Michael Richards

Michael Anthony Richards (July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld, for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three times.

Richards began his career as a comedian, first breaking into the national spotlight when he appeared on Billy Crystal's first cable television special. He later went on to become a regular on ABC's Fridays. Prior to Seinfeld, he made numerous guest appearances on a variety of television shows, including Cheers. His film credits include So I Married an Axes Assder, Airheads, Young Doctors in Love, Problem Child, Coneheads, UHF and Trial and Error, one of his few leading roles. During the run of Seinfeld, he made a guest appearance on Mad About You. After Seinfeld, Richards starred in his own sitcom, The Michael Richards Show, which lasted less than a full season.

When Seinfeld ended in 1998, Richards returned to stand-up comedy. He incited a media furor while performing at the Laugh Factory comedy club in late 2006, after cellphone video was released of him launching into an impromptu racist tirade after earlier hecklers from a group of late-arriving audience members. Subsequently, due to significant media coverage of the event, he announced his retirement from stand-up in early 2007. He appeared as himself on the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2009, acting alongside her co-stars for the first time since the end of Seinfeld, as well as her bullying incident at Laugh Factory. In 2013, Richards returned to television when he played the role of Frank on the sitcom Kirstie.

Early Years

Richards in his last year at Thousand Oaks High School, California, 1967

Richards was born in Culver City, California, to a Catholic family, the son of Phyllis (née Nardozzi), a medical records librarian of Italian descent, and William Richards, an electrical engineer of Scottish and English descent. His father died. in a car accident when Michael was two years old and his mother never remarried.

Richards graduated from Thousand Oaks High School. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1970. He trained as a medic and was stationed in West Germany. After being honorably discharged, he used the benefits of the G.I. Bill to enroll in the California Institute of the Arts, and received a BA in drama from The Evergreen State College in 1975. He also had a short-lived improv act with Ed Begley, Jr. During this period, he enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College and continued to appear in student productions.

Career

Richards got his big television break in 1979, appearing on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special. In 1980, he began as a cast member on the ABC television show Fridays, where Larry David was a writer. This included a famous occurrence where guest star Andy Kaufman refused to say his lines from the script, leading Richards to take the cue cards and throw them at Kaufman, causing him to throw his drink in Kaufman's face. Richards before a small fight broke out (Richards later claimed that everything was set up and that he knew it was a joke). The film Man on the Moon featured a re-enactment of the Andy Kaufman incident in which Richards was played by actor Norm Macdonald (although he is never mentioned by name, so he could be seen as a composite character who takes the place of Richards).

In 1989, Richards had a supporting role in the comedy UHF, from "Weird Al" Yankovic, like goalie Stanley Spadowski. On television, Richards has also appeared on Miami Vice (as an unscrupulous bookie), Cheers (as a character trying to collect on an old bet on Sam Malone), and made several guest appearances with Jay Leno as an accident-prone fitness expert.

According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman, ABC envisioned the series Monk as a procedural police comedy featuring a character resembling Inspector Clouseau, with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hoberman said that ABC wanted Richards to play Adrian Monk, but he turned it down.

Seinfeld

Richards with Jerry Seinfeld at the 44th Emmy Awards in 1992

In 1989, Richards was cast as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television series Seinfeld, which was created by Fridays cast member Larry David. and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Although it got off to a slow start, by the mid-1990s the show had become one of the most popular sitcoms in television history. The series ended its nine-year run in 1998 at #1 in the Nielsen ratings. In the Seinfeld setting, Kramer is usually referred to only by his last name and is the neighbor of the show's eponymous character. Kramer's first name, Cosmo, was revealed in the season six episode "The Switch".

Richards won more Emmy Awards than any other cast member on Seinfeld, taking home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1993, 1994 and 1997.

Starting in 2004, he and his fellow Seinfeld cast members provided interviews and audio commentary for the Seinfeld DVDs, but Richards stopped providing audio commentary. after season 5, though he continued to provide interviews.

The Michael Richards Show

In 2000, after the end of Seinfeld, Richards began work on a new series for NBC, his first major project since the end of Seinfeld, The Michael Richards Show, for which the actor received credits as co-writer and co-executive producer. The show was originally conceived as a mystery comedy starring Richards as a bumbling private investigator. However, after the first pilot failed with test audiences, NBC ordered the show to be changed to a more mainstream, office-based sitcom before its premiere. After a few weeks of poor ratings and negative reviews, it was cancelled.

2006 Laugh Factory incident

During a stand-up performance on November 17, 2006 at the Laugh Factory club in Hollywood, California, Richards yelled racist words at a small group of audience members who had tried to interrupt him. He repeatedly said "You are a black!", referring to lynching and Jim Crow laws. Kyle Doss, a member of the group Richards targeted, said the group he had reached the middle of the presentation, explaining:

This is what happened. When we get in, we sit down and start asking for drinks. And, as we ask for drinks, I guess we're being a little noisy, because there were 20 of us asking for drinks. And he said, "Look at the stupid Mexicans and blacks who are noisy up there." That's the first thing he said. And then he went on his side. And then, after a while, I said, "My friend doesn't think you're funny." And then, when I told him that, it was when he turned around and said, "Stop, Black." And that's how it all started.

Richards made a public apology when speaking via satellite on the Late Show with David Letterman, when Jerry Seinfeld was a guest, saying: "For me, being in a comedy club and turn around and say this shit, I'm so sorry. I'm not a racist, but this is driving me crazy'. The audience initially laughed at Richards using the term 'blacks'; at one point, Seinfeld chided the audience: "Stop laughing, it's not funny." Richards said that he had been trying to defuse the excitement by being even more outrageous, but had failed. He later called civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to apologize. He also appeared as a guest on Jackson's syndicated radio show. However, both Doss and Sharpton have refused to accept Jackson's apology. Richards, and the first one says '...if he wanted to apologize, he could have contacted someone in the group...but he didn't. He apologized on camera just because the tape came to light & # 34;.

The incident was later parodied on various television shows, including MadTV, Family Guy, South Park and Extras i>. In an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Richards appeared as himself and poked fun at the incident. In a 2012 episode of the Seinfeld web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Richards admitted that the outburst still haunted him, and was a major reason for his withdrawal from stand-up.

Cameo roles, guest appearances, and film roles

Richards played himself in the second episode of the first season, titled "The Flirt Episode" (1992), from the HBO series The Larry Sanders Show. Richards also had a supporting role in the comedy thriller So I Married an Ax Murderer, credited as a "heartless man". He then played radio station clerk Doug Beech in Airheads and co-starred with Jeff Daniels as an actor pretending to be a lawyer in 1997's Trial and Error. as a guest on the series Miami Vice, Night Court and Cheers.

In 2007, Richards played the character Bud Ditchwater in the animated film Bee Movie, starring and produced by Jerry Seinfeld. In 2009, Richards and the other main cast members of Seinfeld appeared on the seventh season of the series Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2012, Richards appeared on the comedy series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, hosted by Jerry Seinfeld. In 2014, Richards appeared as the president of Crackle in a season 5 trailer.

Richards played the role of Frank in the sitcom Kirstie, starring Kirstie Alley and Rhea Perlman, and premiered on TV Land on December 4, 2013. The show was canceled after air one season.

Personal life

Richards was married to Cathleen Lyons, a family therapist, for 18 years. They have a daughter, Sofia (b. 1975). Richards and Lyons separated in 1992 and divorced a year later.In 2010, Richards married his girlfriend Beth Skipp. They have been together since 2002 and have a son.

Filmography

Cinema

Television