Prior to his work on the hit 1989 sitcom “Seinfeld,” comedian and actor Michael Richards might have been best-known for his amazing performance in the same year’s cult comedy “UHF,” playing the hapless, heroic janitor Stanley Spadowski. Others may also recognize him for playing a violent murderer in “Problem Child,” or the slapstick butler Fejos in “Transylvania 6-5000.” Of course, those who were watching the ABC stand-up series “Fridays” back in 1980, would already have known Richards for his comedy. By the time “Seinfeld” appeared in his path, Richards was already an experienced performer.
“Seinfeld,” of course, made Richards a millionaire and a household name. Playing the role of Cosmo Kramer netted him three Emmys, and it led to high-profile roles in studio comedy films like “Airheads,” and “Trial and Error.” He would remain popular until an infamous 2006 incident at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, California, wherein he aggressively berated hecklers with racial epithets. Richards apologized several times over, but the incident hurt his career, and he retired from stand-up partially as a result. He has had scant roles since.
And Richards was seemingly under pressure before that evening at the Laugh Factory. “Seinfeld” was such a massive juggernaut, it seemed like the show’s four main stars (Richards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Jerry Seinfeld) could never “recover,” in a way. They would be so closely associated with the series, casting agents would never be able to look at them beyond Kramer, Elaine, George, and Jerry. At least that seemed to be the case for Richards’ 2000 project “The Michael Richards Show,” a detective sitcom that he produced, co-wrote, and starred it. “The Michael Richards Show” lasted only eight episodes.