Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A SEINFELD STAR PASSES ON...


Let me start off by saying I am a Phillies fan. As such, the only time I’ve really had anything against the Yankees was last October. For many baseball fans, he was Darth Vader. I never really knew much about him until the mid-90’s.

I will miss George Steinbrenner, who died this morning at age 80, for his contributions to Seinfeld more than his contributions to baseball.

George Steinbrenner was first introduced on Seinfeld in the Season 4 episode, "The Smelly Car," when Kramer said that Steinbrenner's proclivity for trading away the Yankees' best prospects was ruining his life. But at the end of Season 5, when George Costanza would get a job working for the Yankees, Steinbrenner would become a recurring character on the best sitcom ever made.

Steinbrenner, who died Tuesday at the age of 80, never actually appeared on Seinfeld. But even though it was Seinfeld co-creator Larry David who voiced the Steinbrenner character, while an actor named Lee Bear was used to show the back of the owner's head, Steinbrenner actually became one of the most significant characters in Seinfeld's last few seasons.
Often when characters would find themselves in precarious predicaments it was because of something related to Steinbrenner: When Costanza took a nap under his desk and didn't want Steinbrenner to find out, he had to call Jerry and ask him to phone in a bomb threat. When Costanza tried to convince a woman he had met that he was from Arkansas, Steinbrenner became convinced that Costanza was moonlighting for Tyler Chicken. When Costanza promised during a sexual encounter to give his secretary a raise, it was Steinbrenner who had to sign off on it. and so on.
The Steinbrenner character appeared on 16 episodes of Seinfeld, which makes him one of the most significant of the show's large cast of minor characters -- that's more than Uncle Leo, more than David Puddy, more than Kenny Bania, more than Jackie Chiles and more than Tim Whatley.
Despite never appearing on camera, Steinbrenner will be remembered for playing a major role in one of the major television programs of 20th Century America.

So, farewell Mr. Steinbrenner. I hope there are plenty of eggplant calzones in heaven!

2 comments:

  1. >"Steinbrenner would become a recurring character on the best sitcom ever made."<

    Best Sitcom Ever Made:
    "The Andy Griffith Show"

    Funniest Sitcom Ever Made:
    "Frasier"


    These are non-negotiable.

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McBoobtube

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr. McBoob, I found your selections so laughable, I almost rejected this comment.

    Everyone knows, Seinfeld wins both of your titles.

    "No soup for you!"

    And I ain't negotiatin'!

    -Da Broad Street Bully

    ReplyDelete

HOBBY OR ADDICTION?

HOBBY OR ADDICTION?