Random Dramatic Stories From Behind The Scenes Of 'Seinfeld' (14 items)

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  (#1) The Cast Killed Off Susan Because She Was An 'Impossible' Coworker

  George's fiance on Seinfeld, Susan, was played by actress Heidi Swedberg. In an interview Jason Alexander gave to Howard Stern in 2015, the actor retold the story of how Susan's death came to be written. Alexander had a difficult time getting his comedic timing to sync with Swedberg's style, and complained about it. She was, according to Alexander, "'f*cking impossible' to work with."

  It wasn't until Seinfeld and Louis-Dreyfus experienced the same type of struggle when playing opposite Swedberg that the cast got together with writer Larry David to try to find a solution to the problem. According to Alexander, "Julia actually said, ‘Don’t you want to just kill her?’ And Larry [David, the series’ co-creator] went, ‘Kabang! Now we gotta kill her!’"

  Bring on the deadly envelopes. In the show, George buys cheap wedding envelopes that turn out to be poisoned — and Susan licks them, sealing her fate.

  Alexander has since apologized to Swedberg, clarifying that no one wanted to kill her; it wasn't entirely her fault; and she was a "kind, lovely person who undoubtedly worked really hard to create Susan." He also emphasized that the relationship was never going to work between George and Susan so the comment about "killing her" merely gave an end to a doomed engagement.
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  (#2) The Actor Who Played Elaine's Dad Scared The Other Actors

  Actor Lawrence Tierney played Elaine's father, Alton, on the show. His role was one that could've had much more longevity, had it not been for his strange antics on set. Seinfeld said Tierney carried a butcher knife on him while on set and generally was kind of bizarre.

  The knife in his pants was actually stolen, and when he was confronted about it, he allegedly starting fake stabbing Seinfeld. "Lawrence Tierney scared the living crap out of all of us," Alexander said in an interview. While everyone parted on good terms, he was not invited back to the show. 
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  (#3) Tom Arnold Wrote The C-Word On The Windshield Of Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Car

  There was very little love between the cast of Seinfeld and the cast of Rosanne, which ran from 1988-1997. On one occasion when Julia Louis-Dreyfus accidentally parked in Tom Arnold's parking spot — the two shows filmed at the same studio — she found a note from Arnold that read "How stupid are you? Move your f*cking car, you a**hole!”

  Upset, Louis-Dreyfus told Larry David and Jason Alexander about what had happened and they confronted Arnold. He admitted writing the note but said he wasn't mad and considered the issue closed.

  His wife, Rosanne Barr, however, did not. Barr called Louis-Dreyfus a "b*tch" on Late Night With David Letterman, left a picture of someone's butt, and wrote the word "c*nt" in soap on her windshield, and faxed a letter to a Variety columnist that said, "The combination of arrogance and ignorance is quite ordinary in this town, but Julia takes the cake." 
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  (#4) Kramer's Popularity Became An Issue On The Set

  Michael Richards's portrayal of Kramer was one that audiences loved. When Kramer would appear on set during tapings of Seinfeld episodes, the live audience would cheer and cheer and cheer. This got to be problematic and annoying for the other stars of the show, and Richards himself, as the applause was lengthy enough to mess with the rhythms of their performances and took up precious time in episodes.

  As a result, the show's producers asked the audience to "refrain from clapping when Kramer entered a scene."
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  (#5) 'The Chinese Restaurant' Almost Got The Whole Show Shut Down

  In Season 2, Seinfeld's "The Chinese Restaurant" episode almost didn't make it to the screen. In fact, it almost ended the show. The premise of the episode — the misadventures of grabbing a quick Chinese meal before a movie — was lost on NBC's late night executive Rick Ludwin and his programming associate, Jeremiah Bosgang.

  After watching "The Chinese Restaurant," they complained to their bosses about the "plotless" episode and struggled with how to rationalize continued production on the show. Larry David heard their concerns and told them it was "in the spirit of the show," ultimately persuading them to continue with the episode and the show. 
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  (#6) Seinfeld Was Offered $5 Million An Episode To Keep The Show Going But Turned It Down

  After Seinfeld told NBC officials he wanted to end the show, they made him a very sweet deal: $5 million an episode to do Season 10. But he turned it down. During his last season, Seinfeld was making $1 million per episode and figured he had made enough money off the show. He also didn't want to ruin the integrity of the series. In his mind, he had an ending for it and didn't want to needlessly stretch it. 
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  (#7) The Original Leading Female Role Might Have Been Cut After The Actress Gave Too Much Input

  In the pilot of Seinfeld, the main female role was a character named Claire, the waitress at the diner where George and Jerry frequently ate. Claire, played by Lee Garlington, was supposed to be "the girl" on the show but, according to some, she gave Larry David too many suggestions, and he didn't like her contributions. Supposedly, Garlington told David that she "could write something better than he had," which infuriated him. So Garlington's contract wasn't renewed, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was brought in.

  Another version of the story behind why Garlington only appeared in one episode involves the network wanting a stronger female presence, one that Louis-Dreyfus brought to the table. 
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  (#8) The Real-Life Costanza Sued The Show

  George Costanza's character was based on Michael Costanza, a former friend of Jerry Seinfeld. The two had met in college in New York. But after Seinfeld aired, the real Costanza thought that George's character portrayed him in a negative light.

  In 1998, Michael Costanza sued Jerry Seinfeld for "slander, libel and unauthorized use of his name, likeness and persona for the character George Costanza." His contention was that Seinfeld stole his identity. Costanza maintained: 

  George is bald. I am bald. George is stocky. I am stocky. George and I both went to Queens College with Jerry. George's high-school teacher nicknamed him "Can't stand ya." So did mine. George had a thing about bathrooms and parking spaces. So do I.

  His civil suit asked for $100 million in damages but was thrown out by a judge in 1999. 
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  (#9) Jason Alexander Threatened To Quit The Show After A Table Read

  During Season 3, there was an episode in which Jason Alexander (George Costanza) had no role. After the table read where the cast went through the script, Alexander allegedly told Larry David, the co-creator of the show, "If you write me out again, do it permanently."

  After David tried to talk to Alexander about the difficulties in giving everyone equal time each week, Alexander replied, "Don’t tell me your problems. If you don’t need me here, I don’t want to be here.”
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  (#10) The 'Soup Nazi' Hated The Show And Banned The Cast From His Store

  One of the most notable characters on Seinfeld was the so-called "Soup Nazi." Based on real-life chef Al Yeganeh, the name of the Soup Nazi on the show is Yev Kassem, played by Larry Thomas. The Soup Nazi appeared in Season 7, but it didn't go over well with Yeganeh. In response to his depiction on the small screen, Yeganeh banned Jerry Seinfeld and the cast from his eatery. Yeganeh actually kicked Seinfeld out of his food stall himself after seeing the episode.

  After his food stall closed and he sold the rights to his business in 2004, Yeganeh opened another shop in 2010 at another location, but didn't invite any of the cast to the event. His soups could also be purchased through the Original SoupMan company, although the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
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  (#11) Julia Louis-Dreyfus Cried At A Suggested Storyline Involving Elaine Getting Fat

  Julia Louis-Dreyfus was pregnant twice during the run of Seinfeld. Her first son, Henry, was born in 1992, and her second son, Charles, arrived in 1997. She hid her first pregnancy with pillows, well-placed props, and other strategic set feng shui but when she was four months pregnant with Charles, Jerry Seinfeld proposed another way of working with the pregnancy: "I have an idea for how to play this out. What if Elaine gets fat?"

  Louis-Dreyfus cried in response. She said later that it may have been a workable storyline and even expressed regret about turning it down, recalling that she

  Burst into tears. Automatic. It was like a death sentence. So there are two things I have to say about that. One is you have no interpersonal communication skills. The second thing is, it was a great idea and we should have done it. It would have been a great storyline… I regret it.
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  (#12) An Episode About Guns Was Cut From The Series Because It Was Too Controversial

  During a Reddit AMA, Jerry Seinfeld revealed there was only one episode ever deemed "too much" for the show. In one episode, Jerry bought a handgun. But as writers were trying to make the topic funny – and not controversial – they found it was nearly impossible. "We did the read through and then canceled it," Seinfeld said. "A lot of other stuff happened, but trying to make that funny ended up being no fun."
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  (#13) Few Were Happy With Their Air Time

  Jason Alexander was known to be vocal about not getting scenes and jokes he thought he deserved. Aside from almost quitting at a table read, he worried that with the introduction of Elaine as a main character, George wouldn't be as important to the show.

  At the same time, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was worrying about the same thing. She complained her male counterparts were getting better storylines and jokes. 
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  (#14) A Culturally Insensitive Scene Created So Much Backlash That NBC Was Forced To Apologize

  Near the end of Seinfeld's run, NBC aired an episode that received a great deal of backlash from viewers. In the episode, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer are driving back from a Mets game when they get stuck in traffic caused by Puerto Rican Day celebrations. According to the NY Times:

  At one point, Kramer tossed a sparkler and accidentally lighted a Puerto Rican flag on fire. He tried putting out the burning flag by stomping on it. Angry parade-goers then began chasing Kramer. When they lost him, the mob began shaking Jerry's empty car and threw it down a stairwell. Kramer remarked that “It's like this every day in Puerto Rico.”

  The scene was an "unconscionable insult" to Puerto Ricans, said the president of the National Puerto Rican Coalition, Manuel Mirabal."

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