THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020020
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
IN THE BEGINNING, back in 1989, it was called ``The Seinfeld Chronicles.'' Two of the actors in the NBC sitcom - Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus - had a passing acquaintance with fame, he as stand-up comic, she as a member of the ``Saturday Night Live'' troupe.
Two others - Michael Richards and Jason Alexander - were known only to their relatives, their agents and those who might have seen Alexander on Broadway or Richards on ``Fridays,'' which was a ``Saturday Night Live'' ripoff on ABC in 1980.
This is February, 1995, after ``Seinfeld'' has been on the air for 100 episodes, and now virtually everybody who owns a TV set thinks of Richards and Alexander as one of the family. That's fame for you.
Richards is overwhelmed by the renown that accompanies a series that is No. 1 with viewers 18 to 49. ``The response to my character is incredible. When they see me, they say, `My God, it's Kramer. Kramer! Kramer! Can we have an autograph, Kramer?' I stop and remind them that my name is Michael Richards, and that is how I sign the autograph,'' Richards said not long ago at an NBC party.
Same story with Alexander.
``Too many people call me George Costanza. Not enough call me Jason Alexander. I understand George pretty well. But I don't think I am him.''
After 100 episodes of ``Seinfeld,'' viewers are comfortable with both Alexander and his alter ego, the lovable loser. Tonight at 9, as the February sweeps get rolling, Seinfeld presides over a pastiche of memorable moments.
Tonight, it's back to the good old days of the bubble boy, Elaine's crush on John F. Kennedy Jr., George's cheating on his IQ test and the master-of-their-domain episode.
George is less of a loser of late, having landed a steady job with the New York Yankees. And he's had some success with the babes when he wears a hairpiece.
But he's essentially the same insecure character who was introduced to prime time viewers when ``The Seinfeld Chronicles'' signed on with the pilot episode and three others in 1989.
Richards on the other hand told me that the Kramer character has evolved by leaps and bounds since he started bouncing through the doorway of Seinfeld's apartment. ``In the early episodes, I was a completely different character. I played Kramer like he didn't know what was going on around him. Now I play Kramer like he's one step ahead of everybody else.''
Heck. We even know Kramer's first name now. Cosmo.
Richards, who was born and raised in Southern California, said it was a challenge to develop a character with Kramer's New York City street smarts. ``I don't know anybody like him. But after visiting New York City, I understand where his vitality and his outgoing personality comes from. He's so uninhibited.
``Kramer knows everything there is to know about New York City. He knows all the subway stops. He knows all the tricks of surviving in the city. I try to play him as if the city is in his soul.''
The wild-as-a-brushfire Kramer hair: Did it evolve by design or accident? It just happened, said Michaels. Shortly before taping the pilot, Richards had his hair cut. Short.
``It didn't feel or look right. Too much had been cut off. So I pulled it up and out.'' The Cosmo Kramer look.
``Seinfeld'' evolved from a cult favorite to a smashing success among all viewers when NBC moved it to Thursday night at 9. It will soon be sold into syndication at which time the cast members will be millionaires.
NBC hopes that Seinfeld will produce another 100 episodes.
After the first 100 episodes, it's about time that the viewers knew the truth about him, said Alexander. ``I really have a thick head of hair that they thin out for my role of George. They also make me short and a little chubby. In real life, I look a lot like Kevin Costner.'' by CNB