Jerry Seinfeld

Jerome Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy award-winning American comedian, actor, and writer. Seinfeld is often described as an observational comedian. He is best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the long-running sitcom Seinfeld, which he co-created, helped write, and executive produced.

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Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn, New York City. His father, Kálmán, was of Hungarian Jewish background and his mother, Betty, was of Syrian Jewish background. He grew up in Massapequa, New York and went to Massapequa High School. In 1971, while aged 17, Jerry spent a short period of time volunteering in Kibbutz Sa'ar in Israel. He then attended the State University of New York at Oswego in upstate New York, but he transferred out after a few semesters. During his time in college, he was an amateur wrestler who called himself "The Jewish Terror." He developed interest in stand-up comedy after brief stints in college productions. During his college years, . Right after graduation from Queens College, he tried out at an open mic night at New York's Catch a Rising Star in 1976. Soon after, Seinfeld appeared in a Rodney Dangerfield HBO special.

Seinfeld had a small recurring role as "Frankie," a mail delivery boy who had comedy routines that no one wanted to hear, on the Benson sitcom in 1979, but he was abruptly fired from the show.

A few years later, in May of 1981, Seinfeld made a highly successful appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Seinfeld then became a regular on similar shows, including Late Night with David Letterman and The Merv Griffin Show. Seinfeld was known for his incredibly dedicated and devoted work ethic (it is said that Seinfeld traveled in an intense snow storm to a comedy club just to find it empty).

Seinfeld created The Seinfeld Chronicles with Larry David in 1989 for NBC. The show was later renamed Seinfeld and, by its fourth season, became the most popular and successful sitcom on American television. The show left the air in 1998. As of 2007, the show is still receiving heavy airplay in syndication. The show also starred Saturday Night Live veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as well as experienced actors Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. On the show, Seinfeld played a caricature of himself. He has said that his show was inspired by the 1950s sitcom The Abbott and Costello Show. About his influences, Seinfeld, in his commentary for "The Gymnast" episode on "Seinfeld, Season 6," said, "He really formed my entire comedic sensibility--I learned how to do comedy from Jean Shepherd."