HOLLYWOOD URBAN LEGEND: JERRY SEINELD

URBAN LEGEND: Was Jerry Seinfeld offered over $100 million to do a 10th season of Seinfeld?

ANSWER: Yes he was!

Jerry Seinfeld turned down an offer from NBC that would have made him $110 million for a tenth season of the show.

Jerry said that this was because any kind of comedy is funny only upto a certain level. A one hour standup comedy might be the best thing you've ever thing, but extend it just by 5 minutes and it could be the worst experience of your life.

 
Jerry and Larry wanted to end the show at the point where it was still being loved and was making people laugh all over the globe, and they thought that Season 9 was the perfect time to do that.

STAR FRIENDS: JERRY SEINFELD AND LARRY DAVID

David met comedian Jerry Seinfeld in 1976, and the two soon began collaborating on stand-up material. As Seinfeld’s stand-up career took off, David worked as a writer and performer (1980–82) on the ABC television sketch comedy series Fridays and as a writer (1984–85) for Saturday Night Live (SNL), but he never gained much public notice. David was known as “a comic’s comic” whose antagonistic, bitingly sarcastic act often alienated the audience but delighted his fellow comedians. In 1988 Seinfeld was offered a sitcom pilot by NBC, and he and David created Seinfeld.

Jerry Seinfeld was no stranger to comedy, but with Larry David, something clicked. It wasn’t just Larry’s knack for cracking jokes; he was different. Jerry recalls, “I’d never met a comedian who actually wrote something—like, a real script. Not just an airline peanuts bit. Larry had actually typed out a movie script, and that made him feel like a writer to me.”

  
Jerry, always looking for a creative partner, thought to himself, “This guy gets it. He’s on the same wavelength.” And just like that, a legendary partnership was born, shaping comedy history in ways no one could have predicted.

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's friendship remains strong, as the two were recently spotted vacationing together in Italy with friends.

Both Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld achieved great success individually after Seinfeld ended, with David creating Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld signing a lucrative deal with Netflix...

WHAT A CHARACTER: PHILIP BAKER HALL

I have seen this actor's face all over the place. Unfortunately, I never knew his name until now. Philip Baker Hall has had numerous great roles, but my personal favorite is as the "library cop" on an episode of Seinfeld.

Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio on September 10, 1931, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a young man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor. He moved to New York, enjoying success in Off Broadway and Broadway productions. In 1975, Hall moved to Los Angeles to make a career in television.

Since then, he has had over 200 guest roles on television shows. He starred in many films, including Robert Altman's Secret Honor in which he played the film's only role, Richard Nixon. Hall got his first high-profile film role when Paul Thomas Anderson wrote a role in his film Hard Eight, specifically for Hall. Hall went on to have roles in two of Anderson's subsequent films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He also had a minor role as Captain Diel in the Rush Hour trilogy (though his scenes were cut from the theatrical release of Rush Hour 2 and he was uncredited for his scenes in Rush Hour 3).

Additionally, Hall has had roles in Midnight Run, Say Anything..., The Rock, The Truman Show, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Bruce Almighty, You Kill Me, In Good Company, Dogville, The Amityville Horror, The Matador, The Sum of All Fears, The Zodiac and Zodiac. More recently, he had a starring role in the 2006–07 Fox sitcom The Loop and had a guest starring role in The West Wing. Hall also appeared as a guest star in the HBO animated series The Life & Times of Tim. He appeared in the 2010 film, All Good Things.

Hall acted in Seinfeld as Lt. Joe Bookman, the 'library cop' who tracks down Jerry for a long-overdue library book in "The Library". He reprised the role in the May 1998 finale where his character is one of many to testify against Jerry. More recently he has appeared as the crotchety Dr. Morrison, Larry David's physician, on Curb Your Enthusiasm and an equally crotchety neighbor of the Dunphy family on Modern Family. In 2012, he appeared in an episode of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom. Hall also appears in a series of humorous Holiday Inn commercials. He is currently starring in I Never Sang for My Father at The New American Theatre in Hollywood. Philip Baker Hall is another character actor that certainly adds character to every role he has. He died in 2022...

RIP: LEN LESSER

LOS ANGELES – Len Lesser, the veteran character actor best known for his scene-stealing role as Uncle Leo on "Seinfeld," died Wednesday. He was 88.

Lesser's family said in a statement that he died in Burbank, Calif., from cancer-related pneumonia.

"Heaven got a great comedian and actor today," his daughter, Michele, said in the statement. "The outpouring of sympathy we've already received has been amazing and is so greatly appreciated. Thank you to all the people who helped make my father's last journey special and surrounded with love."

Lesser's lengthy list of television credits included parts on "Get Smart," "That Girl," "The Munsters," "The Monkees," "The Rockford Files," "thirtysomething," "ER," and "Everybody Loves Raymond," which featured Lesser in a recurring role as the arm-shaking Garvin. His film credits included "Outlaw Josey Wales," "Kelly's Heroes," "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Death Hunt." He most recently appeared on the TV drama "Castle."

He is survived by his daughter, Michele; son, David; daughter-in-law, Julie; and grandchildren, Jonathan, Kayla, and Mayah.