30 Interesting Facts About Jerry Seinfeld - One Of The Greatest Stand-up Comedian Of All Time

Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld, famous for his portraying a semi-fictional version of himself in the American sitcom “Seinfeld,” is a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. Here are 30 facts to know about the actor:

1. It was after Seinfeld’s brief stints in the college productions, that he developed an interest in standup comedy.
2. He holds the distinction of being the only actor to have appeared in every single episode of the show “Seinfeld,” which aired from 1989 to 1998, with the cast of Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Saturday Night Live veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus, along with himself.
3. In the year 2009, E! named his show “Seinfeld,” as the "number 1 reason the '90s ruled," while on the fan-favorite episodes “The Contest,” was ranked as number 1, in the list of TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time, by TV Guide.
4. He was named as the "12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time" by Comedy Central in the year 2005.
5. Even while attending Queens College, he had appeared on various open mic nights at the Budd Friedman’s Improv Club.
6. He appeared in two commercial webisodes titled “The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman,” along with a cartoon rendering of Superman, who was often referred to has his hero in numerous episodes of “Seinfeld.”
7. He appeared in a series of commercials for the Greater Building Society, based in New South Wales, Australis, which were highly publicized and even considered a coup for the society. He is also said to have written the scripts for 15 advertisements that were filmed for the society.
8. He spent time volunteering, while as a young adult at the age of 16, in Israel’s Kibbutz Sa'ar.
9. Seinfeld claims the famous 1950s sitcom “The Abbott and Costello Show,” to be the main influence for his show “Seinfeld.” In a comment about the episode “The Gymnast,” he listed Jean Shepherd, as also another influence, as he said he learned to do comedy only from Shepherd.
10. He first appeared in a small recurring role as Frankie, on “Benson,” an American sitcom aired on ABC in the period of 1976 – 1986. He was a mail delivery boy, having comedy routines that nobody was interested in. He was later fired abruptly from the show and was not even informed about it, due to creative differences.
11. Seinfeld performed a one-night-only show to benefit Stand Up for a Cure, a charity aiding lung cancer research, in his hometown New York City, on June 2, 2008.
12. He was the very first guest on the “The Jay Leno Show,” the famous talk show premiered on September 14, 2009.
13. Following his graduation, he tried out an open-microphone night in 1976 at “Catch a Rising Star,” which is a chain of comedy clubs in New York City. This led to his first appearance in the Rodney Dangerfield HBO special.
14. He faced with severe criticisms about his Web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” due to lack of non-white comedians or even women comedians in the series. His response was simple - "Who cares? ... You're funny, I'm interested. You're not funny, I'm not."
15. In the year 1988, he created “The Seinfeld Chronicles,” along with Larry David for NBC. To avoid confusion with the teen sitcom “The Marshall Chronicles,” the show as renamed as “Seinfeld.”
16. He dated Carol Leifer, years before he created “Seinfeld.” Leifer is a fellow comedian and is also one of the inspirations for the character Elaine in “Seinfeld.” He had called off his engagement with Leifer.
17. He made a cameo appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' assassin on May 13, 2006. In her opening monologue, Louis-Dreyfus talks about the “Seinfeld Curse,” when the stage light suddenly falls right beside her. The next moment, camera shows Seinfeld, standing on the catwalk above the stage, holding a pair of bolt cutters and muttering angrily “Damn it,” as he was upset that the stage light missed hitting her.
18. He was one of the executive producers for “The Marriage Ref,” in which he also occasionally starred as a panelist.
19. With his appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” in May, 1981, he managed to impress Carson as well as the audience, leading to frequent appearances in “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and other shows including “Late Night with David Letterman.”
20. In an interview he revealed that a Seinfeld project was in development, which led to rumors of a potential reunion were triggered. A photograph of Seinfeld and Alexander walking into the “Seinfeld” series’ famous diner “Tom’s Restaurant,” just boosted the rumors.
21. His show, which premiered on July 5, 1989, became the most popular and successful sitcom on American television, with the release of its fourth season.
22. Apple Inc., in the late 1990s, came up with a 60-second commercial with the slogan “Think Different,” which showed people like Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others, who were able to think differently. Later, the commercial was cut short to 30 seconds and Seinfeld was included in it. The shorter version was aired only once, during the Seinfeld’s finale.
23. The Writers Guild of America, in the year 2013, named his show “Seinfeld,” as the second Best Written TV Series of All Time, after “The Sopranos,” while Entertainment Weekly named it the No. 3 best TV series of all time.
24. With the end of “Seinfeld” in 1998, he made a comeback with his stand-up comedy in New York City. He went on a tour and recorded “I’m Telling You for the Last Time,” a comedy special.
25. He met Jessica Sklar, a Public relations executive for Tommy Hilfiger at the Reebok Sports Club in August 1998. The duo began dating and later married in December 25, 1999. The couple have a daughter – Sascha, and two sons – Julian Kal and Shepherd Kellen.
26. Seinfeld’s show, despite being the most popular and successful among the American sitcoms and also a favorite among critics, was often described as being "a show about nothing," as most of the episodes were focused on the minutiae of daily life.
27. On August 30, 2010, he made a surprise guest appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” in an effort to mend the feud he had with Howard Stern in the early ‘90s.
28. He authored a book title “Seinlanguage,” which hit the shelves in 1993, just as his show “Seinfeld,” started rising in popularity. The title comes from an Entertainment Weekly article that listed various catch phrases from the show.
29. He donated the “Puffy Shirt,” he wore in the famous episode “The Puffy Shirt,” from “Seinfeld,” to the National Museum of American History,” on November 18, 2004. During the event he gave a humorous speech saying that it is the “most embarrassing moment” in his life.
30. He was nominated for a 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for his Web series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” in which he Seinfeld goes around and picks up a fellow comedian for a conversation over coffee in a different car each episode.
31. Jerry Seinfeld Net Worth: $600 Million