Jerry Seinfeld (character)
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Jerry Seinfeld
First appearance	The Seinfeld Chronicles
Last appearance	The Finale, Part II
Cause/reason	End of Show
Created by	Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David A fictional variant of himself.
Portrayed by	Jerry Seinfeld
Information
Aliases	Dylan Murphy Kal Varnsen
Gender	Male
Age	30s
Occupation	stand-up comedian
Family	Morty (father) Helen (mother) Unnamed sister
Relatives	Leo, Mac (uncles); Stella, Silvia, Rose (aunts); Jeffery, Artie, Douglass (cousins); Nana (grandmother)

Jerry Seinfeld is the main protagonist on the United States television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998). This semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.

The series revolves around Jerry's misadventures with his best friend George Costanza, neighbor Cosmo Kramer, and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. He is usually the voice of reason amidst his friends' antics and the focal point of the foursome's relationship. An eternal optimist, he rarely runs into major personal problems. Jerry is the only main character on the show to maintain the same career (a stand-up comedian, like the real Seinfeld) throughout the series. He is the most observational character, sarcastically commenting on his friends' quirky habits.

Much of the show's action takes place in Jerry's apartment located at 129 West 81st Street, apartment 5A, as stated in the episode "The Alternate Side". He and his friends also frequently appear in Monk's, a fictional cafe. The outside sign for Monk's that is shown before we see the inside scene is actually that of Tom's Restaurant, a diner style eatery located near Columbia University on Broadway.

Jerry appeared in all 180 episodes of Seinfeld (including several 2-part episodes), holding the distinction of being the only character in the show to appear in every episode.^[1]

Characteristics

Jerry is the most grounded character in the show, a figure who is "able to observe the chaos around him but not always be a part of it."^[2] Plot lines involving Jerry often concern his various relationships — Jerry often finds "stupid reasons to break up" with women^[3] which, according to Elaine, occurs "every week."

Jerry is generally completely indifferent to what goes on in his friends' lives, seeing their misery as merely an entertaining distraction, as well as an opportunity for joke material. He often plays along with their hare-brained schemes, though this is often just so that he can see them fail. In the episode "The Serenity Now," Jerry lets out his emotions and cries, and is perplexed by the experience ("What is this salty discharge?")^[4] In "The Foundation" Elaine points out that he has "never felt remorse," to which Jerry replies, "Yeah, I feel kinda bad about that."^[5] He will often nonchalantly state, "That's a shame" when something bad happens (often due to his or his friends' actions). A recurring joke is Jerry not helping Elaine carrying groceries or heavy objects; in fact, he acts with no regard to see her struggling. One general trait on him, Elaine, and George, is not to let go of simplistic remarks and goes to great lengths to be proven right, like the time he rented a house in Tuscany, Italy just because the "Maestro" told him there were not any available or buying his parents the same car over and over again creating a great financial loss to him.

Despite his usual indifference to his friends and their actions, Jerry apparently is quite satisfied with his life, to the point that he actually feels worried about anything that may threaten the group lifestyle. In the episode, "The Invitations," for example, Jerry admits that he feels depressed about George getting married, seeing as how George will eventually leave the group and Jerry will never see him again. Once Elaine told him that she was "Getting out" of the group, Jerry became so worried about a near future of just him and Kramer that he almost unknowingly walked into the street with a car approaching while thinking about a horrible future life with just Kramer. In the episode, "The Bizarro Jerry," Jerry also grows panicky about losing the group dynamic when Kramer becomes too busy with his fake job and Elaine temporarily leaves to join the bizarro group, claiming that "The whole system's breaking down!" Jerry himself perfectly sums up his relation to his three friends in the episode "The Letter." In a deleted scene from that show, he claims that his friends are "not more important" than his girlfriends, but "they're as important."

Jerry rarely runs into major personal problems, unlike George and Elaine. In "The Opposite," this tendency is explicitly pointed out, as Jerry goes through a number of experiences after which he invariably "breaks even," even as his friends are going through intense periods of success or failure. In "The Rye," during a particularly trying time for Elaine, she angrily tells Jerry, "You know, one of these days, something terrible is going to happen to you. It has to!" Jerry simply replies, "No, I'll be fine." Many of the problems he does run into are the result of the actions of his archnemesis Newman, a disgruntled postal worker. In "The Old Man", George asks "What kind of person are you?" in which Jerry replies "I'm pretty much like you, only successful."

However with Kramer around, Kramer persuades Jerry to do some things that he's reluctant to do. In "The Mango," Kramer gets Jerry to buy fruit for him, after Kramer gets banned from the store, over an argument with the owner. This is until the owner bans him because his order is similar enough to Kramer's, that it's obvious he's buying fruit for Kramer. The famous example is in "The Chicken Roaster" which Kramer and Jerry switch places resulting in also switching personalities. Also there is a few episodes which Jerry does get into argument with Kramer in which he is incredibly stubborn, protecting his interest in episodes like "The Chaperone", "The Caddy" and "The Kiss Hello".

Jerry always wears a suit whenever he has to do his comedy act. There a few times which he has to wear unusual item of clothing. Kramer has persuaded Jerry three times in which he has to wear the "pirate shirt" in "The Puffy Shirt", the cowboy boots in "The Mom and Pop Store" and the fur coat in "The Reverse Peephole". Like George, his hairstyle is normal throughout the series. There is only one episode which his hairstyle is changed after he reluctantly agreed to get his hair done by an italian barber in "The Barber".

As in real life, Jerry is a fan of comic book characters, particularly of Superman, who is his hero. As far as sports, Jerry is a fan of the New York Mets, New York Knicks, New York Giants and New York Rangers. In early episodes, a Yankees hat sat on the counter near his computer. Later on, by the middle of season 3, it was replaced with a Mets cap, possibly to better reflect Jerry's real-life support of the Queens side. Jerry is also portrayed as a neat freak in numerous episodes.

Background

Jerry grew up in New York with George, who, according to "The Outing," were friends ever since an encounter in gym class in their school days, although Jerry once beat George up in the fourth grade. Flashbacks in episodes such as "The Library" portray Jerry and George in high school. A pizza place which they frequented is portrayed in "The Frogger." Jerry and George attended school together at Edward R. Murrow Middle School, John F. Kennedy High School and university at Queens College.^[6] After college, Jerry briefly worked as an umbrella salesman and reportedly invented the "twirl" to make the umbrella look more attractive. He eventually quit the job and went into stand-up comedy.

Family

Jerry's parents are Morty and Helen Seinfeld, a retired Jewish couple living in Florida. Although born and raised Jewish, Jerry apparently doesn't practice and generally doesn't "observe" many traditions, like the real Seinfeld. As shown in "The Soup Nazi", he does not keep kosher, as he is seen eating crab bisque. He also has a sister (mentioned in "The Chinese Restaurant"), although she is never named, and never appears on screen.

Jerry has an uncle, Leo, an eccentric minor character who appears in 15 episodes. Uncle Leo has a son, Cousin Jeffrey, who works for the parks department, about whom he constantly talks, but who never appears. In "The Stakeout," Jerry speaks to an "Uncle Mac," as well as a cousin "Artie Levine." In "The Truth", Jerry mentions a cousin named "Douglass" who has an obsession with Pepsi. In "The Pony Remark," Helen, Morty, Jerry, Elaine, and Leo attend a 50th-anniversary party for Manya and Isaac, an elderly couple whose relationship to Jerry is never explicitly defined. Manya is described as a Polish immigrant. In the same episode, Jerry references having an "Aunt Rose," and Helen mentions a family member named "Claire" who is getting married. In "The Soup" episode, Jerry mentions an "Aunt Silvia", who he compares to Elaine in terms of conversation.

Jerry's maternal grandmother, Nana, is an elderly woman with Alzheimer's, living alone in the city. Nana makes appearances in "The Pledge Drive," "The Kiss Hello," and "The Doodle."

Relationships

Jerry is notorious for his detached approach towards relationships and for breaking up with women for the slightest of flaws or for the most minor of reasons. According to the ninth-season DVD release of the series, 73 different partners have been seen or alluded to over the course of the series.

Elaine

Jerry and Elaine had once dated, apparently a lot longer than the two date others in the series, and they usually mention that things didn't work out. There are subtle references to the fact that it was Jerry who ended it. However, they slept together at least twice after breaking up: In "The Deal", they create a set of rules whereby they can sleep together but remain only friends. Their theory is ruined, however, when they start squabbling too much (Elaine is furious when Jerry gives her $182 cash as a birthday gift). Then, in "The Mango", Jerry is so upset at learning that Elaine had faked her orgasms while they were together, that she agrees to give him another chance "to save the friendship". Despite this, Jerry and Elaine do prove that a former couple can still remain friends.

There are several other hints throughout the series that suggest that Jerry and Elaine still have feelings for each other:

• In "The Tape" when Jerry listens to an erotic message on his tape recorder that Elaine made as a joke, and he becomes attracted to her again.

• In "The Cadillac, Part 1" and "Part 2," after Jerry buys his parents a Cadillac and Elaine realizes how much money he has, she becomes very flirtatious towards him.

• In "The Abstinence" when Elaine is denying her current boyfriend sex in the hope that it will help him pass his medical licensing exam, she practically begs Jerry to have sex with her, but he steadfastly turns her down.

• In "The Serenity Now" when Jerry's emotions come flooding out after being locked up, he confesses his love for Elaine and proposes to her. Later the horrifying tale of George's life frightens him back into his formerly cold demeanor and he takes back his proposal.

• Finally in "The Finale", when they think their plane is about to crash, Elaine says "Jerry, I've always ...", but the pilot manages to steady the plane, so Elaine awkwardly finishes her comment by saying later "I've always loved United Airlines."

Long term relationships

Other than Elaine, Jerry has only dated a few other women for more than one episode:

• He starts dating Vanessa in "The Stake Out" and breaks up with her in "The Stock Tip". Although she is only seen in these two episodes, Jerry dated her throughout the course of four episodes (three in production order). They break up because of an uncomfortable weekend trip to Vermont.
• He dates Marla, a virginal woman in the closet business, in "The Virgin" and "The Contest" and Tia, a model, in "The Airport" and "The Pick". These relationships are strange in that both women break up with Jerry for reasons of disgust, rather than it being the other way around.
• He dates Dolores (a.k.a. Mulva) in "The Junior Mint" and "The Foundation". (Season 4 then Season 8). This was the only time he dated a woman for 2 episodes that weren't in a row.
• Rachel is the only other woman that Jerry dated over multiple episodes. He dated her over the course of four episodes, and she appears in all these episodes: "The Raincoats" (a two-part episode), "The Hamptons" , and "The Opposite". Rachel ends the relationship, but Jerry, who was "even steven" at the time, didn't become upset, and was confident that he would find another girlfriend (which he did in the deleted scenes for that episode).

Engagements

Only three times in the entire series has Jerry considered marriage.

• The first time was with his "perfect" girlfriend, Jeannie, in the Season 7 finale, "The Invitations", but he soon learned that he didn't want to be with someone exactly like himself. In the first Season 8 episode, "The Foundation", Jerry tells Elaine that he had a perfectly mutual break-up with Jeannie over the summer.
• In "The Mom and Pop Store", while Jerry tries to get in uninvited, he jokes to Elaine if she wants to get married but she already had hearing trouble from listening to loud jazz music.
• Jerry almost got engaged a second time, to Elaine. In the Season 9 episode "The Serenity Now", after Jerry undergoes a personality change and becomes deeply sensitive and emotional, he proposes to a shocked Elaine. She leaves the apartment, but returns later to accept his proposal. By that point, however, he had gone back to his old self and he turns her down.

Breakups

Jerry's approach to relationships is notoriously fickle, and he has broken up with women, or provoked them into breaking up with him for some of the most trivial of reasons.

They include:

• For refusing to taste his pie at the coffee shop ("The Pie").
• For wearing the same dress on every date (she dumped him for snooping around her closet.) ("The Seven").
• For eating her peas one at a time ("The Engagement").
• Because she had "man hands" ("The Bizarro Jerry").
• Because he realizes he doesn't want to be with someone exactly like himself ("The Invitations").
• Because she had once dated Newman, who had ended the relationship ("The Big Salad").
• Because she wouldn't give him a massage ("The Masseuse").
• Because he drugged a woman with wine and turkey so he could play with her old toy collection. ("The Merv Griffin Show")
• Because he kept spitting out the mutton she cooked for him and hiding it in her napkins ("The Wink")
• Because he cheats on his "wife" to give another woman to give her the dry-cleaning discount. ("The Wife")

Jerry's famous guest star girlfriends

• Teri Hatcher in "The Implant" and in "The Finale".
• Marcia Cross in "The Slicer".
• Courteney Cox in "The Wife".
• Jami Gertz in "The Stall".
• Jane Leeves in "The Virgin" and "The Contest".
• Jennifer Coolidge in "The Masseuse".
• Janeane Garofalo in "The Invitations".
• Kristin Davis in "The Pothole" and "The Butter Shave".
• Amanda Peet in "The Summer of George".
• Marlee Matlin in "The Lip Reader".
• Catherine Keener in "The Letter".
• Debra Messing in "The Wait Out" and in "The Yada Yada".
• Christine Taylor in "The Van Buren Boys".
• Lauren Graham in "The Millennium".
• Lori Loughlin in "The Serenity Now".
• Melinda Clarke in "The Muffin Tops".
• Mariska Hargitay in "The Pilot".
• A.J. Langer in "The Fatigues"

Career and finances

Jerry is also very financially successful and occupationally stable in comparison with his friends (and perhaps with other standup comedians in general) and never seems to be at a loss for money, in comparison to George and Elaine who go through various phases of being extremely successful (more than Jerry's ever been) and extremely unsuccessful (also more than Jerry's ever been). Throughout the entire series, Jerry has been involved in numerous financial and material losses; however, he is almost always unfazed by these losses, equal to his lack of emotions when breaking up with women, indicating that he apparently has more than enough money to do with what he wants. Generally, his losses are due to his friend's actions, especially Kramer's.

• For example, Jerry buys his father a Cadillac Fleetwood^[7] and buys it back after his parents sell it, spending over $20,000. Jerry himself seems to only drive luxury European makes, such as BMW ("The Smelly Car") and SAAB, although in early episodes such as "The Ex-Girlfriend", he drives a mid-70s American coupe. In "The Apartment," it is revealed that Jerry could easily lend Elaine $5,000 for an apartment. Also, Jerry is regularly called upon to pay the check for the group at Monk's and allows Kramer to depend on him for food. Despite his apparent financial security, his parents seem to think he needs money, offering to pay for everything when they visit him (even if they have no money, as seen in "The Watch") and occasionally urging him to find a new job.

• In "The Checks", Jerry is revealed to be famous in Japan where he appears in the opening montage of Japanese TV's "Super Terrific Happy Hour" and he even continues to earn royalties from each appearance (although each royalty check is only for twelve cents).

• Jerry spends most of the series making a living from stand-up comedy, except for the periods when he and George co-write their own sitcom. Jerry also acts in the pilot episode of their show "Jerry", playing himself.

• Twice, Jerry is encouraged to switch to a career at Bloomingdales in their Executive Training Program. First his parents suggest it after he bounces a check; then in another episode, George and Kramer suggest it after he starts dating a "loser".

While Jerry's career is successful and his opening and closing stand-up bits are always successful, his stand-up performances depicted within the show are often disastrous.

• In "The Red Dot", Jerry's stand-up is cut short by Dick who is drunk over being "on the wagon" and "off the wagon".

• In "The Trip, Part 1", the hotel chambermaid throws Jerry's notes away causing him to stumble and bumble his way through a performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

• In "The Fire", Jerry is thrown off his act by Kramer's girlfriend Toby, who heckles him and later sees his entire crowd run for the exits when George screams "he's got a gun!" when referring to a prop comic.

• In "The Diplomat's Club", Jerry's manager oddly warns him that the pilot of the plane in which he flew to the show in was in the audience. Jerry tells that there is no way that could bother him but when he takes the stage, he can't stop looking at the pilot.

• In "The Abstinence", Jerry is twice bumped from playing an assembly at his old middle-school. When he finally takes the stage, he's promptly booed for his opening act about homework. David Letterman later calls him to bump him from the Late Show due to the poor middle-school performance.

• In "The Butter Shave", Jerry intentionally "takes a dive" to expose Kenny Bania, whom Jerry had accused of benefiting from the fact that Jerry warms up the audience for him.

• In "The Finale, Part 2", Jerry performs stand-up for his fellow inmates in jail but gets no laughs (except from Kramer) and is heckled and threatened by a prisoner who was in for grand theft auto (the last scene of the series).

Cleanliness

• Jerry has an obsessive insistence on cleanliness and neatness. A girlfriend of his (played by Teri Hatcher) comments that "he would have made a great Nazi" because "everything has to be just so."^[8]

• In "The Pothole," Jerry inadvertently knocks his girlfriend's toothbrush into the toilet bowl, and after she uses it, he is unable to bring himself to kiss her. As revenge, she proceeds to put one item of his in the toilet without telling him what it was; a distraught Jerry, thinking it could be anything, ends up throwing away virtually every item in his apartment in panic. Upon learning it was the toilet brush, he reassures himself that it can be replaced (his girlfriend is later bombarded with toilet water following a plumbing accident in her bathroom, causing him to break up with her).

• In "The Voice", he throws out a belt because it touched the edge of a urinal.

• In "The Butter Shave", he throws out a shoelace because it touched the floor of a men's room.

• "The Statue" is the only show in season two when cleanliness is discussed (between Jerry and Elaine).

Newman

Jerry has a long-running hatred of Newman, describing him as his "sworn enemy" in "The Andrea Doria" and showing general contempt for him at their every meeting. Newman usually reciprocates, although at other times he seems quite pleased by Jerry's hostility, as if it is a testimony to his effectiveness at irritating him. Seinfeld has also commented in interviews that Newman is his "Lex Luthor". The origin of their feud is never explained.

Jerry's snide greeting for him with "Hello Newman" becomes a trademark of their relationship. Even Jerry's mother utters the greeting, with as much displeasure as Jerry, in "The Raincoats, Part 2". Jerry wants rid of Newman so badly that he once even helped him on his postal route so that he could get a prized transfer to Hawaii ("The Andrea Doria").

Despite their antagonistic relationship, Jerry and Newman have ended up working in unison on rare occasions. In "The Sniffing Accountant", Jerry worked with Kramer and Newman to find out if their accountant was on drugs. In "The Soul Mate", Jerry and Newman help each other with their romance problems. Newman told Jerry about Kramer's crush on his then-girlfriend, Pam, while Jerry helps Newman get a chance to date Elaine.

Certain instances would even define their relationship as one of friendship or at least mutual tolerance built around their shared friend, Kramer. In "The Pick," he casually walks over to Newman's apartment and brings him back to his own to examine Elaine's Christmas card. Newman apparently puts up little fight and doesn't make any sarcastic remarks, then walks out without a confrontation. In "The Old Man," Jerry says "my friends" in reference to Kramer and Newman and in "The Bottle Deposit" he has no qualms about leaving Kramer and Newman alone in his apartment, trusting they'll "keep an eye on one another". Finally, in "The Barber", Jerry allows Newman to use his bathroom (he told him to flush twice) and even sit down and watch Edward Scissorhands with him, a move which comes back to haunt him later.

Nicknames

• A few times, Elaine refers to him by his full name "Jerome".
• In "The Robbery" he calls himself the "Master Packer".
• In "The Statue" he is referred to as "the King of Comedy" by Raymond Bochinski.
• In "The Boyfriend" he calls himself Kal Varnsen to help George with his "Vandelay Industries". He also uses this nickname in "The Puerto Rican Day".
• In "The Contest" he calls himself "Lord of the manor".
• In "The Limo" he refers to himself as "Dylan Murphy" along with George as "O'Brien" just to get on the limo.

Reception

The Seinfeld cast was placed sixth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters.^[9] In 2007, Entertainment Weekly placed Jerry Seinfeld eighth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons".^[10] Jerry Seinfeld was nominated four times for the Golden Globe Awards for the Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy category, out of which he won one.^[11]

References