01 Oct Jerry Seinfeld~ A Comedian Who Loves Comedy and Enjoys Life

Jerome Allen Seinfeld born April 29, 1954 is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director. He is known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, which he created and wrote with Larry David. The show aired on NBC from 1989 until 1998, becoming one of the most acclaimed and popular sitcoms of all time. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. In 2005, Comedy Central named Seinfeld the “12th Greatest Stand-up Comedian of All Time.”

Seinfeld developed an interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. He appeared on open-mic nights at Budd Friedman’s Improv Club while attending Queens College. After graduation in 1976, he tried out at an open-mic night at New York City’s Catch a Rising Star, which led to an appearance in a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special. In May 1981, Seinfeld made a successful appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, impressing Carson and the audience and leading to frequent appearances on that show and others, including Late Night with David Letterman. On September 5, 1987, his first one-hour special Stand-Up Confidential aired live on HBO. Seinfeld has written several books, mostly archives of past routines.
On November 18, 2004, Seinfeld appeared at the National Museum of American History to donate the “puffy shirt” he wore in the Seinfeld episode of the same name. He also gave a speech when presenting the “puffy shirt”, saying humorously that “This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.”

Seinfeld produced, co-wrote and starred in the 2007 film Bee Movie. On June 2, 2008, amidst his spring 2008 tour, Seinfeld performed in his hometown of New York City for a one-night-only show at the Hammerstein Ballroom to benefit Stand Up for a Cure, a charity aiding lung cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Seinfeld was the first guest on Jay Leno’s talk show The Jay Leno Show, which premiered on September 14, 2009. On August 30, 2010, Seinfeld made a surprise guest appearance on The Howard Stern Show, mending the feud the two had in the early ’90s.
In 2010, he premiered a reality series called The Marriage Ref, which aired for two seasons on NBC. Seinfeld is the creator and host of the web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Seinfeld, an automobile enthusiast and avid collector, owns a collection of about 150 cars which includes a large Porsche collection. In an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Seinfeld stated that he believes that the Lamborghini Miura is “the most beautiful car ever designed.”

Years before Seinfeld was created, Seinfeld dated Carol Leifer, fellow comedian and one of the inspirations for the Seinfeld character of Elaine. On national TV with Dr. Ruth Westheimer, he explained how, in 1984, he was engaged but called it off. When he was 38 years old, Seinfeld had a four-year romantic relationship with high school student Shoshanna Lonstein, who was 17 years old when they began dating and consequently was highly controversial, due to her age.

He is married to author and philanthropist Jessica Seinfeld, with whom he has three children.

In 2000, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld bought a house previously owned by Billy Joel in Amagansett, Long Island, for US $32 million. The Seinfelds have one daughter and two sons. Their daughter Sascha was born on November 7, 2000, their first son Julian Kal was born on March 1, 2003, and their second son Shepherd Kellen was born on August 22, 2005. All of their kids were born in New York City. Julian’s middle name, Kal, relates to the first name of Seinfeld’s father, Kalman, and that of Seinfeld’s hero Superman, aka Kal-El.

Among Seinfeld’s best friends are fellow comedians Larry David, Chris Rock, Louis C.K., George Wallace, Larry Miller, and Jay Leno.

In 2000, Jessica Seinfeld launched Baby Buggy, a charity that provides clothing and gear for underprivileged women and children. She is the author of the best-seller Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food, released by HarperCollins in October 2007.

In December 2012, Seinfeld said that he had been practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) for 40 years. He promoted the use of the technique in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder with Bob Roth of the David Lynch Foundation in December 2012 on the Good Morning America television show, and also appeared at a 2009 David Lynch Foundation benefit for TM, at which Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appeared.

On November 5, 2015, the David Lynch Foundation organized a benefit concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall called “Change Begins Within” to promote transcendental meditation for stress control. “It’s been the greatest companion technique of living that I’ve ever come across, and I’m thrilled to be part of this movement that seems to have really been reinvigorated by Bob [Roth] and David Lynch”, Seinfeld said. “I would do anything that I could to promote it in the world, because I think it’s the greatest thing as a life tool, as a work tool and just making things make sense.”

Seinfeld’s income ranges from $32 to $100 million a year, depending on what syndication deals are coming through during any given time frame. Recently, NetFlix bought all 187 episodes of Seinfeld for $500 million dollars and will begin to air in 2021.