Jerry Seinfeld was on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live last night where he revealed the longest he's been the master of his domain and how the actresses who played his many girlfriends had terrible breath. But the biggest secret the comedian let out was how he really hated the episode "The Alternate Side," because it involved a stroke victim (Elaine's 66-year-old boyfriend) whom the gang ended up feeding while he was infirm on a couch.
Get Out! Jerry Seinfeld's Least Favorite Seinfeld Episode Was "The Alternate Side"
Fifth Ave. Frogger: Classic Arcade Game Gets Real Time Traffic
Everybody loves the classic arcade game Frogger, but you know what would make it better? If the traffic patterns were "real." And now they are! In a move that puts those Pac Manhattan games to shame, designer Tyler DeAngelo went and updated the classic game for its 30th birthday. Meet Fifth Ave. Frogger, a tweaked version of the title that purports to let players control the titular frog as he crosses Fifth Avenue—with actual Fifth Avenue traffic patterns uploaded into the game in real time. See for yourself:
Fun Prints Focus On Seinfeld's Food Moments
Rinee Shah has created beautiful prints for a series called "Seinfood," which serves up the sitcom's food references via illustration. Any Seinfeld fan will be able to get even the most obscure call-outs in the series, but there are so many more missing! What about the muffin tops, or Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken restaurant?
Video: Mitt Romney Misquotes George Costanza
Last night, Americans were treated to yet another Republican primary debate—and besides the usual blather there were some highlights, including Rep. Ron Paul calling Rick Santorum "a fake," and Santorum claiming Mitt Romney had adopted Occupy Wall Street rhetoric. But the highlight of the night for us was during Romney's opening remarks, when he misquoted our favorite curmudgeonly New Yorker, George Costanza: "What's the George Costanza line? When they're applauding, you sit down..."
"Seinfeld" Actor Daniel Von Bargen Survives Suicide Attempt
The actor who played George Costanza's boss Mr. Kruger on Seinfeld is "clinging to life in an Ohio hospital after shooting himself in the head Monday morning in a failed suicide attempt," according to TMZ. Daniel von Bargen called 911 and said, "I've shot myself in the head ... and I need help."
Ian Abercrombie, Seinfeld's Mr. Pitt, Dies At 77
Ian Abercrombie, the veteran British character actor best known for playing Elaine Benes' boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld, has died. Abercrombie appeared in dozens of other parts over his 50-plus-year career. He was 77.
Are You Ready For Festivus? This Infographic Prepares You For The Rest Of Us
Friday is Festivus (Observed), so stop crying and fight your father. Though laymen associate this alt-Christmas holiday with Seinfeld, the tradition, as zany as it sounds, is actually based in reality. Seinfeld writer Daniel O'Keefe, who later published a book called The Real Festivus, says the holiday was created by his father, who celebrated it "whenever the hell [he] felt like it, September to May." As you can see, it's funny cuz it's true:
Port Authority Bus Lights Are A Kenny Rogers-Style Nuissance
Remember that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer and Jerry are both driven mad by a glowing red sign for Kenny Rodgers Roasters? Well, it seems that life is now imitating art. Residents on 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue (yes, people live there) are up in arms over the five-month-old LED display the Port Authority proudly put up on its Bus Terminal over the summer. "My cats don’t know what’s happening. They’re jumping around and looking all over the place trying to figure out where the light’s coming from. It’s funny, but it’s not funny," complained one neighbor.
George Costanza's Mysterious Hair Growth Explained!
George Costanza's inexplicable betrayal of the bald community has been explained! After photos of his new hair popped up in a hard-hitting TMZ report over the weekend, actor Jason Alexander found himself in the center of a flurry of media attention. Now, Alexander has written the single longest Twitter message we've ever seen in order to clear up this whole mystery today. And the shrubbery now appearing on his head is...a semi-permanent hairpiece (see the whole explanation below).
Braving Possible Poo, Hundreds Swim In East River
Yesterday, NYC Swim held its annual Brooklyn Bridge swim, a 1K across the East River. About 400 people participated, which apparently was less than in previous years. It seems that some may have been thinking about the warnings about raw sewage which was dumped into waterways after a four-alarm fire that devastated a wastewater treatment plant.
Video: Help A White Person, Support Netflix Relief Fund
With every good thing, there comes a grave price: just as Netflix has started showing Mad Men, so too have they drastically and unjustly raised their prices. Tears are falling on Macbook Pros and Pier One pillows as we type—now, how will white people get to watch every movie where Jason Statham plays a hitman? Thankfully, the Netflix Relief Fund is here to help. Watch below:
Video: What's The Deal With The New Seinfeld Website?
Once upon a time, a man had a dream that he was being eaten by a hamburger. That humble man was comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and now after over 30 years in comedy, he's decided to take control of his legacy. Seinfeld announced this week that he will be debuting his new website this Friday. JerrySeinfeld.com will feature clips of nearly every recorded comedy performance he has given. Check out one of those clips below, featuring a bespectacled 20-something Seinfeld making his first TV appearance in 1977:
Happy Birthday, Nexus Of The Universe!
Start preparing now for the celebrations of one of New York's more unique cultural institutions: the Nexus of the Universe. It's hard to believe, but it was 13 years ago this weekend that the Seinfeld episode ran in which Kramer (Michael Richards, pre-racist rant) got lost downtown at the beguiling intersection of 1st and 1st, and calls Jerry in a panic, exclaiming "I'm at 1st and 1st—how can a street intersect itself? I must be at the nexus of the universe!"
Police Suggest You Try Not To Let Thieves Into Your Building
There will always be burglaries, and recently there have been a fewparticularly in SoHo and the Village. And though police haven't necessarily found the thieves in each case, they have been able to successfully narrow down possible accomplices to one person: you!?!
Seinfeld To Trump: No Jokes For You!
It seems that Donald Trump, the potential Ross Perot of 2012, has really been making friends during his fake presidential campaign. According to the Post, Jerry Seinfeld canceled an upcoming appearance at a benefit for his son's Eric Trump Foundation, because of Trump's hotheaded birther rhetoric. And Trump was none too pleased: "You should be ashamed of yourself!" he wrote Seinfeld in an angry letter. As Frank Costanza might say, "THEY DON'T WANT ME, I DON'T WANT THEM."
Starbucks Calls Fraud On Hot Coffee Suit
Starbucks is striking back. Like others—and Kramer—before her, a Pennsylvania woman is suing a coffee company for burning her with their hot beverage. But Starbucks, the coffee company in question in this case, isn't just rolling over and offering the victim free Joe for life. Instead they are calling her a liar.
Even At The Wailing Wall, People Knew "Uncle Leo"
Leo Lesser, better known as "Uncle Leo" from Seinfeld, passed away this week at the age of 88. Lesser, who died from cancer-related pneumonia, had hundreds of credits in the movies and television, but was best known for the 15 episodes he played Jerry's Uncle Leo on the show ("The Bookstore" and "The Package" being highlights); and in particular, his outlandish rendition of "Hello!" and endless anecdotes about his son, Jeffrey, who worked for the New York City Parks Department. You can see his full obituary here.
Goodbye "Uncle Leo": Len Lesser Dies At 88
Last night Jason Alexander returned from opening night of Gigi at the Reprise Theater Company to hear that Len Lesser, an old Seinfeld castmate, had died. Lesser portrayed the scene stealing (and book stealing) Uncle Leo on the groundbreaking sitcom. Alexander wrote the following via Twitter:
Videos: All Five Fake Seinfeld Trailers, For Your Consideration
Seinfeld contains multitudes. Here are five trailers for imaginary films that edit clips from the sit-com into previews for cliched Hollywood melodramas. They are, in order of appearance, The Summer of George, Kramerica, Hello Newman, Pig Man ("Kramer stumbles upon a top-secret government project involving a mutant pig man. When no one believes his story, it's up to him to save his friends—and all of humanity—from the beast."), and our favorite Jerry the Great. YouTube user TRMUS1C has really been cranking these out, and we're looking forward to the inevitable Frank Costanza Can't Stand Ya trailer. Click through to enjoy.
Man Attempts To Play Real-Life Frogger, A La Costanza
Not everyone in the US is as obsessed with the snowpocalyptic Boxing Day Blizzard as we are. Some people are just going about their normal, regular, everyday lives, such as a 23-year-old man from South Carolina who was hit by an SUV while trying to play a real-life version of the arcade classic Frogger.
Seinfeld London Ticket Prices Are Makin' People Thirsty
What's the deal with ticket prices to see Jerry Seinfeld in London? The "lord of the manor" is performing one night at London's 20,000-capacity O2 Arena on June 3, his first UK gig since July 1998. British fans were already upset that ticket prices were high to begin with (between $108-155); but hours after the show was put on sale, the prices had already rocketed up to over a thousand dollars a piece thanks to ticket scalpers.
Slow Down When You Approach the Nexus of the Universe
Way back in 2005, the city began a hefty construction project to fix up the entire Houston Street corridor, starting with the area between West Street and the Bowery. At the time we were (rightly) incredulous that the city would get the project done in time for its January 2008 completion. Better late than never though: Today, most of the job is finally wrapped up (not including the madness that is the corner of Houston and Lafayette, which is a completely different project). But a late finish to the first phase hasn't stopped the city from moving forward. In fact, to little fanfare this summer, it started phase two, from the Bowery to the FDR, with a planned completion date in 2013.
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara Discuss Jersey Shore Trolls
Here at Gothamist, we love all things Seinfeld. And we especially love all things Frank Costanza, whether it's cute old-man odysseys to Queens or real-life stories of Festivus. So we were happy to learn that his son, Ben Stiller, has started a new online video series starring his father and mother, Anne Meara, where the two plan on "talking about stuff."
Man Cites Seinfeld In Defense of "Crap" Sign
A Pennsylvania man wanted to make a point: David Kliss was upset that a mandated sewer tie-in would cost him thousands of dollars. So he put up a sign that read, "$10,000 to Take a Crap." He was ordered to remove the offending word, crap, because he was violating a zoning ordinance that "No Loud, Vulgar, Indecent or Obscene Advertising matter shall be displayed in any manner." He took off the word, but it didn't sit right with him, and he filed a federal lawsuit against what he viewed as a bogus, vague law.
Video: Christine O'Donnell Is Master Of Her Domain
Last night in Delaware, Tea Party upstate Christine O'Donnell defeated mainstream Republican candidate Mike Castle to win the Republican Senate primary. The victory for O'Donnell, a marketing consultant who got a boost from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, is being called a "shocker" and "stunning" as well as a "GOP nightmare." But the most interesting thing that came out last night was when MSNBC's Rachel Maddow showed a clip of O'Donnell in a 1996 MTV "Sex in the '90s" segment: O'Donnell, looking like a dead ringer for Elaine Benes, explaining why even masturbation is a sin, "The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery. You can't masturbate without lust! "
Video: Frank Costanza Visits Astoria, Part 2
The Daily News extends their Seinfeld odyssey today, continuing a focus on the iconic show's relationship with Queens. Last week, they took actor Jerry Stiller, who played Frank Costanza, to visit the Astoria home used as the exterior of the Costanza residence on the show. Now you can see a video ("this documentary or something," according to Stiller) of that trip below, including Stiller reminiscing in the back of a car, and the surprising (and sweet) meeting with the home's owners.
Frank Costanza Visits Astoria
Who doesn't love a nostalgic visit to their old neighborhood? Who hasn't been curious about meeting who lives there now? A couple months ago, the New Yorker took Christopher Walken to his childhood home in Astoria for such a trip, and last week, the Daily News took actor Jerry Stiller there as well. But Stiller, who played Frank Costanza, originator of Festivus, on Seinfeld, was going to visit his TV home, the brick house on 37th St. that was used for the exterior shots of the Costanza residence. And Stiller decided to do a stop-and-chat.
Videos: Steinbrenner's Greatest Hits Off The Ball Field
George Steinbrenner's hands-on ownership of the Yankees as well as his legendary feuds with managers, players and anyone who crossed him made him a figure ripe for caricature. And he played along—check out his unaired stint from Seinfeld and commercials with Billy Martin and Derek Jeter below.
Brooklyn Postal Worker Pulls A Newman
Life imitates Seinfeld, once again. In a Newman-esque operation, a Brooklyn postal worker was caught with 537 pieces of mail in the trunk of his car. The Dyker Heights Post Office employee, 26-year-old Peter Ramsdal, was pulled over while driving to the Catskills on April 21st. Police discovered he had a suspended registration, and, upon impounding his car they found the hoarded mail—which then led to contacting federal postal inspectors.
"Sneaky Chef" Sues Seinfeld AGAIN
“Sneaky Chef” author Missy Lapine is taking another stab at Jerry Seinfeld, claiming he slandered her character by calling her a “nutjob” on national TV. In a previous lawsuit Lapine accused the comic’s wife of stealing her idea for a cookbook that showed parents how to covertly feed their kids healthy foods (sweet potato in a grilled cheese sandwich, avocado in chocolate pudding etc.). A judge ruled against her but nonetheless Seinfeld felt compelled to call her a “wacko” during an appearance on David Letterman. According to the Daily News, the new suit targets the statements made by the sitcom star as well as Harper Collins, who the author says twice rejected her cookbook concept, before handing a book deal to Seinfeld’s wife.

