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Jerry Seinfeld, born in
1954, American stand-up comedian and television actor, who became famous for
playing a character based on himself in the situation comedy (sitcom) series
Seinfeld (1989-1998).
Born Jerome Seinfeld in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in
the Long Island town of Massapequa. From an early age, Seinfeld aspired to be a
comic and admired his father’s ability to make people laugh. In 1976 he
graduated from Queens College in Flushing, New York, with a double major in
theater arts and mass communications. For four years after college, Seinfeld
performed as a stand-up comic in New York comedy clubs and on the road.
In 1980 Seinfeld moved to Los Angeles, California, where
he landed a spot on The Tonight Show in May 1981. This breakthrough led
to dozens of TV appearances on late-night talk shows throughout the 1980s as
well as a rigorous cross-country performance schedule. Rather than relying on
obscenities for laughs, Seinfeld mastered a style known as observational
comedy—he focused on the absurdities and ironies found in everyday life.
Clean-cut and impeccably neat, Seinfeld’s style made him widely popular. In 1987
he appeared in his first cable television special, Jerry Seinfeld: Stand-Up
Confidential. The following year he was named the funniest male stand-up
comic at the American Comedy Awards.
In 1988, along with friend and fellow comic Larry David,
he pitched an idea for a sitcom called The Seinfeld Chronicles to the
National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The show revolved around the daily lives of
Seinfeld and his friends, who constantly complain about life’s little problems.
The pilot episode aired in July 1989, and, with its title shortened to
Seinfeld, the series overcame a slow start in the ratings and went on to
become one of the most popular television shows in history. For his role as
himself, Seinfeld won American Comedy Awards in 1992 and 1993 and was nominated
for the Emmy Award for best lead actor in a comedy series each year from 1992 to
1996. Seinfeld received Emmy nominations for best comedy series every
year from 1992 to 1998, winning in 1993. The final episode of the show attracted
an estimated 76 million viewers.
After the show ended in 1998, Seinfeld went back to
stand-up comedy. The film Comedian (2002) follows him on tour and also
documents the struggles that young comics must endure in trying to build a
successful career. |
