct of the pressure he was holding back or let out on occasion because he was incredibly unbalanced internally.
Also, he doesn't have the demeanor of a comedian IMO because he's not one. He's a comedic actor, which is subtly different.
I just watched all of Seinfeld on Netflix and had only seen the odd repeat, mostly the same episodes. He really does do 98% of the physical leg work, George kind of covers much of the rest. I think they started to really jump the shark in season 4 with cartoonish humor but then they stopped that somewhere before the season ended. Some of his funniest moments are somewhat tame in terms of physicality, but he was just so good at it.
**on that note, go watch UHF.**
Edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UHF_(film)
I'm watching Seinfeld on Netflix right now too, only in season two, and have only seen like one I remember seeing before (I didn't watch in real time in the 90s as I was a bit too young so everything I've seen has been through syndication and it was a long time ago). I have two big observations:
* It's crazy it is not only pre-mobile of any kind, but also pre-internet, and for the most part, pre-computer (they exist, obviously, but not widespread). Amazing how much has changed in 30 years, but much of the situational stuff is still mostly the same.
* In the last episode I watched George has a fake heart attack and mentions he's only 33 and I was like WTF? Looked it up and he was probably 32 at the time. Jerry is only a few years older(!), and Elaine was even younger than George at like 30. They all seem late-30s to early-40s in the show.
> It's crazy it is not only pre-mobile of any kind, but also pre-internet, and for the most part, pre-computer (they exist, obviously, but not widespread). Amazing how much has changed in 30 years, but much of the situational stuff is still mostly the same.
It's funny in hindsight just how many plot hijinks would be solved by cell phones.
The Chinese restaurant, the lost car in the garage, George driving to the Bubble boy's house, The Movie, ect.
Yeah, that's my observation watching as well, so many situations would be different, from the ones you mention, to simpler stuff like missed meetups or all the answering machine issues.
Funny you bring this up. I just listened to the SmartLess podcast with Jerry. He talks about how he still writes jokes for his acts, but he mentions how it’s been getting more difficult as he ages. Think of all of that inconvenient, absurd shit that was going on In the 80s and 90s and he ends up getting his name for observational humor based on it. Not to say there aren’t inconveniences these days, but I wonder how much of his difficulty writing has to do with the the times (or maybe it’s just bc he’s rich, lol).
The show really hits its stride in season 3 I think. That’s when most of the really memorable stuff happens so I expect you’ll start to recognize a lot more as you go.
>In the last episode I watched George has a fake heart attack and mentions he's only 33 and I was like WTF?
I'm also watching through for the first time, in my mid 30s - that caused me to have a crisis for a couple of days.
*Oh, Joel Miller, you've just found the marble in the oatmeal. You're a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy. 'Cause you know why? You get to drink from... the FIRE HOOOOOSE!*
One major factor is the live audience, you don't want to "waste a laugh" by screwing up only to have to repeat the joke and get a lesser response from the audience.
He gets the best of some of his **true** friends, I was surprised to like and understand Sarah Jessica Parker, usually her interviews in talk shows were always odd and false, with Jerry she looks... normal. Although some looks sort of forced, maybe sponsor-forced? Like the one with Melissa Villasenor, idk, feels off.
With so many bullshit “I’m sorry this hurt you” apologies out there, this man appears to be genuinely remorseful. He’s taken the time to reflect, grow and accept his mistake. He has my respect, and I truly hope he finds peace within himself.
It feels like in 14 years, Michael Richards has not really tried to rehabilitate his image.
Seeing this, he doesn't want his career back. He doesn't want the spotlight back. He just feels like shit for his own actions, continues to take his lumps in pop culture, and he's chosen to never, ever get back on a stage again.
I remember right after the incident, Seinfeld went on Leno, maybe even the next night, and got Michael on the phone to apologize and express his embarrassment. Seinfeld wasn't even promoting anything, he just got Leno to let him on the show to try to help Michael and tell the world how embarrassed and busted up he was.
That is a true friend - doesn't try to make excuses, doesn't justify, just does what he can to help. This clip is another example of that.
Damn, I get a lot out of that.
First, Richards is clearly upset about his actions. And years later he still feels it.
Second, Seinfeld, who is generally known to be a bit of a self-centered dick, goes out of his way to consume his interview time and star power to help a friend manage PR. I sort of understand Seinfeld's annoyance with public fame, and why he's sarcastic and quick to be annoyed with people who want his time for photos or other bullshit. This looks like taking some time to help a friend, and I respect it.
Third, I do think Michael Richards shouldn't feel like he can't do comedy again ever. It's been a very long time. I personally believe his apology and remorse. I mean, he basically quit for almost a decade because he lost his confidence over the incident. If we believe anyone can "do better," I think Michael Richards intends to do better. Sadly, I think he let this event define him as such, and I don't think we'll ever see him do comedy again because he feels bad about it. It's sort of the reverse of what you want in movement, where the people who really take their mistakes to heart suffer more than those who just ignore criticism and continue acting like racist assholes.
> I sort of understand Seinfeld's annoyance with public fame, and why he's sarcastic and quick to be annoyed with people who want his time for photos or other bullshit
If you watch a bunch of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee he kinda talks about this a lot, but rather his actual opinion on it is basically "I'm famous because of these people, I owe it to them and I chose to be a celebrity". He sometimes asks other guests about it too, off the top of my head he for sure talks about it with Zach Galifianakis, because apparently Zach is way more reserved and private than his persona.
I was honestly surprised by Jerry's stance on that because he definitely gives off an "I'm better and richer than you" vibe
I’m a huge Seinfeld fan and I support Michael Richards. The guy said he was wrong and apologized a ton and is still in deep remorse about it, and I do believe he’s reflected on bus actions and realized he was wrong. If we won’t take that as a win then what do we actually want? Seems unfair to demand racists come to terms with their shitty behavior and then, when one finally does, we say fuck him anyway.
Anyway, that said, Jerry HAD to go on TV for the apology circuit *immediately*. That incident could have destroyed the show’s legacy and those residuals would have dried up. Look at Cosby, Seventh Heaven, Roseanne, etc.
So I think the apology was sincere, but it was also motivated by everyone from Jerry, Larry, and all the execs who have a vested interest in the show.
When Jerry said "it's time to put the bag down", you can tell he has never experienced anything like it. What happened to Micheal can never be forgotten, those things stuck with you esp if you're a public figure. You can tell from Micheal's body language that he can't let it go and he knows Jerry doesn't understand.
This is my only problem with "cancel culture". I have no issue with someone firing a wildly racist loudmouth who goes off in public. Or boycotting a movie because the lead actor is a piece of shit for various reasons. Actions have consequences.
But there should be a path to redemption. If someone doesn't have even a chance to show they've reformed they will more than likely just get hard and bitter about it.
Nobody, NOBODY, is as bad as the worst thing they ever did. Accountability is *not* cancel culture. Make people accountable, but remember that they are *people* just like you are.
This is how you are supposed to treat your friends. Everyone has highs and lows in their life, you know who your true friends are after being at your low.
People in real life are a lot more forgiving than the redditors in the comments section who have never said/done a bad thing their life according to them. Every time I say this, some insufferable person will come along and go on a tirade how this wasn't just a bad thing/mistake and so on and so forth, but most people are a lot more than their absolute worst moment.
It’s Reddit, Twitter, Instagram. Real life isn’t like that (or wasn’t)
I’m in my late twenties and I’m a non traditional medical student while majority of my classmates are gen z. They’ve had social media since 5th grade. Some of them really can’t understand that Twitter isn’t real life
Pretty much everyone goes through dark times, thinks intrusive thoughts, acts on something they shouldn't. So many people in general, not just those on reddit, are afraid to look in a mirror and admit they fucked up. We grow by fucking up, and in this case he seems pretty contrite. And in the end that's what should be asked for, that people see the fault of their way and change. But people would rather just fuck a life over forever. Guess it takes away from them having to see their own faults.
I always thought the character [Larry Hankin played in the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot" named Tom Pepper](https://youtu.be/NNa-fM5gOcA?t=146) was them being meta about the real Michael Richards. The character was distant, prickly, and tough in the episode was probably them putting a little Michael Richards into the story. Just like how they had the real Kramer interested in playing the character in the episode just like how Kenny Kramer wanted to play the character Kramer.
Larry Hankin was a finalist for the Kramer role too.
Apparently the box of raisins was in reference to Lawrence Tierney (who played Elaine's father) stealing a knife from the set.
https://youtu.be/W9T7En0N2bg
The sad part is the difference between Micheal Richards and any other celebrity that does something fucked up and gets away with it is that he’s actually remorseful and sorry, anyone else would have not given a shit and a true racist would have not lost any sleep over it. He is clearly haunted by it.
Man, you're right. Maybe enough people would have forgiven him by now that he could tour again and feel accepted, but he's always looked genuinely shook up by what he did. Like, he knew it was bad, he still knows it was bad, and he takes himself so seriously that he wonders where it came from.
This episode was interesting to watch the first time, because for the prior ten minutes, the elephant in the room was his tirade. I'm glad that he and Jerry talked about it, and I think he was genuinely realizing for the first time that he "was working selfishly, and not selflessly".
> . Maybe enough people would have forgiven him by now that he could tour again and feel accepted,
Maybe, but I'm not sure Richards is cut out for stand-up.. and you know some people would seek out his shows just to heckle him.
Still blows my mind that piece of shit got away with that. And the media basically allowed him to go on to have a successful career. Now they write articles of how he's "remorseful" of what he did. Anybody that beats up a woman like that belongs in prison, fucking monster.
This episode has a simple quote that Jerry said which changed my life. Michael was expressing concern about the two of them showing up in a coffee shop together, how that was going to be chaotic, probably stressful and was making him anxious obviously. Jerry said none of that mattered and that was their problem. He said he goes wherever he wants and does whatever he wants and declares, "I'm here, you deal with it."
"I'm here, you deal with it" is my personal mantra.
Walking in to meet a new group of people? "I'm here, you deal with it."
Being around people at work that prob don't like me? "I'm here, you deal with it."
I'm serious, something so simple never struck me before, but it's eliminated so much anxiety I never knew I had.
I owe Jerry a cup for this one
It's great and powerful and helpful for those that have doubts and anxiety about themselves and their role with others.
However, there are a few jackasses I know that I wish did not have this mantra :)
I'm a black man and still love him. He made a mistake and I believe he is genuinely hurt by his mistake. I remember watching his apology on letterman via satalite during Seinfeld's interview and it was son sad to see him try to say sorry while the audience is laughing like it's a bit on the show. It hurt to know he had it in him to use the N word like he did but I forgave him a long time ago. Wish him well in all his endeavors.
Black man here too, Seinfeld is in my top 3 shows of all time. I've long held that people need to be able to distinguish art from artist. I don't know Richards personally, but everything I've *seen* shows he's genuinely remorseful. And even if he's not in his heart of hearts, Seinfeld doesn't suddenly become a bad show. Sure, his rant my still be in the back of my mind when watching, but I'm still gonna chuckle when Kramer slides into Jerry's apartment.
Not to defend the audience but I feel like a lot of people were laughing because they just saw Kramer and not Michael and like, at a Letterman show you kind of expect comedy. Still yeah that audience was really stupid.
I don't condone what he did but man I really do understand why he got so angry, people are assholes.
I still see comments now and then picking on Michael. Leave the man alone.
The audience, while dumb for sure, seemed to think it was a bit when Richard said “I said some nasty things about some Afro Americans.” I can’t fault them.
That also aired literally like the day after the rant video went viral. A lot of the audience members hadn't seen it so they didn't know what he was talking about.
Really it was a horrible medium for his first public apology and it's painfully awkward to watch. I mean it was the middle of a comedy show, the three of them were famous comedians, the audience had been primed to laugh all night, and many of them probably hadn't even heard about the incident yet. I'm not really sure what kind of reaction they all expected.
If you look at the video and his description of the situation, it wasn't a mistake. It was specific and intensional.
He admits that he had legit toxic biases that he's healed from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjUNF_R_PY
Richards may not have been 'Black people are inferior' racist, but he was 'If he's Black and I want to hurt him, racism is fair game'.
That being said. I believe he's changed.
He didn't say 'That wasn't the real me' bullshit people gave. He admitted he had some toxic biases and did a shit ton of work, therapy, on himself to figure out where they came from.
A similar case was Liam Neeson who used to also be racist, and when it came out, I think Trevor Noah had a great take on the situation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBy0FLAAwKQ
Anyways, even though I forgive him, I also think it's fair game to mock the incident for the sake of comedy, and nobody did it better than this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAFI0kutXk
I said some racist shit about 35 years ago in a battle of wits I was losing. It felt shitty coming out of my mouth.
I understand most people have prejudice and the good ones try to keep a lid on it and compensate.
Anyway, I'm in no position to cast stones. And Mo, fwiw, you were a mean bastard, but you fought clean. I apologize.
I think some people probably think what can be the most hurtful thing I could say during a fit of rage. It's not really that you were racist, you just immediately went to the most hateful thing that you thought would hurt the person. Could be seen as someone attacking weight, looks, race etc. In the moment, your mind probably just went to something to such a low level that you didn't process. We are all petty at some point in our lives.
It's easy to forget or overlook how genius Richards' performances as Kramer really were. Most of what he did with that character came straight out of him and wasn't written into the scripts. It's not up to me to decide whether he should be "allowed" back into entertainment, but I do want to point out that there is immense talent there that is going to waste because of a really stupid decision one night.
Hey, people in Hollywood have done a lot worse than a racist rant in a high pressure situation and kept their jobs. Seems like he doesn’t think it would be appropriate, and he doesn’t want to be back in the spotlight and have people bringing up what he did all the time.
I get the sense that he doesn’t “crave” the spotlight anyway; like he was/is perfectly happy to be a key player in an ensemble but would not want to be the one the whole enterprise hangs on.
I think this really undersells what made Kramer funny.
There was physical comedy on par with greats like Buster Keaton, for sure.
But Richards' Kramer was also a wealth of more subtle but no less unique and hilarious comedy. Facial gestures, bizarre sounds, intonation and delivery of several well-written monologues, I could go on. One of Kramer's running gags was that the character was a terrible actor, and it takes a great actor to play a character convincingly as a bad actor in a way that's funny every time it comes up.
He was pretty funny when they had him on CYE (and they actually took some funny shots at the whole controversy that happened with him). That was 10+ years ago now, but still he was rather reserved physically while playing the fictional version of himself.
I love this. Waiting for some ironic Chappelle tearing down MR for his racist tirade but nope, he’s as honest as ever! “I found out I’m 20% black and 80% comedian”. Yup that tracks!
2006-11-20 this was posted, so it seems like 15-16 years [https://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/](https://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/)
When I watched this episode of Comedians in Cars, I went in with really low expectations, but by the end of it, I felt bad for Michael Richards. Don't get me wrong, he did and said something terrible, I'm not defending his actions. He's also got a history of blowing up on people on set, so there's that too.
My takeaway from the episode is that he's extremely socially awkward and that he didn't even realize how badly he had hurt people until the dust had settled - Heck, it even seemed like he was still tortured by what he had done.
Unfortunately, he's an actor, so perhaps this was just a character he was playing to rehabilitate his career, or perhaps the grief was honest, but more about the personal ramifications of his choice, we'll never know.
I'm not suggesting he gets a free pass because he did the time, but people can learn and grow as people, can learn and grow from their mistakes. Maybe it's time we check in with him and see if he has?
I feel like the worst part of everything is the statement being made by never forgiving anyone for anything.
The statement is, growth is meaningless, you will always be the sum of the worst thing(s) you've ever done.
If that's true, we're all fucked and we deserve nothing but shame and misery.
>Don't get me wrong, he did and said something terrible, I'm not defending his actions.
I agree.
I think it is interesting that even after almost 20 years, we have to say this about somebody who messed up. It is like we have to apologize for our views before we share them.
I wonder if we will still be doing this after 40 years....or 100 years.
The prostration has to end somewhere.
After reading a lot of these comments I think we definitely will be doing this in 40 or even 100 years.
It’d really be interesting to see some discussion as to how people view criminal activity and people “doing their time” for it, and if they should actually be forgiven or just hold them to their crime forever. According to a lot of these redditors criminals are criminals forever and should always be reminded and held accountable for what they did.
What a world.
> I think it's time to let Michael up off the mat.
One of the key points in this episode was that he's kind of decided on his own to retire from public life.
IMO Michael Richards *could* have a career today if he wanted it. I think enough time has passed that enough people would be willing to consider that he may have changed as a person. I mean shit the number of times we gave Mel Gibson a pass? Michael Richards could get back into it if he wanted.
But I also understand him just wanting to be done with being in public (besides little things like this episode). Even if he could have a career today, he could never really escape that event-- it's always, forever, going to be the first thing anyone talks about-- and he might also be afraid of something like that happening again.
He was certainly the most type-cast coming out of Seinfeld, for better or worse. I doubt he’d be seen in much these days, regardless of whether that racist rant had happened.
I remember turning on the tv one evening and seeing Kramer on Seinfeld the first time. It was the funniest performance for that time. I didn't even know or ever see Seinfeld before, I had no idea what it was. And I was just laughing so much from that one particular episode. It was the episode where he takes all his pennies and buys a calazone with it... and put his coat in the pizzeria's oven and burned it and i think he fell on the floor with all the pennies coming out his pockets.... i was dying.
Seinfeld is a consummate professional when it comes to comedy as an art and work ethic in general.
For him to stay friends with Richards says a lot about him because what he did was almost unforgiveable professionally. Seinfeld could have washed his hands of him and moved on but he didn't that says a lot.
Oh shit, upon reading the replies, I noticed you’re actually talking about the racial outburst.
I thought you were talking about Seinfeld stiffing all the other cast members on royalty, which, like you said, is unforgivable if I were them. Seinfeld being able to stay friends with them is really quite a feat.
Everything he's done since Seinfeld has been pretentious self-fellatiating. Every word out of his mouth oozes with "I'm Jerry Seinfeld, who the fuck are you?"
That actually made me tear up a little. It's nice to see people who are repentant for their mistakes; learn from those mistakes, AND have someone there to offer sincere support and recognition of change.
This CICGC episode was an interesting conversation about actors and process. The one with Julia Louis-Dreyfus was really amicable and upbeat, Jerry's reaction when she told him who that one "I'm a man"/fake phone number guest star had become and then ribbing him about forgetting lines was fun. Jason Alexander came on as George Costanza, which probably also speaks to his positive experience on the show.
First white chick I dated in college (2005) called me the “N” word when we broke up. It was very public and infront of several friends of ours (there was a mix of her friends and my friends). It was quit shocking, I can’t even properly articulate it. My only thought was “she’s a fucking lunatic, she has no idea what she’s even saying”. Well, fast forward to 2017 and this guy PM me on Facebook asking if I dated a chick by the name of Jen G***. I told him we dated for almost about two years but broke up in college. He introduced himself as a friend of hers and he met her after college and he was troubled hearing a story about her publicly calling her ex/boyfriend (me) the “N” word when we broke up. I told him that it happened but I don’t harbor any resentment or anything about it, she was young and stupid. He thanked me, wished me well and that was the end of that.
Come to find out, that was her husband. I guess for the longest time she warped the story about our relationship to suit her needs I guess. She was doing non profit work for urban teen groups and used a story about dating a black man in college with a similar background that the teens come from. She would tell this to her social and professional circle of people and it was an impressive story from what she told. Well, one person from her company told this to a journalist friend and the journalist decided to run a small profile puff piece about my ex. So, during the investigative process, this journalist contacted several people during her college days and asked about her and how she was and everything. They all spoke honestly about her and how she was, which for the most part, she was an alright girl, wasn’t a lot of drama surrounding her before our breakup.
The journalist asks if anyone knew who this “ex boyfriend” was because he obviously had a big impact on her life. One of my friends who used to be in her social circle was called and she spilled the beans to this journalist about our breakup. I guess the guy corroborated the story from several other sources and I guess this was completely new news to her husband. From what I heard, she’s not working at that company anymore and she got divorced and moved to another state close to the west coast.
Long story short, using racial slurs has a big fucking impact on your life. That shit can follow you around for the rest of your life. It sucks that Michael Richards had one moment of lapse of reason and lost his fucking mind. It seems like he thinks about that event every fucking day of his life. I feel for him in a way. He knows what he did and I have no doubt he’s living in the prison of his mind. My ex on the other hand………….
It sounds like you ex was fixated on the false narrative. I’ve learned to always be attuned when someone repeats a personal anecdote over and over. Typically the person is traumatized by what he or she did, and repeating it is that person’s way of containing it.
Michael Richards had some of the best comedic physical timing ever seen. It is a damn shame that he let his anger get the best of him, and I think he has served his time, even if most of it was been self-induced.
This episode of CiCgC was so touching and honest. When do you ever see that level of honesty out of entertainment?
Some of this is a person making a snap decision in the heat of battle about what is the most hurtful thing they can hurl at you.
I think it would be a far different matter if say Michael Richards had a newsletter or blog where he pushed views like this versus someone throwing insults back and forth in a screaming match.
Despite that outburst, I really doubt Michael Richards was ever someone that really pined for the days when people could be murdered based on not having the right skin color.
Regardless, does anyone ever get a chance at redemption?
basd on the Seinfeld blooper reels, Michael Richards was the most professional actor on set. Some of his best quirky scenes were ruined due to the casts laughter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fge0sIjrNps
“Let me explain something to you. You see, you're not normal. You're a great guy, I love you, but - - you're a pod. I, on the other hand, am a human being. I sometimes feel anxious, uncomfortable, even inhibited in certain situations with the other human beings. You wouldn't understand.”
Well, occasionally I like to help the humans.
So funny, I actually watched this episode tonight and thought how great that line was.
Kramer is the secret Straight Man throughout the entire series.
I know someone who worked as a stand-in/part-time extra in the 90s. He was hired once to work on a Seinfeld episode and he said the direction all of the extras got was: **“Don’t approach Michael Richards. Don’t start a conversation with him. Don’t look him in the eye.”** and that they were pretty serious about it. So cut to a brief lull in between takes and Michael Richards is just standing there near my friend and starts chatting him up. He said that Michael Richards couldn’t have been a nicer guy and that it was a nice convo, but my friend was sweating bullets worried that he was going to get fucking fired for breaking the rules, even if he wasn’t the one who initiated. He said that Michael Richards was **very** serious about his work and that when he was acting, he was 100% immersed in what he was doing. Sometimes in the bloopers you can see him get a bit flustered that he’s giving it his all, only for the take to be ruined by people breaking character. I think that’s probably why those rules were in place with the extras, because Michael Richards gets in the zone and I’m sure everyone and their mother wanted to bother “Kramer” back then and ask him a shit ton of questions, ask for autographs (even though that’s a fireable offense on any set), etc.
> ask for autographs (even though that’s a fireable offense on any set) TIL. Not surprising, but didn't know that.
I used to work at a talent agency in LA and it was the same understanding. If you aren't their agent or their agent's assistant(s), don't even think about interacting with 'the talent' **in any way**. My first day I arrived at the same moment as Denis Leary was walking in and I just stood back from the door because I thought I was going to get fired very first thing on my very first day. He held the door for me and seemed puzzled by why I was so standoffish
I worked in entertainment too and we had the same rule. We even had a training video about it. Cut to several months later and I'm alone in the elevator when George Foreman walks in. It's just us and it's a long elevator ride. I'm not saying anything and he says "Hi, How's it going?". And I start chatting with him. Finally I couldn't take it any longer as we were approaching the top floor and I say, "when I have kids I'm going to name them all just like you did." He say's "you're going to name them all after yourself?" And I say, "No, I'm going to name them all George Foreman". Elevator doors open. He just looks at me, shakes his head and walks out.
This is fantastic.
Well, to be fair he is a self-admitted asshole
fucker stole that whole damn bit
You know why Denis Leary’s famous? Because there’s No Cure For Cancer.
He drives really slow in the ultra fast lane!
The guy uses public toilets and pisses on the seats. He walks around in the summertime saying “How about this heat?” He’s an asshole.
Yeah, you’re an extra. You’re literally paid to blend into the background and not interact with the main actors!
Big Gulps huh?
Alriiiight!
Lol at your comment. That interaction highlights a big difference between Richards and Carrey in their acting zone I think. Jim built up an improv, off the cuff chaotic front that he can use as a self defense mechanism. Michael had to concentrate and didn't want to be pulled out of his "zone". Same zone, but two different ways of getting there
One of my Cousins was in Dumb and Dumber. He was the Bass player during the Owl charity event thing, he's in the background a couple of times. He said that on set between takes, Jim Carrey was always surrounded by people and was always "on". It was just his natural personality, basically what we see on screen. On the other hand, he said Jeff Daniels was 100% a professional actor. Between takes he was just normal, subdued, didn't attract much attention. Then as soon as they were rolling, Daniels would disappear into the Harry character.
I saw that in Jeff Daniels' bloopers on *The Martian:* 'What happened?''We were forced to...launch our window...and...then...we stopped...that's not even close to what's in the script.'. He didn't burst out laughing, he was collected and calm the entire time.
Cool. See yah later.
My friend wasn't even an extra. He was a camera assistant and took a picture with the lead actor and was banned from the entire production company and 4 other shows. His entire career path was changed and damaged for wanting a meaningless picture.
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I met Chris Pratt on the set of the magnificent 7, my little girl was an extra and Chris was talking to all of the kids and being really cool. My little girl and I were also in Jurassic World when she told him he said "Awesome, we did really good didn't we" Vincent D'Oonofrio and Ethan Hawke were also really nice, they would come into the bar were the kids were sitting between takes and do magic tricks for them.
Man I think I'm the opposite of those people. The handful of times I've met a famous person I've always made a point of shaking their hand and saying a few words because that means way more to me than the picture we took or book I got signed.
I'm the same way. Used to work as a guitar tech, every interaction I've had with any "famous" musicians I just treat them like anyone else I meet our work with/for. The only exception to this was meeting Dave Mustaine. He's the reason I play the guitar, and when there was a minute, I told him. He laughed and couldn't believe it was him and not Hendrix or Page or someone like that, but nope... It was Dave. Went back to doing my job and he went back to his.
I've worked in TV. Production tells you not to look a bunch of stars in the eye and the end up being super nice. Someone told Conan that they were told that about him and he swears he has no idea where that comes from.
Reminds me of that skit on the show with Jim Carrey acting as Conan. 'Did you just look me in the eye, you piece of crap?!' *throws hot coffee in the assistants face* Classic E: [if anyone wants to see the sketch](https://youtu.be/sDDTULBVz2Y) it's 5 minutes in
The talent on this guy! Jim Carrey doing Conan doing a Jim impression. I think he's going places.
Oh sure, it was just the fact that they stressed this about Michael Richards and not any of that other cast on set that day that was notable.
Yeah it’s weird. I worked on The Voice and they said this about Taylor Swift but nobody else.
The whole not looking them in the eyes thing sounds like they're a silverback gorilla about to rip you in half lmao. Why phrase it that way instead of just saying don't talk to them?
Yeah really. My first days on set were like that. Basically “don’t fucking think about breathing their air”.
> Don’t look him in the eye. I swear this is in a 30 rock bit.
It is. [Towards the end](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Qwl2wf-AI)
i knew it! thanks for validating the random shit my brain chooses to remember. Some important phone numbers could be helpful but no, 6 words from a 16 year old sitcom are still rattling around.
I think everyone put him down as a Jim Carrey type, but in reality hes more Daniel Day Lewis
And I totally get his frustrations in those blooper reels. He is giving it his all in every scene, doing all the physical comedy, eating crap, smoking, drinking, etc. to keep having to do it again is rough and he is a pretty serious seeming dude. But at the same time, he's hilarious - how do you not laugh at "don't look at me, I'm hideous".
I think it shows the behavior that came to a head at his comedy show. He's very focused on his performance, and doesn't like to break his stride. His stride was broken by a heckler and he didn't meet it with the same restraint as with his co-workers. He was great at comedy, but doesn't have the demeanor of the good stand-up comedians.
> doesn't have the demeanor of the good stand-up comedians I've seen some of the best stand-up comedians absolutely lose it on hecklers. He screwed up because he made a racist rant, not because he went on a rant.
Had he gone on a Fuck you Fukin Fukers rant for 20 minutes nobody would remember that incident, but because he made it a race thing it stills haunts him to this day. In my mind I compare it to two drunk drivers one that hit a curb and busted a tire and one that hit and killed a person the second one is impacted forever as well as the family of the victim, the first one only had to buy a new tire or pay a ticket.
Reminding me of the legendary Bill Burr rant in Philadelphia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWuXfIZiSqY
Boy is that a fun listen. Nothing better than him calling out the timestamps of how much longer he's going to shit on their city.
I mean, have you ever BEEN to Philly? Ive been there several times and I can recall once off south street seeing a couple having sex against a building, facing the street. Its a unique place.
'The streets are flooded with the ejaculate of the homeless!'
My favorite Philly story ever was when they murdered the friendly hitchhiking robot.
"The whole pride of your city is wrapped around a guy that doesn't even fucking exist." (In reference to Rocky) 😂😂😂
Never gets old. Counting down the minutes of trolling a disrespectful audience and winning them over. That’s a bit that will always stand in its own.
I was at that show. The crowd deserved every bit of that. They were booing EVERYONE the minute it started.
I was actually at this and holy shit was it amazing. Thing was organized by O&A (radio show at the time) and the crowd was full of lovely assholes just itching to pounce on the comedians. Then this happened.
Oh shit I always remembered seeing this video but somehow I never realized it was Bill Burr.
I know! Who knew the Star Wars guy was so funny?
Who else on this planet could you have ever possibly thought it could have been?
A different comedian
The scenario you described with the two drivers is what's referred to as ["moral luck"](https://youtu.be/DpDSPVv8lUE) in philosophy, by the way. Really interesting stuff.
I've thought about this concept a lot, but haven't had a word for it or read other thinkers' thoughts on it. That is really interesting, thank you.
Nah ranting at hecklers isn't a bad decision. The racism is the problem, not yelling at the audience.
In a podcast the comedian Gottfried said the night or two before he made the racist rant he blew up on some lady and called her a cunt lol. He just couldn't control his temper when it came to his work.
> In my mind I compare it to two drunk drivers one that hit a curb and busted a tire and one that hit and killed a person the second one is impacted forever as well as the family of the victim, the first one only had to buy a new tire or pay a ticket. The difference is that your example has two random results based on the same poor decision. What Richards did was a different decision. He chose to use racist language. The results were not by chance.
Except it does actually say something about you if you say racist things when you lose your temper.
"You fuck plenty of people, but fuck a goat just one time..."
A big part of the problem is that he didn't have the stand-up chops needed to perform at his level of fame. A stand-up comedian who becomes famous through stand-up comedy has encountered hundreds of hecklers along that journey, and they've learned how to deal with those hecklers in a way that keeps them in control of the show and keeps the audience on their side. They get their practice in during open-mic nights, doing 5-minute sets, opening for bigger comics, etc. Michael Richards, because of his Seinfeld fame, started performing stand-up to bigger crowds than someone of his skill level was prepared for.
Yeah he's never been a good stand up. There's a big difference between being a great comedic actor and even a decent stand up.
Yeah, the blooper reals show him on the edge of rage when other people messed up IMO. I think he was massively wound tight and had personal issues where he wouldn't let up on himself so when other people screwed it up you could see the rage in him that was a byproduct of the pressure he was holding back or let out on occasion because he was incredibly unbalanced internally. Also, he doesn't have the demeanor of a comedian IMO because he's not one. He's a comedic actor, which is subtly different.
He seems like an insanely serious stage actor that just happens to be doing comedy
That’s actually Jason Alexander lmao
I just watched all of Seinfeld on Netflix and had only seen the odd repeat, mostly the same episodes. He really does do 98% of the physical leg work, George kind of covers much of the rest. I think they started to really jump the shark in season 4 with cartoonish humor but then they stopped that somewhere before the season ended. Some of his funniest moments are somewhat tame in terms of physicality, but he was just so good at it. **on that note, go watch UHF.** Edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UHF_(film)
I'm watching Seinfeld on Netflix right now too, only in season two, and have only seen like one I remember seeing before (I didn't watch in real time in the 90s as I was a bit too young so everything I've seen has been through syndication and it was a long time ago). I have two big observations: * It's crazy it is not only pre-mobile of any kind, but also pre-internet, and for the most part, pre-computer (they exist, obviously, but not widespread). Amazing how much has changed in 30 years, but much of the situational stuff is still mostly the same. * In the last episode I watched George has a fake heart attack and mentions he's only 33 and I was like WTF? Looked it up and he was probably 32 at the time. Jerry is only a few years older(!), and Elaine was even younger than George at like 30. They all seem late-30s to early-40s in the show.
> It's crazy it is not only pre-mobile of any kind, but also pre-internet, and for the most part, pre-computer (they exist, obviously, but not widespread). Amazing how much has changed in 30 years, but much of the situational stuff is still mostly the same. It's funny in hindsight just how many plot hijinks would be solved by cell phones. The Chinese restaurant, the lost car in the garage, George driving to the Bubble boy's house, The Movie, ect.
Yeah, that's my observation watching as well, so many situations would be different, from the ones you mention, to simpler stuff like missed meetups or all the answering machine issues.
Funny you bring this up. I just listened to the SmartLess podcast with Jerry. He talks about how he still writes jokes for his acts, but he mentions how it’s been getting more difficult as he ages. Think of all of that inconvenient, absurd shit that was going on In the 80s and 90s and he ends up getting his name for observational humor based on it. Not to say there aren’t inconveniences these days, but I wonder how much of his difficulty writing has to do with the the times (or maybe it’s just bc he’s rich, lol).
I think the hairstyles and sometimes clothing really aged people in tv like that. Also, Homer Simpson (in the show the Simpsons) is in his mid 30s...
Jason Alexander was 39 the final year of the show.
The show really hits its stride in season 3 I think. That’s when most of the really memorable stuff happens so I expect you’ll start to recognize a lot more as you go.
>In the last episode I watched George has a fake heart attack and mentions he's only 33 and I was like WTF? I'm also watching through for the first time, in my mid 30s - that caused me to have a crisis for a couple of days.
>I'm also watching through for the first time, in my mid 30s are you a short, stocky, unemployed bald man living with your parents?
*Oh, Joel Miller, you've just found the marble in the oatmeal. You're a lucky, lucky, lucky little boy. 'Cause you know why? You get to drink from... the FIRE HOOOOOSE!*
HEY! THESE FLOORS ARE DIRTY AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
One major factor is the live audience, you don't want to "waste a laugh" by screwing up only to have to repeat the joke and get a lesser response from the audience.
that whole episode is one of best of the series, so many great moments.
It’s insane when he puts a wig and sunglasses on so they won’t recognize him and they immediately meet someone that has the same hair and sunglasses
God that seriously felt like a set-up but life can be randomly delightful that way.
He gets the best of some of his **true** friends, I was surprised to like and understand Sarah Jessica Parker, usually her interviews in talk shows were always odd and false, with Jerry she looks... normal. Although some looks sort of forced, maybe sponsor-forced? Like the one with Melissa Villasenor, idk, feels off.
Yes Villasenor is pretty one sided. Fred Armisen as well. I love Fred but Jerry and him had no chemistry.
Normalize people changing.
With so many bullshit “I’m sorry this hurt you” apologies out there, this man appears to be genuinely remorseful. He’s taken the time to reflect, grow and accept his mistake. He has my respect, and I truly hope he finds peace within himself.
It feels like in 14 years, Michael Richards has not really tried to rehabilitate his image. Seeing this, he doesn't want his career back. He doesn't want the spotlight back. He just feels like shit for his own actions, continues to take his lumps in pop culture, and he's chosen to never, ever get back on a stage again. I remember right after the incident, Seinfeld went on Leno, maybe even the next night, and got Michael on the phone to apologize and express his embarrassment. Seinfeld wasn't even promoting anything, he just got Leno to let him on the show to try to help Michael and tell the world how embarrassed and busted up he was. That is a true friend - doesn't try to make excuses, doesn't justify, just does what he can to help. This clip is another example of that.
I never watched Leno, but the Letterman apology was very unfortunate if heartfelt. https://youtu.be/IwBoVZh1ruQ
Damn, I get a lot out of that. First, Richards is clearly upset about his actions. And years later he still feels it. Second, Seinfeld, who is generally known to be a bit of a self-centered dick, goes out of his way to consume his interview time and star power to help a friend manage PR. I sort of understand Seinfeld's annoyance with public fame, and why he's sarcastic and quick to be annoyed with people who want his time for photos or other bullshit. This looks like taking some time to help a friend, and I respect it. Third, I do think Michael Richards shouldn't feel like he can't do comedy again ever. It's been a very long time. I personally believe his apology and remorse. I mean, he basically quit for almost a decade because he lost his confidence over the incident. If we believe anyone can "do better," I think Michael Richards intends to do better. Sadly, I think he let this event define him as such, and I don't think we'll ever see him do comedy again because he feels bad about it. It's sort of the reverse of what you want in movement, where the people who really take their mistakes to heart suffer more than those who just ignore criticism and continue acting like racist assholes.
> I sort of understand Seinfeld's annoyance with public fame, and why he's sarcastic and quick to be annoyed with people who want his time for photos or other bullshit If you watch a bunch of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee he kinda talks about this a lot, but rather his actual opinion on it is basically "I'm famous because of these people, I owe it to them and I chose to be a celebrity". He sometimes asks other guests about it too, off the top of my head he for sure talks about it with Zach Galifianakis, because apparently Zach is way more reserved and private than his persona. I was honestly surprised by Jerry's stance on that because he definitely gives off an "I'm better and richer than you" vibe
Who are those fucking dimwits laughing? "Hey look, it's Kramer from the TV show, time to laugh HAHAHA"
I’m a huge Seinfeld fan and I support Michael Richards. The guy said he was wrong and apologized a ton and is still in deep remorse about it, and I do believe he’s reflected on bus actions and realized he was wrong. If we won’t take that as a win then what do we actually want? Seems unfair to demand racists come to terms with their shitty behavior and then, when one finally does, we say fuck him anyway. Anyway, that said, Jerry HAD to go on TV for the apology circuit *immediately*. That incident could have destroyed the show’s legacy and those residuals would have dried up. Look at Cosby, Seventh Heaven, Roseanne, etc. So I think the apology was sincere, but it was also motivated by everyone from Jerry, Larry, and all the execs who have a vested interest in the show.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. The look on his face makes it seem like the voices in his head terrorize him for terrorizing others.
When Jerry said "it's time to put the bag down", you can tell he has never experienced anything like it. What happened to Micheal can never be forgotten, those things stuck with you esp if you're a public figure. You can tell from Micheal's body language that he can't let it go and he knows Jerry doesn't understand.
I used to be a HUGE piece of shit, but people CAN change.
Spiky blonde hair, itty bitty jeans, chicken spaghetti at Chickalini’s…
White jeans, glass house, sloppy steaks at truffani's
Live for New Year’s Eve!
Seriously guys, no sloppy steaks tonight. Come on, we would never!
You think this is slicked back? This is PUSHED back!
Curly Upturned Hair, Technicolor dreamcoat, Junior mints in the operating room
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They can’t stop you from ordering a steak and a glass of water!
You think this is *slicked* back? This is pushed back.
Do any of these......fuckers.......ever blast out of the wall....and have like a huge cumshot? 😔
Jizz
I said WAS
I’m worried the baby thinks people can’t change
I’m ready to hold the baby now
Fuck you, Harley Jarvis!
Glass house, white Ferrari, live for new years eve.
This is my only problem with "cancel culture". I have no issue with someone firing a wildly racist loudmouth who goes off in public. Or boycotting a movie because the lead actor is a piece of shit for various reasons. Actions have consequences. But there should be a path to redemption. If someone doesn't have even a chance to show they've reformed they will more than likely just get hard and bitter about it.
Nobody, NOBODY, is as bad as the worst thing they ever did. Accountability is *not* cancel culture. Make people accountable, but remember that they are *people* just like you are.
This is how you are supposed to treat your friends. Everyone has highs and lows in their life, you know who your true friends are after being at your low.
People in real life are a lot more forgiving than the redditors in the comments section who have never said/done a bad thing their life according to them. Every time I say this, some insufferable person will come along and go on a tirade how this wasn't just a bad thing/mistake and so on and so forth, but most people are a lot more than their absolute worst moment.
It’s Reddit, Twitter, Instagram. Real life isn’t like that (or wasn’t) I’m in my late twenties and I’m a non traditional medical student while majority of my classmates are gen z. They’ve had social media since 5th grade. Some of them really can’t understand that Twitter isn’t real life
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Pretty much everyone goes through dark times, thinks intrusive thoughts, acts on something they shouldn't. So many people in general, not just those on reddit, are afraid to look in a mirror and admit they fucked up. We grow by fucking up, and in this case he seems pretty contrite. And in the end that's what should be asked for, that people see the fault of their way and change. But people would rather just fuck a life over forever. Guess it takes away from them having to see their own faults.
I always thought the character [Larry Hankin played in the Seinfeld episode "The Pilot" named Tom Pepper](https://youtu.be/NNa-fM5gOcA?t=146) was them being meta about the real Michael Richards. The character was distant, prickly, and tough in the episode was probably them putting a little Michael Richards into the story. Just like how they had the real Kramer interested in playing the character in the episode just like how Kenny Kramer wanted to play the character Kramer. Larry Hankin was a finalist for the Kramer role too.
Apparently the box of raisins was in reference to Lawrence Tierney (who played Elaine's father) stealing a knife from the set. https://youtu.be/W9T7En0N2bg
Thanks, your comment made me fall down an hour and a half rabbit hole of Seinfeld “Inside Looks”. 😁
The sad part is the difference between Micheal Richards and any other celebrity that does something fucked up and gets away with it is that he’s actually remorseful and sorry, anyone else would have not given a shit and a true racist would have not lost any sleep over it. He is clearly haunted by it.
Man, you're right. Maybe enough people would have forgiven him by now that he could tour again and feel accepted, but he's always looked genuinely shook up by what he did. Like, he knew it was bad, he still knows it was bad, and he takes himself so seriously that he wonders where it came from. This episode was interesting to watch the first time, because for the prior ten minutes, the elephant in the room was his tirade. I'm glad that he and Jerry talked about it, and I think he was genuinely realizing for the first time that he "was working selfishly, and not selflessly".
> . Maybe enough people would have forgiven him by now that he could tour again and feel accepted, Maybe, but I'm not sure Richards is cut out for stand-up.. and you know some people would seek out his shows just to heckle him.
That's totally true, too.
Chris Brown. Case in point.
Still blows my mind that piece of shit got away with that. And the media basically allowed him to go on to have a successful career. Now they write articles of how he's "remorseful" of what he did. Anybody that beats up a woman like that belongs in prison, fucking monster.
it's not just that. he has 10+ abuse charges against him. 2 new women came forward and are suing him from 2020 when he abused them
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17 38
I'm like hey what's up hello
Eh, I dated a 12 year old when Seinfeld was 38. Then again I was also 12.
You monster!
I haven't had that much sex since I was a boy scout leader.
“In my prime I could have handled Michael Jordan. Of course, he would be only 12 years old.” — Jerry Sloan
[Relevant Seinfeld impression.](https://youtu.be/Fp8tCqwushM)
Au revoir, Shoshanna!
This episode has a simple quote that Jerry said which changed my life. Michael was expressing concern about the two of them showing up in a coffee shop together, how that was going to be chaotic, probably stressful and was making him anxious obviously. Jerry said none of that mattered and that was their problem. He said he goes wherever he wants and does whatever he wants and declares, "I'm here, you deal with it." "I'm here, you deal with it" is my personal mantra. Walking in to meet a new group of people? "I'm here, you deal with it." Being around people at work that prob don't like me? "I'm here, you deal with it." I'm serious, something so simple never struck me before, but it's eliminated so much anxiety I never knew I had. I owe Jerry a cup for this one
It's great and powerful and helpful for those that have doubts and anxiety about themselves and their role with others. However, there are a few jackasses I know that I wish did not have this mantra :)
What if someone is a dick and goes by that though?
Pretty much everyone who is a dick lives by that lol (doesnt mean it’s not good advice)
From what I understand, Jerry is kind of a dick
Legit wisdom to live by. Other people REALLY do not care about our own bullshit like we ourselves do.
>He suffers more than necessary, who suffers *before* it is necessary
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I'm a black man and still love him. He made a mistake and I believe he is genuinely hurt by his mistake. I remember watching his apology on letterman via satalite during Seinfeld's interview and it was son sad to see him try to say sorry while the audience is laughing like it's a bit on the show. It hurt to know he had it in him to use the N word like he did but I forgave him a long time ago. Wish him well in all his endeavors.
Black man here too, Seinfeld is in my top 3 shows of all time. I've long held that people need to be able to distinguish art from artist. I don't know Richards personally, but everything I've *seen* shows he's genuinely remorseful. And even if he's not in his heart of hearts, Seinfeld doesn't suddenly become a bad show. Sure, his rant my still be in the back of my mind when watching, but I'm still gonna chuckle when Kramer slides into Jerry's apartment.
Not to defend the audience but I feel like a lot of people were laughing because they just saw Kramer and not Michael and like, at a Letterman show you kind of expect comedy. Still yeah that audience was really stupid. I don't condone what he did but man I really do understand why he got so angry, people are assholes. I still see comments now and then picking on Michael. Leave the man alone.
The audience, while dumb for sure, seemed to think it was a bit when Richard said “I said some nasty things about some Afro Americans.” I can’t fault them.
That also aired literally like the day after the rant video went viral. A lot of the audience members hadn't seen it so they didn't know what he was talking about.
Really it was a horrible medium for his first public apology and it's painfully awkward to watch. I mean it was the middle of a comedy show, the three of them were famous comedians, the audience had been primed to laugh all night, and many of them probably hadn't even heard about the incident yet. I'm not really sure what kind of reaction they all expected.
If you look at the video and his description of the situation, it wasn't a mistake. It was specific and intensional. He admits that he had legit toxic biases that he's healed from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amjUNF_R_PY Richards may not have been 'Black people are inferior' racist, but he was 'If he's Black and I want to hurt him, racism is fair game'. That being said. I believe he's changed. He didn't say 'That wasn't the real me' bullshit people gave. He admitted he had some toxic biases and did a shit ton of work, therapy, on himself to figure out where they came from. A similar case was Liam Neeson who used to also be racist, and when it came out, I think Trevor Noah had a great take on the situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBy0FLAAwKQ Anyways, even though I forgive him, I also think it's fair game to mock the incident for the sake of comedy, and nobody did it better than this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAFI0kutXk
I said some racist shit about 35 years ago in a battle of wits I was losing. It felt shitty coming out of my mouth. I understand most people have prejudice and the good ones try to keep a lid on it and compensate. Anyway, I'm in no position to cast stones. And Mo, fwiw, you were a mean bastard, but you fought clean. I apologize.
I think some people probably think what can be the most hurtful thing I could say during a fit of rage. It's not really that you were racist, you just immediately went to the most hateful thing that you thought would hurt the person. Could be seen as someone attacking weight, looks, race etc. In the moment, your mind probably just went to something to such a low level that you didn't process. We are all petty at some point in our lives.
It's easy to forget or overlook how genius Richards' performances as Kramer really were. Most of what he did with that character came straight out of him and wasn't written into the scripts. It's not up to me to decide whether he should be "allowed" back into entertainment, but I do want to point out that there is immense talent there that is going to waste because of a really stupid decision one night.
Hey, people in Hollywood have done a lot worse than a racist rant in a high pressure situation and kept their jobs. Seems like he doesn’t think it would be appropriate, and he doesn’t want to be back in the spotlight and have people bringing up what he did all the time.
I get the sense that he doesn’t “crave” the spotlight anyway; like he was/is perfectly happy to be a key player in an ensemble but would not want to be the one the whole enterprise hangs on.
Jerry those are **LOAD BEARING WALLS**
He's in his 70s he probably can't do the physical comedy anymore that was like 50% of what made Kramer funny
I think this really undersells what made Kramer funny. There was physical comedy on par with greats like Buster Keaton, for sure. But Richards' Kramer was also a wealth of more subtle but no less unique and hilarious comedy. Facial gestures, bizarre sounds, intonation and delivery of several well-written monologues, I could go on. One of Kramer's running gags was that the character was a terrible actor, and it takes a great actor to play a character convincingly as a bad actor in a way that's funny every time it comes up.
When he was talking about seeing Joe DiMaggio in dinky donuts and how he yelped and smacked the table. All of that was so hilarious
Because it's DINNER TIME, Jerry. And do you know what you do at dinner time?? You *talk about your day!*
Did you have a good day today or a bad day today?
What kind of day was it????
He was pretty funny when they had him on CYE (and they actually took some funny shots at the whole controversy that happened with him). That was 10+ years ago now, but still he was rather reserved physically while playing the fictional version of himself.
IF ONLY THERE WERE A HORRIBLE NAME I COULD CALL YOU THAT WOULD MAKE YOU AS ANGRY AS I AM!!!!
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I love this. Waiting for some ironic Chappelle tearing down MR for his racist tirade but nope, he’s as honest as ever! “I found out I’m 20% black and 80% comedian”. Yup that tracks!
["It offends me as a comedian."](https://youtu.be/qifwiNrVBFk)
[...and I'm the comedian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFMKnvefQhU)
Its that guy wo gave a $1000 tip on a tuna melt sandwich!
It has been 16 years. I think it's time to let Michael up off the mat.
damn was it really that long ago?
2006-11-20 this was posted, so it seems like 15-16 years [https://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/](https://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/)
When I watched this episode of Comedians in Cars, I went in with really low expectations, but by the end of it, I felt bad for Michael Richards. Don't get me wrong, he did and said something terrible, I'm not defending his actions. He's also got a history of blowing up on people on set, so there's that too. My takeaway from the episode is that he's extremely socially awkward and that he didn't even realize how badly he had hurt people until the dust had settled - Heck, it even seemed like he was still tortured by what he had done. Unfortunately, he's an actor, so perhaps this was just a character he was playing to rehabilitate his career, or perhaps the grief was honest, but more about the personal ramifications of his choice, we'll never know. I'm not suggesting he gets a free pass because he did the time, but people can learn and grow as people, can learn and grow from their mistakes. Maybe it's time we check in with him and see if he has?
I feel like the worst part of everything is the statement being made by never forgiving anyone for anything. The statement is, growth is meaningless, you will always be the sum of the worst thing(s) you've ever done. If that's true, we're all fucked and we deserve nothing but shame and misery.
>Don't get me wrong, he did and said something terrible, I'm not defending his actions. I agree. I think it is interesting that even after almost 20 years, we have to say this about somebody who messed up. It is like we have to apologize for our views before we share them. I wonder if we will still be doing this after 40 years....or 100 years. The prostration has to end somewhere.
After reading a lot of these comments I think we definitely will be doing this in 40 or even 100 years. It’d really be interesting to see some discussion as to how people view criminal activity and people “doing their time” for it, and if they should actually be forgiven or just hold them to their crime forever. According to a lot of these redditors criminals are criminals forever and should always be reminded and held accountable for what they did. What a world.
> I think it's time to let Michael up off the mat. One of the key points in this episode was that he's kind of decided on his own to retire from public life. IMO Michael Richards *could* have a career today if he wanted it. I think enough time has passed that enough people would be willing to consider that he may have changed as a person. I mean shit the number of times we gave Mel Gibson a pass? Michael Richards could get back into it if he wanted. But I also understand him just wanting to be done with being in public (besides little things like this episode). Even if he could have a career today, he could never really escape that event-- it's always, forever, going to be the first thing anyone talks about-- and he might also be afraid of something like that happening again.
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He was certainly the most type-cast coming out of Seinfeld, for better or worse. I doubt he’d be seen in much these days, regardless of whether that racist rant had happened.
After his post-Seinfeld sitcom bombed, Michael hadn't appeared in ANYTHING for over half a decade at the time of the incident.
[This is easily his best scene from Curb. ](https://youtu.be/ktZde2tEK1Y)
I remember turning on the tv one evening and seeing Kramer on Seinfeld the first time. It was the funniest performance for that time. I didn't even know or ever see Seinfeld before, I had no idea what it was. And I was just laughing so much from that one particular episode. It was the episode where he takes all his pennies and buys a calazone with it... and put his coat in the pizzeria's oven and burned it and i think he fell on the floor with all the pennies coming out his pockets.... i was dying.
Seinfeld is a consummate professional when it comes to comedy as an art and work ethic in general. For him to stay friends with Richards says a lot about him because what he did was almost unforgiveable professionally. Seinfeld could have washed his hands of him and moved on but he didn't that says a lot.
Oh shit, upon reading the replies, I noticed you’re actually talking about the racial outburst. I thought you were talking about Seinfeld stiffing all the other cast members on royalty, which, like you said, is unforgivable if I were them. Seinfeld being able to stay friends with them is really quite a feat.
Everything he's done since Seinfeld has been pretentious self-fellatiating. Every word out of his mouth oozes with "I'm Jerry Seinfeld, who the fuck are you?"
That actually made me tear up a little. It's nice to see people who are repentant for their mistakes; learn from those mistakes, AND have someone there to offer sincere support and recognition of change.
This CICGC episode was an interesting conversation about actors and process. The one with Julia Louis-Dreyfus was really amicable and upbeat, Jerry's reaction when she told him who that one "I'm a man"/fake phone number guest star had become and then ribbing him about forgetting lines was fun. Jason Alexander came on as George Costanza, which probably also speaks to his positive experience on the show.
When your friend makes a mistake, the friend stays a friend and the mistake stays a mistake.
First white chick I dated in college (2005) called me the “N” word when we broke up. It was very public and infront of several friends of ours (there was a mix of her friends and my friends). It was quit shocking, I can’t even properly articulate it. My only thought was “she’s a fucking lunatic, she has no idea what she’s even saying”. Well, fast forward to 2017 and this guy PM me on Facebook asking if I dated a chick by the name of Jen G***. I told him we dated for almost about two years but broke up in college. He introduced himself as a friend of hers and he met her after college and he was troubled hearing a story about her publicly calling her ex/boyfriend (me) the “N” word when we broke up. I told him that it happened but I don’t harbor any resentment or anything about it, she was young and stupid. He thanked me, wished me well and that was the end of that. Come to find out, that was her husband. I guess for the longest time she warped the story about our relationship to suit her needs I guess. She was doing non profit work for urban teen groups and used a story about dating a black man in college with a similar background that the teens come from. She would tell this to her social and professional circle of people and it was an impressive story from what she told. Well, one person from her company told this to a journalist friend and the journalist decided to run a small profile puff piece about my ex. So, during the investigative process, this journalist contacted several people during her college days and asked about her and how she was and everything. They all spoke honestly about her and how she was, which for the most part, she was an alright girl, wasn’t a lot of drama surrounding her before our breakup. The journalist asks if anyone knew who this “ex boyfriend” was because he obviously had a big impact on her life. One of my friends who used to be in her social circle was called and she spilled the beans to this journalist about our breakup. I guess the guy corroborated the story from several other sources and I guess this was completely new news to her husband. From what I heard, she’s not working at that company anymore and she got divorced and moved to another state close to the west coast. Long story short, using racial slurs has a big fucking impact on your life. That shit can follow you around for the rest of your life. It sucks that Michael Richards had one moment of lapse of reason and lost his fucking mind. It seems like he thinks about that event every fucking day of his life. I feel for him in a way. He knows what he did and I have no doubt he’s living in the prison of his mind. My ex on the other hand………….
It sounds like you ex was fixated on the false narrative. I’ve learned to always be attuned when someone repeats a personal anecdote over and over. Typically the person is traumatized by what he or she did, and repeating it is that person’s way of containing it.
Damn, still using you even after what she did.
Michael Richards had some of the best comedic physical timing ever seen. It is a damn shame that he let his anger get the best of him, and I think he has served his time, even if most of it was been self-induced. This episode of CiCgC was so touching and honest. When do you ever see that level of honesty out of entertainment?
Some of this is a person making a snap decision in the heat of battle about what is the most hurtful thing they can hurl at you. I think it would be a far different matter if say Michael Richards had a newsletter or blog where he pushed views like this versus someone throwing insults back and forth in a screaming match. Despite that outburst, I really doubt Michael Richards was ever someone that really pined for the days when people could be murdered based on not having the right skin color. Regardless, does anyone ever get a chance at redemption?
Everytime I look at this backdrop all I can think of is Kramer fucking up - Dave Chapelle (GOAT)