How The Seinfeld Crew Nailed Kramer's Turkey Scene In The Butter Shave
When it comes to plotlines on "Seinfeld" that center on food, the gang doesn't have the best luck. There's the battle against the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas), Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) losing his no-vomit streak because of a black and white cookie, the devious plot surrounding the marble rye bread, and countless other incidents.
A number of food-related storylines center on Kramer (Michael Richards). With his years-long strike from employer H&H Bagels ongoing, he's regularly hanging around Jerry's apartment mooching from his neighbor's refrigerator. This eventually becomes a sore spot for Jerry, causing the two to briefly form a repayment system. There's also Season 8, Episode 8 ("The Chicken Roaster"), which sees the neon lights of a new chicken establishment disrupting Kramer's sleep.
While the lights are out of Kramer's control, he puts himself in a (literally) sticky situation in Season 9, Episode 1 ("The Butter Shave"), when he begins slathering butter on his face for a "close and clean" shave. It leaves his skin so "silky smooth" that he decides to use the dairy product over his entire body. Postal worker Newman (Wayne Knight) picks up the savory scent ... especially after Kramer accidentally "cooks" himself while sunning on the roof. He simply can't get the delectable, buttery smell of his friend out of his head. When Newman is at the diner and the waitress brings a full turkey to the counter, he hallucinates that Kramer is the bird. The turkey version of Kramer waves his wing and says to a sweating Newman, "Hey, buddy."
Let's take a look at how the "Seinfeld" crew brought this tech-savvy scene to life.
A blue screen was used to edit Kramer's head onto the turkey
By the final season of "Seinfeld," after nine years of unprecedented success, the crew had more money from NBC to play with, which meant more outlandish storylines. "We were really living high on the hog then," Jerry Seinfeld said in a behind-the-scenes interview. This higher budget came in handy for Kramer's iconic transformation into a turkey in "The Butter Shave." Director Andy Ackerman revealed how the effect was done.
"We had to take this turkey and make it savory and delicious and buttery and steaming. And then to the neck of the turkey, we applied Kramer's head," Ackerman said. "We had to lay him in a certain position on a separate blue screen table. We laid him out on like an operating table. It was just this fun little shot. It took a while to shoot it and probably lasted three seconds on screen, but it was a really funny shot."
Their efforts paid off and, 25 years later, this moment is still resonating with fans. Although other "Seinfeld" moments haven't aged well, this one is evidently still a fan favorite. Turkey Kramer merchandise can even be purchased at Hot Topic and other retailers.
Additionally, many fans continue to attempt his "butter shave," though the results aren't exactly "silky smooth." On Reddit, when u/ChickenCamp asked if anyone has tried it, u/CosmoMKramer responded, "Yes, truly. I got razor burn and bumps like crazy lol." U/gotham77 said, "I didn't like it because it clogged the spaces between the blades."