Jerry Seinfeld

Early Years

Jerome Seinfeld was born April 29, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Kalman and Betty. After growing up in Massapequa, Long Island, he briefly attended the State University of New York at Oswego before transferring to Queens College. Shortly after graduation in 1976, he took to the stage at an open mic night at New York’s Catch a Rising Star. It didn’t take long for Seinfeld to be noticed, and later that same year, he appeared in a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special.

Acting and Stand-up

Jerry Seinfeld with his wife, Jessica Sklar in 2005.

Jerry Seinfeld tried his hand at acting for a short time, playing a mail delivery boy on the sitcom Benson in 1980. His time there was brief, however, when Seinfeld was fired from the series.

One of his most famous early appearances was on The Tonight Show in 1981 with then-host Johnny Carson. His stand-up gained even more attention as he made appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and The Merv Griffin Show.

Television History

In 1989, he and fellow comedian Larry David created a sitcom for NBC called The Seinfeld Chronicles, a semi-autobiographical look at a stand-up comedian named Jerry Seinfeld. Literally a show about nothing, it followed the lives of Jerry and pals George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Kramer (Michael Richards) and their everyday adventures. The show became Seinfeld the following year, and while it initially didn’t gain a lot of viewer attention, by the fourth season, it was the most successful sitcom on television. While early seasons of the show featured short clips of Seinfeld doing his observational stand-up act, eventually that part of the show was eliminated.

The End of an Era

On May 14, 1998, after nine years on the air, the cast of Seinfeld took their final bow. Much to fans’ dismay, Jerry Seinfeld decided to pull the plug on his sitcom – preferring to leave the airwaves on a high note rather than running the risk of losing steam, as so many sitcoms do. The last show met much criticism from fans, who were less than thrilled when the four friends landed in jail after violating a Good Samaritan law. The final episode was watched by 76 million viewers, making it the third most watched series finale in television history.

Life After the Show

While many critics dubbed the post-Seinfeld careers of the cast members “The Seinfeld Curse”, Jerry continued to work steadily:

• In 1998, Seinfeld had a comedy special called, I’m Telling You for the Last Time, a final telling of his most popular jokes.
• In 2002, Jerry chronicled the life of a stand-up comedian in a documentary titled Comedian.
• He appeared in Webisodes and commercials for American Express credit cards.
• He provided audio commentary for the Seinfeld DVDs.
• He wrote the humorous children’s book, Halloween, in 2002.

Oscar Presenter

Jerry Seinfeld with singer Paul Simon at the 2005 "One Night Only: A Concert For Autism Speak."

Jerry Seinfeld proved that he is still a comedic force to be reckoned with in an appearance at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in February 2007. His brief presentation for the documentary category earned praise from many critics as the best moment of the telecast, even besting the hosting duties by fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

Movie Actor

As huge of a performer and television star that Seinfeld has become, he has never appeared in a film, He will make his movie debut in Dreamworks’ animated feature Bee Movie, scheduled for release in November 2007. Seinfeld plays Barry B. Benson, and is joined by the voice talents of Renee Zellweger and comedian Chris Rock.

Personal Life

Jerry Seinfeld made headlines when he dated 18-year-old Shoshanna Lonstein in 1993. The couple split in 1997, and in 1998, Jerry met Jessica Sklar, a newly married woman. The couple wed in December 1999 and have three children: Sascha (November 2000), Julian (March 2003) and Shepherd (August 2005). Seinfeld is 17 years older than Sklar.

Jerry Seinfeld Facts

• While in college, Seinfeld was an amateur wrestler known as "The Jewish Terror."
• Jerry Seinfeld said his sitcom was inspired by The Abbott and Costello Show.
• He ranks number 12 on Comedy Central’s list of the "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time."
• He is an avid car collector and is said to have one of the largest Porsche collections in the world.
• Seinfeld released a book called Seinlanguage in 1993. The book became a number one New York Times bestseller.