List of Seinfeld characters

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This is a list of characters who appeared on Seinfeld. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here.

Overview

Overview
  = Main cast (credited)
  = Recurring cast (3+ episodes)
  = Guest cast (1-2 episodes)
Cast and characters in Seinfeld
Character Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Jerry Seinfeld Himself Main
George Louis Costanza Jason Alexander Main
Elaine Marie Benes Julia Louis-Dreyfus Main
Kessler / Cosmo Kramer Michael Richards Main
Cast and characters in Seinfeld
Character Portrayed by Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Newman Wayne Knight Does not appear
Voice[a]
Recurring
Susan Ross Heidi Swedberg Does not appear Recurring Does not appear Recurring Does not appear Guest
Morty Seinfeld Barney Martin Guest[b] Guest Recurring Guest Recurring
Helen Seinfeld Liz Sheridan Guest Recurring Guest Recurring
Frank Costanza Jerry Stiller Does not appear Guest[c] Recurring
Estelle Costanza Estelle Harris Does not appear Recurring
Uncle Leo Len Lesser Does not appear Guest Recurring Guest Recurring Guest
J. Peterman John O'Hurley Does not appear Guest Recurring
George Steinbrenner Larry David Does not appear Voice Recurring[d]
  1. ^ Voiced by Larry David in the original broadcast of "The Revenge".
  2. ^ Portrayed by Phil Bruns in the original broadcast of "The Stake Out".
  3. The Handicap Spot
    ".
  4. ^ Voiced by Larry David, portrayed by Mitch Mitchell in "The Nap" and "The Millennium", Lee Bear elsewhere.

Jerry Seinfeld

George Costanza

Elaine Benes

Cosmo Kramer

Secondary characters

Characters appearing in five or more episodes

Character # of episodes Actor/Actress Character description
Ruthie Cohen 101 Ruth Cohen A cashier at Monk's Café whom George once accused of stealing a $20 bill with lipstick drawn on the president. She is visible in the background as the cashier at Monk's in almost every episode that features the interior of the cafe as a setting.
Newman 48 Wayne Knight Fellow tenant in Jerry and Kramer's apartment building. A heavyset male U.S. postal worker and Jerry's nemesis. A catchphrase of Jerry's is that he greets him with a contemptuous disdainful "Hello, Newman" each time they meet. In "
Helen Seinfeld addresses Newman with the same tone. In "The Revenge", only Newman's voice is heard, which was originally voiced by Larry David
and rerecorded for syndication. Newman often speaks in an exaggeratedly dramatic, Shakespearean way, and generally has a more advanced vocabulary than other characters. Newman is also noted for his poetry.

His first name appears to be unknown by any of the characters, even his employer; in "The Package" his business card gives his name merely as "NEWMAN". A minor character calls him "Norman" in "The Bottle Deposit", but this was a mistake on the part of the actress/character, rather than any revelation of Newman's first name. Newman is petty, vindictive, prone to hysteria, and often depicted as a stereotypical evil genius, who is usually undermined in some way. Jerry's exasperation or epiphany involving Newman will cause him to clench his fist and mutter "Newman!" under his breath. Newman and Kramer are usually depicted as casual friends, and the two sometimes participate in various unsuccessful moneymaking schemes together.

Newman has been shown to harbor unrequited romantic feelings for Elaine.

Frank Costanza 29 John Randolph (first appearance), Jerry Stiller (starts in season 5)[1] George's father. He was born in Tuscany. Very quick to anger. He was a traveling businessman who detests removing his shoes in other people's homes and wears his sneakers in the swimming pool. He is also a former cook in the Army and learned to speak Korean while serving in the Korean War. He invents the holiday Festivus as a reaction to the cultural commercialism of Christmas.
Estelle Costanza 29 Estelle Harris George's highly obnoxious and melodramatic mother. She constantly squabbles with Frank and George about their actions but is the closest thing to reason in the Costanza household. Enjoys playing Mahjong. George claims she has never laughed, ever.
Susan Ross 29 Heidi Swedberg Susan was George's on-off girlfriend and later fiancée. The daughter of wealthy parents, she worked for NBC before getting fired as a result of her relationship with George. She later partnered with a woman named Mona, but then returned to her relationship with George and got engaged to him. She dies from licking cheap, toxic wedding invitation envelopes George bought. George initially shows little remorse at her demise despite her devotion to him.
Morty Seinfeld 24 Phil Bruns (first appearance), Barney Martin (later appearances) Jerry's father. He has strong, if sometimes outdated, convictions about business and the way of the world. He spent some time as a politician in his Florida retirement community. During his working years, he sold raincoats with Harry Fleming and was the inventor of the "belt-less trench-coat". He hates Velcro because of "that tearing sound". He is extremely mindful of money, once calculating the interest and lost value of $50 that was owed several decades ago. He engages in frequent disputes with Jerry over money, refusing to let his son pay for anything in his presence, particularly restaurant checks.
Helen Seinfeld 24 Liz Sheridan Jerry's mother. Often needed to provide reason to Jerry's and Morty's eccentric lifestyle, though overprotective of Jerry and often refuses point-blank to do anything that would inconvenience him. She is the only secondary character to appear in all nine seasons.
Jacopo "J." Peterman 22 John O'Hurley Elaine's boss in the last three seasons and the fictitious founder of the real-life J. Peterman Company. Eccentric adventurer and world-traveler, he lived in Costa Rica as a child. Once fired Elaine on suspicion of opium addiction when she failed a drug test after consuming a poppy seed muffin, and again for her extreme dislike of the film The English Patient. O'Hurley has said that Peterman's distinctive manner of speaking was inspired by "'40s radio drama, combined with a bit of a bad Charles Kuralt."[2]
George Steinbrenner
16 Larry David (voice), Mitch Mitchell (in "The Nap" and "The Millennium"), Lee Bear (other appearances) George's boss. Depicted as a rambling, unpredictable, and hard-nosed owner of the New York Yankees whose face is never seen.
Uncle Leo 15 Len Lesser Jerry's uncle. Brother of Helen Seinfeld. Somewhat cranky. Has a son, Jeffrey, who works in the NYC Parks Department, whom he mentions at every opportunity. He is very keen on Jerry stopping to say "hello". Often when something doesn't go the way he wants it to, he attributes it to
anti-Semitism
. He was once convicted of an unspecified "crime of passion".
Matt Wilhelm 12 Richard Herd George's supervisor at the New York Yankees. Briefly abducted by a carpet-cleaning cult (by the name of S-men), Wilhelm later leaves the Yankees to become a head scout for the New York Mets. He appears to suffer from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
David Puddy 11 Patrick Warburton Elaine's on-again-off-again boyfriend, often referred to and addressed as Puddy. Unflappable and calm, yet can be a surprisingly passionate individual at times (usually as a result of something Elaine has said). Appears to be an airhead and frequently stares into space. Puddy loves eating at
born again Christian, and a face-painting New Jersey Devils
fan. His trademark line, delivered in a monotone, is "Yeah, that's right."
Mr. Lippman 11 Richard Fancy, Harris Shore (in "The Library") Elaine's boss at Pendant Publishing and a temporary boss of George in "The Red Dot". Later, he opens a bakery named "Top of the muffin to you!" that sells only the tops of muffins, stealing the idea from Elaine. Enjoys cigars and botches a big merger with a Japanese company due to a nasty cold and no handkerchief to sneeze into. He declines to shake hands with the Japanese representative because of this and ruins the merger, causing Pendant Publishing to go bankrupt.
Justin Pitt 8 Ian Abercrombie Elaine's second boss. Extremely wealthy business owner. He is a very picky individual and nearly impossible to please. Eats his Snickers bars with a knife and fork and requires that his white knee socks fit him perfectly and never fall down. Fired Elaine after he became convinced she had tried to murder him using a deadly drug interaction, using Jerry as an accomplice.
Mickey Abbott 7 Danny Woodburn A quick-tempered little person actor. Typically appears with Kramer, with whom he is friends. He becomes angry if referred to as a "midget". Often appears in roles as children or elves (with Kramer at a department store). In "The Race", Mickey states that he has two children in college. In "The Yada Yada", Kramer states that he has been married three times, and he marries for a fourth time at the end of the episode.
Russell Dalrymple 7 Bob Balaban The president of NBC who works with Jerry and George on a television pilot. Became angry when he caught George (at Jerry's behest) ogling his large-breasted teenage daughter after a meeting and called off the deal, though it was later resurrected. He becomes obsessed with Elaine and quits NBC to join Greenpeace in order to impress her. He falls off a small dinghy while chasing a whaling ship and he disappears and perishes at sea.
Kenny Bania 7 Steve Hytner Stand-up comedian considered a 'hack' by Jerry and other comedians. Jerry especially dislikes him because he uses Jerry's act to warm up his audience. Though his profession plays no role in his first appearance, "The Soup", Jerry Seinfeld felt it was important to the character, since Bania's indomitable self-confidence is characteristic of a certain type of club comedian.[3] Ovaltine is a main topic of his acts (Jerry: "He thinks anything that dissolves in milk is funny"). He has curious views on food and is obsessed with eating dinner at Mendy's Restaurant.
Crazy Joe Davola 6 Peter Crombie Writer who suffers from mental problems. Attacked Kramer, blames Jerry for misfortunes, dated and stalked Elaine, going as far as taking photographs of her around town and even in her apartment with a telephoto lens. Depressed that Elaine rejected him, he dressed up as the clown from the opera Pagliacci and beats up several street toughs who antagonize him. He likes to leave his door open to "encourage intruders". Attacked Jerry at the filming of the Jerry Pilot and was never heard from again.
Dugan 6 Joe Urla Co-worker of Elaine at J. Peterman. Thinks that no one should make fun of pigs.
Jackie Chiles 6 Phil Morris Kramer's eccentric but highly effective lawyer. Although very successful, he has had bad luck when representing Kramer. Favorite sayings are "Outrageous! Egregious! Preposterous!" Parody of Johnnie Cochran. After the group is convicted in the finale, Jackie confirms that Sidra, Jerry's ex-girlfriend, has breasts that are not only real, but "spectacular".
Larry 6
Lawrence Mandley
The manager or owner of
Monk's Cafe, sometimes antagonized by the foursome's antics. Implied to be gay[citation needed
]. Occasionally brandishes a gold earring.
Jack Klompus 6 Sandy Baron Short-tempered resident of Phase Two of the Pines of Mar Gables who seems to consistently bear a grudge against Morty Seinfeld. Owns a fancy astronaut pen that he gives to Jerry under duress in "The Pen". Transitions from vice president to president of the condo association after making false allegations of Morty stealing from the treasury to buy a Cadillac in "The Cadillac". (Jerry bought the Cadillac for Morty, but the condo board members viewed this expense as implausible due to their dislike of Jerry's act.) After being initially unable to convince a majority of the board to impeach Morty, he calls the swing vote an "old bag", prompting her to remember Jerry stole her marble rye and change her vote. Morty is then impeached near-unanimously. Later gets a "sweetheart deal" from Jerry for Morty's Cadillac, then subsequently drives it into a swamp and loses the aforementioned pen.
Tim Whatley 5 Bryan Cranston A
regifting". In "The Jimmy", Whatley irks Jerry by having Penthouse magazines in his waiting room and by possibly "violating" him while he was unconscious during a tooth filling. Also appears in the episodes "The Mom & Pop Store" and "The Strike
".
Mr. and Mrs. Ross 5 Warren Frost and Grace Zabriskie Parents of
The Wizard
", the couple confirms George's longstanding suspicion that they never liked him, and blamed him for Susan's death. In the finale, they became angry when Dr. Wexler mentions the look on George's face upon hearing the news of Susan's death. Mr. Ross is seen buying a gun after learning George was happy after Susan's death.

Other characters

  • Ada (played by
    Cuban baseball
    players.
  • Allison (played by Kari Coleman) – George's ex-girlfriend who he claims is obsessed with him, proven by the fact that she threatened to kill herself if George broke up with her. In the end of the episode "The Smelly Car", Allison compliments the vest of George's other ex-girlfriend, Susan, with whom she is seen watching the pilot program in a later episode, "The Pilot".

  • Babu Bhatt (played by Brian George) – An immigrant from Pakistan who owns the nearby "Dream Café". Jerry seems to mess up his life at every turn, by giving bad business advice on his restaurant and by not passing on his immigration notice that is accidentally delivered to Jerry's mailbox. Babu thinks that Jerry is a "very, very bad man" (wagging his finger).

  • Barbara "Babs" Kramer (played by Sheree North) – Cosmo Kramer's mother. She used to be a matron in the women's restroom at a restaurant, but was persuaded by Kramer to resign from that job and pursue an undefined venture with him. Although mentioned in "The Nose Job", her first on-screen appearance is in "The Switch" where she unintentionally reveals Kramer's first name to be Cosmo and has a sexual encounter with Newman. Babs was once addicted to alcohol and drugs, claiming to have been "clean" for two years.
  • Beth Luchner (played by
    The Yada Yada
    " with her new husband, Arnie.

  • Bob and Ray/Cedric (played by
    AIDS
    walk ribbon in "The Sponge", and attack him when he accidentally sets fire to a Puerto Rican flag. John Paragon's character is credited as "Ray" in "The Soup Nazi", but is addressed and credited as "Cedric" in "The Sponge".

  • Izzy Mandelbaum (played by
    Magic Pan crepe restaurants. His favorite saying is "It's go time!" He is obsessed with his physical fitness. In "The English Patient", he throws his back out twice after being "challenged" by Jerry. Izzy also appears in "The Blood
    ".
  • Jake Jarmel (played by Marty Rackham) – An author that Elaine dated for a period. Dislikes using exclamation marks in "The Sniffing Accountant". Broke up with Elaine after she bought Jujyfruits immediately after hearing he was in a car accident ("The Opposite"). Bought his glasses in Malaysia so no one else would have a pair like them ("The Scofflaw"). He started a fight with Mr. Lippman when he noticed that Lippman had the same "unique" frames as himself. The actor who plays Jake Jarmel also appears as an LAPD officer in the episode "The Trip".
  • Jenna (played by
    The Butter Shave
    ".
  • Jiffy Park Guy/Jiffy Dump Guy (played by Chaim Girafi) – An attendant at Jiffy Park who may or may not be utilizing George's car, along with other cars parked on the lot, as a den of iniquity for prostitutes to conduct their business in the episode "The Wig Master". His second appearance was in "The Muffin Tops" where he portrayed the late-night operator of sister-company Jiffy Dump who steadfastly refuses to accept trash bags of discarded muffin stumps.
  • Joe Temple (played by Robert Hooks) – A family man with whom George watches Breakfast at Tiffany's in the episode "The Couch". Joe dislikes George after he spills grape juice on his couch. Joe also appears in "The Diplomat's Club", in which George tries to watch another film with him.
  • Joel Rifkin (played by Anthony Cistaro) – Elaine's ex-boyfriend who coincidentally has the same name as serial killer Joel Rifkin. His first and only appearance was in "The Masseuse". Joel and Elaine break up because they cannot decide on whether his new name should be Remy, Alex, or Todd.
  • Joey Zanfino (played by Todd Bosley) – A 9-year-old boy who lives in the same apartment building as Jerry, Kramer and Newman. Joey's mother asks Kramer to babysit him but due to his staggering walk (caused by his ultra-tight jeans), Joey mistakes him for Frankenstein's monster and runs away. By his second appearance, they are friends and go to the same karate class, despite Kramer being many years older. Joey and his friends later beat up Kramer because he beat them up in karate. He appears in both Season 7's "
    The Serenity Now
    ", as he and his friends fight with Kramer.
  • Karen (played by Lisa Edelstein) – George's girlfriend in "The Mango" and "The Masseuse".
  • Karl (played by Ellis Williams) – A professional exterminator that Jerry hires to rid his apartment of fleas in "The Doodle". In "The Diplomat's Club", George befriends Karl in an attempt to prove to co-worker Mr. Morgan that he is not a racist.
  • Katie (played by Debra Jo Rupp) – Jerry's annoying agent. First in "The Diplomat's Club", she invites the pilot of the plane to Jerry's comedy routine and tells Jerry not to be nervous, which makes Jerry extremely nervous and causes him to "bomb". Next in "The Abstinence", Katie gets Jerry an entire assembly at his former junior high school after Jerry is "bumped" at Career Day by a zoo worker. Jerry is unprepared for the assembly, and after he tells his first joke, he is met with boos. Consequently, David Letterman cancels Jerry's appearance on his talk show after hearing about his poor performance at the assembly.
  • Keith Hernandez (played by Keith Hernandez) – fictionalized version of the baseball player, who befriends Jerry and later dates Elaine in "The Boyfriend".
  • Kevin (played by
    The Bizarro Jerry
    ".
  • Leslie (played by Wendel Meldrum) – Kramer's "low-talking" girlfriend, a clothing designer who designed the new puffy shirt featured in "The Puffy Shirt" episode. She also appeared in "The Finale" as a witness in the trial, but her testimony is not accepted because no one in the courtroom can hear her. Jackie Chiles tells Judge Arthur Vandelay to either get Leslie a microphone or they should move on with the trial.
  • Lindsay Enright (played by Jessica Hecht) – An ex-girlfriend of George's who was in a book club in "The Couch". They were supposed to read Breakfast at Tiffany's, but George watched the film instead and made incorrect statements about the book. She then appears in "The Gymnast".

  • Sally Weaver (played by Kathy Griffin) – Susan Ross's roommate in college who lived in Memphis, Tennessee, she appears in "The Cartoon" and "The Doll" as an aspiring actress and comedian now living in Manhattan. In "The Doll", she was directly responsible for ruining Jerry's bit for The Charles Grodin Show, not once but twice. In "The Cartoon" she becomes famous and even gets a cable special for her one-woman show, titled "Jerry Seinfeld is the Devil". In "The Doll", it is revealed that Sally was an executive at Federal Express.
  • Scott Drake (played by Rick Overton): A mutual friend of the main characters, often referred to as "the Drake". Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer give him and his fiancée a big screen TV as a wedding gift. They break up and his ex-fiancée, the "Drakette", gives it away to charity. In "The Pilot, Part 2", the Drake and Drakette have gotten back together and watch Jerry's pilot program on a small, handheld black and white television. In "The Label Maker", he is engaged to marry the Drakette again, but they break up after he learns that the wedding is on the same day as the Super Bowl and tries to postpone it.
  • Shlomo: (played by Reuven Bar-Yotam): Appears in Season's 8 "
    The Frogger", he appears again as Shlomo the truck driver, who George hires to help him move the Frogger
    machine.
  • Sid (played by Jay Brooks): Professional car parker. George fills in for him briefly in "The Alternate Side" and fails miserably, causing Sid's nephew to lose his foot to amputation because George's incompetence caused several of Sid's regular customers to quit. This created a significant loss of income to Sid, thereby rendering him unable to finance his nephew's operation. Sid appears again in "The Parking Space".
  • Sid Farkus (played by Patrick Cronin): Middle-manager of a women's underwear manufacturing company and friend of Frank Costanza. Interviews George for a bra salesman position and ends up hiring him, only to reverse his decision after George hits on Sid's boss Ellen De Granmont (Christa Miller) ("The Sniffing Accountant"). Later meets with Frank and Kramer to discuss manufacturing the bro/manssiere in "The Doorman". Wears Ban-Lon. He dates Estelle Costanza briefly while she and Frank are separated.
  • Sidra Holland (played by
    The Implant". Known for her breasts and her confident declaration that "They're real and they're spectacular." She also appears in "The Pilot", watching Jerry's pilot program with Sal Bass, and in "The Finale", sleeping with Jackie Chiles
    .

Unseen characters

  • Bob Sacamano – One of Kramer's best friends, who is often referred to as the source of nutty ideas or inaccurate information (his initials, perhaps coincidentally, are "B.S."). He is from New Jersey. In "
    Battery Park for $40: the hats are made from nutria, a type of rat, instead of sable. In the ninth season episode "The Wizard", Kramer states that Bob Sacamano's father (Bob Sacamano Sr.) lives in Florida; he's the source of faulty electronic organizers known as "Willards" (instead of the more expensive "Wizards
    ") that foil Kramer's run for condo board president. Although Sacamano himself is never seen, Sacamano Sr. appears in a deleted scene.
  • Cousin Jeffrey – Jerry's horse-faced cousin, about whom Uncle Leo always raves. He worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Jeffrey once got Jerry tickets to a Paul Simon concert, and George, sans eyeglasses, once claimed to see Jeffrey kissing Jerry's girlfriend in the street (it turned out to be a policewoman patting a horse). According to Uncle Leo, Jeffrey's favorite animal is the leopard because he likes the spots, and he keeps in close contact with his college botany professor, a friendship which Leo thinks is rare. Jeffrey received a citation from the city for his edible foliage tour through Central Park. The back of Cousin Jeffrey's head can be seen in the deleted scenes for "The Glasses" episode on the season DVD.[6]
  • Lomez – An unseen friend of Kramer's. He is an Orthodox Jew, "old school", according to Kramer in "The Fatigues". In "The Betrayal", Kramer bangs on the door of a portable toilet yelling "Come on Lomez, we're going to miss the movie!" When Kramer starts the Peterman Reality Bus Tour in "The Muffin Tops", he notes Lomez's place of worship on the tour. Kramer purchases a hot tub from Lomez and speaks on the phone to him while taking a shower in "The Apology". In "The Package", Kramer tells Jerry that he traded his stereo to Lomez for some steaks. In "The Voice", Kramer's intern Darren tells Jerry and George that "Mr. Kramer's in a meeting with Mr. Lomez". And in "The Van Buren Boys", one of the Susan Ross Scholarship interviewees is credited, although not mentioned, as Lomez Junior. His relation, if any, to Lomez remains unknown as his only line is "You like that, don't you?" when George mentions that he has a 4.0 GPA. In "The Slicer", Kramer tells Elaine that Lomez blew his neighbor's circuit to stop an incessant alarm, prompting her to do the same. Later in the same episode, Kramer tells Elaine that, in blowing his neighbor's circuit, Lomez caused the automatic cat feeder to stop functioning, resulting in incessant meowing from the neighbor's cat. When Elaine asks Kramer what Lomez did about it, he replies that "He moved to a motel and the cat eventually died."

Imaginary characters and pseudonyms

  • Art Vandelay – George's imaginary alter-ego, which is referenced in many episodes. In "The Finale", the name of the judge is coincidentally Arthur Vandelay.
  • Kel Varnsen – An alias used by Jerry in "
    The Boyfriend", in order to help George with his Vandelay Industries. He also uses this alias in "The Puerto Rican Day
    ".
  • H. E. Pennypacker – Kramer appears as H. E. Pennypacker, "a wealthy industrialist". In order to help Elaine get revenge on Putumayo in "The Millennium", Kramer (as "Pennypacker") attempts to use his pricing gun to greatly reduce the prices of the store's clothing. When Kramer inadvertently crushes the pricing gun, he removes the desiccants from some of the clothes (which will make clothes noticeably musty in five years), and tells Gladys Mayo, "I think I'm going to build a roller coaster instead." He also uses the alias in "The Puerto Rican Day" where he poses as a buyer interested in an apartment in order to use its bathroom.
  • Martin van Nostrand or Peter von Nostrand – As Dr. Martin von Nostrand, Kramer tried to get Elaine's medical chart in "The Package". He also used the von Nostrand alias in "The Slicer", posing as a Juilliard-trained dermatologist, and is recognized as Dr. von Nostrand in "The Strike". Kramer used the name Martin von Nostrand (without the "doctor" prefix) while auditioning for the role of himself on the show Jerry in "The Pilot, Part 1". Kramer posed as Professor Peter von Nostrand in "The Nose Job" in order to retrieve a jacket from another man's apartment.

References

  1. ^ Sims, David (2020-05-12). "The Sitcom Dad Who Made Grouchiness Into an Art Form". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  2. Forbes.com
    Video Network. Retrieved Jun 6, 2009.
  3. ^ Seinfeld Season 6: Inside Look - "The Soup" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.
  4. ^ Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Hot Tub" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
  5. ^ "The Stakeout". May 31, 1990 – via IMDb.
  6. ^ Somer, Jared; Somer, Adam. "Cousin Jeffrey: He Works for the Parks Department". Unofficial Seinfeld Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2012-06-30.

External links