Summary
- The Seinfeld characters are often based on real people, adding another layer of realism to the show's plotlines and character arcs.
- Morty Seinfeld was based on Larry David's real-life father, who had a similar personality and career in the men's clothing business.
- George Costanza was inspired by Larry David himself, with many of George's storylines on the show actually being based on David's real-life experiences.
The iconic 90s sitcom Seinfeld was known for its off-the-wall and memorable characters, but who are the Seinfeld characters based on? Co-created by Larry David and comedian Jerry Seinfeld, the infamous "show about nothing" sees Seinfeld playing himself as a stand-up living in NYC and going about his daily life. His time on the series is spent most often with his conniving best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), the sarcastic and intelligent Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and his eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). What's notable about these characters is that many of them are exaggerated versions of real-life people.
So, who are the Seinfeld characters based on? While the four leads are the major players in the Seinfeld cast, the series is an ensemble effort, and even side characters like the Soup Nazi and the Sniffing Accountant find their roots in reality. Seinfeld is wholeheartedly a character-driven show, and therefore it was a smart choice on both Seinfeld's and David's part to base their characters on three-dimensional people. This assisted with creating some of the show's most famous plotlines and character arcs, and adds another layer when audiences consider that what's being shown on the screen may share some threads with reality.
Morty Seinfeld
Although Morty Seinfeld is Jerry’s dad in the show, in terms of "who are the Seinfeld characters based on?", he’s not actually inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s real-life father. Instead, he took his name and characterization from Larry David’s dad, Mortimer "Morty" David. The real Morty was similarly a retiree living in Florida who argued with his son whenever it came to paying a check, obsessed over the rules of tipping, and had a career in the men’s clothing business. Larry David’s actual father would later be played by the brilliant Shelley Berman (prior to his tragic passing) in his HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, although the character’s name was Nat David, not Morty, who is a fan-favorite Seinfeld character.
George Costanza
When Jerry Seinfeld was approached by NBC about developing a sitcom, he recruited fellow comic Larry David to help him write it. Obviously, Jerry Seinfeld based the character of Jerry Seinfeld on himself. David wasn’t interested in appearing in the show himself. So, who are the Seinfeld characters based on when it comes to Larry David? George Costanza, Jerry’s frugal, deceitful, insecure best friend is famously inspired by Larry David.
Many of George’s storylines – from showing up to work on Monday after quitting on Friday and pretending it never happened to sneaking into a girl’s apartment to erase a message from the answering machine to the infamous domain-mastering contest – were based on real-life experiences from David’s life. Currently, David is still serving as showrunner on his HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, and most recently appeared in two installments of Toast of Tinseltown as Sola Mirronek.
J. Peterman
In the Seinfeld season 6 finale, Elaine got a job writing for the J. Peterman catalog and she remained with the company until the end of the series. Funnily enough, in terms of "who are the Seinfeld characters based on?", J. Peterman is something of a misnomer. John O’Hurley played a satirical version of J. Peterman, based not on the real guy, but on the overly dramatic and descriptive writing style of the catalog itself.
To avoid confusion with the real Peterman, whose name is John Peterman, the fictionalized version played by O’Hurley was named Jacopo Peterman. The actor based Peterman’s distinctive, theatrical manner of speaking on “‘40s radio drama, combined with a bit of a bad [CBS News journalist] Charles Kuralt.” The real John Peterman created the J. Peterman Company in 1986 with Donald Staley with Peterman's son Tim taking over as CEO in 2000. The position was eventually passed to Kyle Foster.
George Steinbrenner
Larry David often made cameos in episodes of Seinfeld. He played Frank Costanza’s caped lawyer, and he was the original voice of Newman before his character was expanded, and Wayne Knight was cast. But his largest role was the voice of George Steinbrenner, George’s boss at the New York Yankees. Of course, in terms of "who are the Seinfeld characters based on?", George Steinbrenner is a real person. George makes mistakes on Seinfeld, especially at the office.
Audiences only ever see Steinbrenner from behind, and David didn’t play his physical appearance, only his voice (so he was basically Seinfeld’s Darth Vader). The TV Steinbrenner is portrayed as a bumbling buffoon who endlessly rambles until whoever he’s talking to just leaves the room, and he’s left talking to himself. In real life, he’s a very respected figure in the worlds of baseball and business for his work with the actual Yankees. On July 13th, 2010, the real George Steinbrenner passed away.
Jerry Seinfeld
Obviously, the character Jerry Seinfeld is based on the comedian, writer, actor, co-creator, and executive producer Jerry Seinfeld. However, there are some differences in how they’re characterized. In real life, thanks to the sitcom and countless late-night appearances, Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most famous comedians in the world.
In the show, however, he’s known only as a “minor celebrity.” He hardly gets recognized by people and plays the clubs as opposed to theaters and stadiums. Jerry is the only character who appeared in every single episode of the show and was often depicted as the “straight man” in his wacky group of friends. Seinfeld created the series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and can soon be seen in the movie Unfrosted.
The Soup Nazi
“The Soup Nazi” is one of the most iconic episodes in Seinfeld’s entire nine-season run, and it's hard to believe that in terms of "who are the Seinfeld characters based on?", there's a real-life inspiration for him. The Soup Nazi episode is about a chef who owns a soup stand and, if one doesn't follow his strict rules, he yells out, “No soup for you!” and refuses to serve said customer. Naturally, he clashes with Jerry, George, and Elaine on separate occasions.
The character was based on a similarly strict soup stand proprietor in Manhattan on West 55th Street who the writers often encountered on their lunch breaks. In the show, the Soup Nazi is called Yev Kassem, but in real life, his name was Al Yeganeh. Yeganeh was furious with his portrayal on the show and banned Jerry Seinfeld from his soup stand because of it. Funnily enough, Yeganeh was so infamous that he was also referenced in Sleepless in Seattle when a magazine writer discusses a story about a "man [who] sells the greatest soup you have ever eaten, and he is the meanest man in America."
Elaine Benes
Out of all the Seinfeld characters, audiences are the most curious about "the real Elaine Benes." Elaine was based on a few real-life people from the lives of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. She was partly based on Monica Yates, who David used to date. They remained good friends after they broke up, just like Jerry and Elaine. Yates is the daughter of author Richard Yates, which explains why Elaine’s father played by Lawrence Tierney was depicted as a famed author. She is now Monica Yates-Shapiro and her non-profit company Grand Blanc Grid is fighting to add more bike routes in Grand Blanc, Michigan (via MLive).
Elaine was named after Jerry Seinfeld’s friend Elayne Boosler, a fellow comedian, and was also written as similar to Susan McNabb, who was Seinfeld’s girlfriend when the series began. Comedian and writer Carol Liefer, a friend and ex-girlfriend of Seinfeld’s, wrote for the show and is often incorrectly dubbed “the real Elaine." Because Liefer wrote for the show, she based a lot of Elaine’s storylines on her own life, according to News.com.au.
The Sniffing Accountant
The Seinfelf episode “The Sniffing Accountant” also has roots in reality, as the Sniffing Accountant was one of the answers to "who are the Seinfeld characters based on?". In Seinfeld season 5, episode 4, Jerry, Kramer, and Newman give all their money to an accountant whose sniffing has them suspecting he’s a drug addict. Well, he was based on a real-life accountant who Jerry Seinfeld hired.
The comedian explained in the DVD extras for season 5, “My accountant, whose name I won’t mention (not that he doesn’t deserve the infamy) stole, I think, fifty thousand dollars from me, and snorted it up his nose...[I] just gave him an envelope of cash, and never saw it again. And I used to talk about that guy and how much I hated him, so he became the Sniffing Accountant. That was some measure of revenge.”
Jackie Chiles
Kramer gets away with a lot on Seinfeld, but that's probably because he has a lawyer. Kramer’s lawyer Jackie Chiles is a pretty thinly veiled parody of Johnnie Cochran, who represented O.J. Simpson in the most highly publicized trial of the ‘90s. Jackie was played by Phil Morris, who was even in talks at one point to star in a spin-off series focusing on the character, but it never materialized.
Morris always played Jackie Chiles with the same fast-talking and undeniable charisma that made Cochran a celebrity. Kramer’s “hot coffee” case was based on a real court case in which a woman suffered terrible burns from a McDonald’s coffee, but the real Cochran wasn’t involved in that case. Johnnie Cochran passed away on March 29th, 2005 at the age of 67.
Cosmo Kramer
Who are the Seinfeld characters based on? Well, out of the entire cast, nearly no one expected Jerry's neighbor Cosmo Kramer to be based on a real person. When he was a struggling comedian in New York, Larry David actually lived across the hall from a guy named Kenny Kramer. The real Kramer used to come into Larry’s apartment, help himself to the food in Larry’s fridge, and conjure up insane get-rich-quick schemes.
Kenny Kramer almost didn’t let Larry use his name for the show, and they changed it to Kessler, but it just didn’t sound right. The real Kramer even set up a tour bus where he charges people to hear the real stories behind Seinfeld episodes – just like TV Kramer did when he sold his anecdotes to J. Peterman.
