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Michael Richards's Profile
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Recent Shows: Seinfeld
Biography:
Immortalized as Cosmo Kramer on the classic American sitcom "Seinfeld" (1990) ,
L.A. comedy star Michael Richards, born in Culver City, California,
developed an early interest in acting in high school. He attended the
California Institute of the Arts and ...(read more)
Immortalized as Cosmo Kramer on the classic American sitcom "Seinfeld" (1990) ,
L.A. comedy star Michael Richards, born in Culver City, California,
developed an early interest in acting in high school. He attended the
California Institute of the Arts and graduated at Evergreen State
College in Washington with his BFA in drama. Around this time, he
founded an improv company with 'Ed Begley Jr.' although it didn't last long.
Michael interrupted his fledgling career with a two-year stint in the
Army and lived a rather wanderlust lifestyle until finally grounding
himself again in theater. First performing with the San Diego Repertory
Company, he subsequently returned to L.A. where he developed a stand-up
comedy act.
Inspired by the physical comedy of such legends as 'Charles Chaplin' and 'Jacques Tati' ,
he paid his dues on the comedy circuit until comedian 'Billy Crystal' noticed
him and gave him a break on one of his comedy specials. Michael earned
a regular spot on the sketch comedy series "Fridays" (1980) , where he created
the character of Battle Boy who liked to blow up army soldiers. He also
appeared in such minor slapstick films as Young Doctors in Love (1982) and Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) .
Everything finally came together for the elastic-faced comedian in
1989, after being cast as Cosmo Kramer, 'Jerry Seinfeld's convulsive,
frizzy-mopped neighbor and pal on "Seinfeld" (1990) . The frenzied character
earned him three Emmy awards and instant cult status. What can be a
blessing, however, can also be a curse. So strongly identified with the
Kramer character, Michael has major concerns once the series ended in
1998.
Despite great comedy work in the films Unstrung Heroes (1995) and Trial and Error (1997) , he didn't
nab a strong career in film. Meanwhile, a subsequent sitcom vehicle
"Michael Richards Show, The" (2000) , in which he served as creator, co-writer, and co-executive
producer, went down the tubes quickly after his character was
criticized as too one-note and "Kramer-esque" in style. Like other
similar actors before him, such as 'Carroll O'Connor (I)' , the versatile Michael is
smartly riding out the Kramer storm until he finds the right time to
resurface. That time to resurface was in late 2006. However, it was for
all the wrong reasons. He was caught on tape at a Los Angeles comedy
club, delivering a racist tirade directed at two African-American
hecklers. Although he has repeatedly apologized through the media, it
is unknown what damage this may do to his career.
Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Quotes:
* "My job is to stay out of his way." - in an interview with Oprah
explaining how he prepared for the character of Kramer
* "My job is to stay out of his way." - in an interview with Oprah
explaining how he prepared for the character of Kramer
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