The Untold History of “Seinfeld”

“Seinfeld” is arguably one of the best comedic sitcoms of all time. The show follows the story of Jerry and his three pals bonding and living life in New York City.

The show lasted over 100 episodes in nine seasons and, thanks to syndication and streaming services, is still a household name today.

But there are behind-the-scenes facts about the show that many fans aren’t aware of. Jerry Seinfeld himself has recently been sharing many of the stories of the show’s forgotten past, which include hidden secrets about the cast, crew and the show itself.

Elaine Wasn’t in the Pilot

The character Elaine wasn’t in the original pilot episode of the show, she actually wasn’t even written until after it was filmed. NBC executives felt the show was too male-centric, and demanded that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David add a woman to the cast, thus Elaine was written.

She is Jerry’s ex-girlfriend who he remained friends with.

George Costanza is Based on Larry David

George Constanza is based off of the co-creator of the show and star of “Curb Your Enthusiam,” Larry David. Although, his last name is actually taken from the other co-creator of the show, Jerry Seinfeld’s real life friend and college roommate, Michael Costanza.

His middle name Louis is homage to Lou Costello of the comedy duo Abbot and Costello.

Seinfeld Didn’t Care Who Was Funny

During a Q&A with fans, Seinfeld revealed the reason why he always played the straight man in scenes with his fellow comedic actors. He said, “I knew it would make the show better.

And I didn’t care who was funny as long as somebody was funny and that the show was funny.”

Kramer Stole the Show

Kramer became one of the more popular characters on the show, so much so that the longer he was on set, the louder the audience applauded.

The rest of the cast ended up complaining that the pause for applause was ruining the timing of scenes, so the directors began to ask the audience to hold the applause whenever he entered.