Seinfeld Actors You May Not Know Passed Away

Over the course of nine seasons and 180 episodes, "Seinfeld" became one of the shows that defined the 1990s. It also left an indelible mark on television comedy in the wake of its controversial finale in May of 1998. Created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, and based on a fictionalized version of the former, Seinfeld was deliberately a show about nothing. Still, its focus on the superficial and mundane never stopped it from asking the questions that really matter, like: Can a person die from an odor? What makes someone sponge-worthy? And can we have soup? (The answers: Don't be ridiculous, it's complicated, and no, no soup for you). 

Co-starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Jerry's ex-girlfriend turned co-complainer Elaine Benes, Jason Alexander as his embittered bestie George Costanza, and Michael Richards as his oddball neighbor Cosmo Kramer, this iconic cast of four led us through some of the most outrageous and hilarious scenarios to play out on screen. Sadly, since "Seinfeld" has been off the air for decades now, we've lost a number of Jerry and company's old friends and nemeses in real life. Don't you just hate being out of the loop? Here are the "Seinfeld" actors you may not know passed away.

In many ways, Monk's Cafe in "Seinfeld" is as much a character as the actors on screen, and its human embodiment is Ruthie Cohen, the cashier who appears in a whopping 101 episodes of the show. Uncredited and unnamed, Ruthie might not always get a speaking line, but during the show's nine seasons, she appeared in the most episodes besides the core cast of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer. 

With her mop of curly hair, sometimes blue uniform, and kindly demeanor, Ruthie is one of the few "Seinfeld" characters who does no harm to others. Her most memorable episode might be the one where George accuses her of stealing a $20 bill he still had in his own wallet. Actress Ruth Cohen made a career of extra work on shows like "The Golden Girls" and "Murder, She Wrote," with her main success as "Seinfeld's" most prolific background star. In 2008, Cohen died of a heart attack at 78. 

If we want to understand George Costanza's particular damage, we need not look much further than his apoplectic father, Frank, whose impotent rages have been passed down to his dysfunctional and underachieving son. From his obsession with TV Guide to his creation of an alternative December holiday called Festivus that violently combats the cheer of Christmas and Hanukkah, Frank Costanza is almost in a class of his own amid the routine madness of "Seinfeld." Frank was such a huge presence in "Seinfeld," it's hard to believe he was only in 24 episodes. 

Frank was played by Hollywood royalty Jerry Stiller (father of Ben Stiller), who brought his signature eccentricity to the role with all the gusto he could muster. #DoYouWantAPieceOfMe?! Jerry Stiller passed away in his sleep in May 2020 at the age of 96, having spent the last 60 years of his life making people laugh, from his early appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" to "Zoolander."

While Phil Bruns originally played Jerry's dad, Morty Seinfeld, for his first appearance on "Seinfeld," it's Barney Martin that "Seinfeld" fans remember when thinking of the character, since he played him for 19 episodes. George and Frank are clearly related, but the apple has fallen far from the tree with Morty and Jerry; the two have very little in common. That doesn't stop them from having ridiculous conflicts. Take, for example, the time Jerry bought Morty a Cadillac after a career boost. Instead of enjoying the gift, Morty got impeached as president of his homeowners' association after his neighbors believed he stole their collective funds to afford such a sweet new ride. The enmity between Morty and Frank Costanza was epic, and his brief turn working with Elaine at J. Peterman was as weird as it was funny. 

A detective turned actor, Barney Martin died at 82 of cancer in Studio City, California, in 2005. He remains best known for his role as Jerry's dad on "Seinfeld," despite an otherwise storied acting career.

In a cast filled with literally hundreds of memorable weirdos, Jerry's Uncle Leo is arguably one of the strangest. Uncle Leo also lives in Manhattan, which gives him 14 wild episodes' worth of opportunities to run into Jerry and his friends. Jerry's relationship with Uncle Leo—a man so pushy that he resorts to grabbing people's arms while he's speaking so that they won't walk away—comes to literally explosive moments, like when one of Jerry's packages accidentally ends up at Leo's and blows up. Even after it comes to light that Uncle Leo sparked the conflagration by leaving a can of cleaning spray in his oven, he still blames Jerry. 

Played by prolific character actor Len Lesser, who appeared in more than 500 roles during the course of his long career, Uncle Leo became his own force of nature in "Seinfeld." In February 2012, Lesser passed away from cancer-related pneumonia in Burbank, California, at the age of 88. Bookstore owners won't miss shoplifting Uncle Leo, but "Seinfeld" fans sure do.

If George Costanza was insufferable even to his best friends, he was exponentially worse at work. From sleeping with his assistants and offering them unauthorized raises to napping under his desk instead of doing his job, George was a nightmare employee. No one was more baffled or unsettled by George's unruly work behavior than his boss at Yankee Stadium, Mr. Matt Wilhelm. For viewers, Mr. Wilhelm's puzzled and shocked face over his 11 "Seinfeld" episodes often mirrored our own as we watched George's newest antics, amazed that the man somehow never got fired. 

In many ways, Mr. Wilhelm feels like one of the show's few examples of a conscience (until he was kidnapped by a cult), all thanks to Richard Herd's empathetic portrayal. Herd even made a final appearance in the series finale, along with Mr. Steinbrenner. Herd had been a familiar face in both movies and television until his death in May 2020 from cancer complications at the age of 87.

Wretched though Elaine Benes might be in her personal life, she demonstrates professionalism at work — at least compared to George. Unfortunately, she has to contend with bosses who are all insane to varying degrees. This brilliant comedic reversal makes Elaine one of the more fully rounded of these all-around awful characters. One of the places where we see her struggle the most is in her role as assistant to Justin Pitt, one of Doubleday Publishing's top executives. Played by British actor Ian Abercrombie, Mr. Pitt's idiosyncrasies almost put Kramer's to shame. 

From cutting his Snickers bars with utensils and needing a specific kind of white sock that must be ironed before wearing to picking the salt kernels from even the smallest pretzels, Mr. Pitt is one of Elaine's biggest complaints in more than the seven episodes in which he appears. While Abercrombie was best known as Mr. Pitt, he had a long acting career that began with stage work in the U.K. and ended in Hollywood many decades later. Abercrombie passed away from kidney failure complications in January 2012 at 77 years old.

While the majority of "Seinfeld" takes place inside Jerry's Manhattan apartment, many of the show's comedies of errors take place in the retirement community in Florida where Jerry's parents live. Though they're supposed to be enjoying their golden years and relaxing in the sun, none of the other residents got this memo, and certainly not Jack Klompus, Morty Seinfeld's main nemesis. 

Played by another comedy and Broadway legend, Sandy Baron, for six episodes, Jack Klompus' general suspicion of the entire Seinfeld family goes to some pretty dark depths, culminating in Klompus accusing Morty of stealing. Klompus also caused an unnecessary row after giving Jerry his special astronaut pen that writes upside down, which Morty insists Jerry needs to give back. Sandy Baron died in February 2001 at the age of 64 after battling emphysema for a number of years.

While "Seinfeld" was always a dark comedy, it had moments where it flirted with being downright disturbing, like the Ross family arc. Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg) was George Costanza's longtime girlfriend and, briefly, fiancée before she died from licking toxic wedding envelopes George chose to save money. Played by "Twin Peaks" alumni Warren Frost and Grace Zabriskie, Mr. and Mrs. Ross never liked George and made no secret that they thought he was terrible for their daughter. 

By the finale of "Seinfeld," Mr. Ross is fully convinced that George deliberately murdered his daughter. We even see him buying a gun, presumably in case George and his friends are acquitted for their myriad crimes and social wrongs. While Frost's turn as Doc Hayward in "Twin Peaks" overshadowed his five episodes of "Seinfeld," fans of the show continue to remember details about him fondly—especially a passing reference to his affair with author John Cheever, which made him one of the first bisexual television characters in history. Frost passed away in February 2017 after a long illness. He was 91 years old and made his final appearance in "Twin Peaks'" third season.

Most of George Costanza's bosses expected far more from him than he was ever able to provide, but not Mr. Kruger, George's beleaguered boss at Kruger Industrial Smoothing. He mirrors George's lackadaisical manner in so many ways. Played by character actor Daniel von Bargen, Mr. Kruger has a few iconic plotlines even though he's only in four "Seinfeld" episodes. 

Kruger's first major story involves a trip to the beach with his family and a resulting photograph that George mucks up completely. His most memorable appearance arguably comes when George tries to convince him that his fictional charity, The Human Fund, is real. George's attempt at persuasion ends with Kruger joining him for Festivus "celebrations" at the Costanza home. With his deadpan expression and comedic timing, von Bargen's Kruger absolutely steals the scene—a remarkable feat among so many other talented actors. 

Tragically, von Bargen passed away in March 2015 at the young age of 64 after a long battle with diabetes complications, mental illness, and a tragic suicide attempt.

Most of Jerry's many failed dates and relationships had nothing to do with the woman in question. We first meet Poppie, the owner of a well-known Italian pizzeria, when Jerry starts dating his daughter, Audrey (Suzanne Snyder). The date takes a disastrous turn when Jerry sees that Poppie doesn't wash his hands after using the toilet, causing Jerry to refuse to eat the hand-tossed pizza Poppie made especially for them and insulting both father and daughter in the process. 

In just four episodes, Poppie manages to cause quite a lot of damage, including with a medical condition that causes him to unknowingly urinate on Jerry's new couch. Poppie's enmity with the group extends to Elaine; their conflicting views on abortion land Poppie in the hospital due to stress. The actor who played Poppie, Reni Santoni, was best known for his role as Clint Eastwood's partner in "Dirty Harry," and passed away at 81 in August 2020 after a long illness.

You'd think after so many years on air and in reruns, "Seinfeld" would bring us a little bit closer to understanding how Jerry's brain works, but as we see with the Nana subplot, his behavior remains a mystery. Played by Billye Ree Wallace for three episodes, Jerry's Nana is minding her own business when Jerry suddenly decides to cash all the $10 checks she'd been sending him for his birthday for many, many years. Because Nana no longer has that particular account anymore, the checks bounce, and she gets dressed up in her finest to go down to the bank to get it sorted out. Unfortunately, Nana discovers the bank isn't there anymore and the neighborhood is scarily run-down. Oy vey. 

Like many of her "Seinfeld co-stars," Wallace was a well-known character actress who appeared in shows like "Mad About You" as well as films like Albert Brooks' "Mother." In March 1999, Wallace passed away from respiratory failure and emphysema at the age of 73.  

If there's one thing we know for certain about Jerry Seinfeld, it's that he's selfish and opportunistic. There's little he won't do to get what he wants, no matter how petty it is. Enter Mabel Choate, an elderly woman who simply wants a nice marble rye. Jerry, being Jerry, wants the loaf for himself to replace the one that Frank stole from Susan's parents, so he attacks Mabel and steals her bread. It's dark out, so Mabel doesn't recognize her assailant until another inopportune moment: when Morty Seinfeld is being impeached. Mabel Choate also testifies against Jerry at the trial in the series finale, noting that he never expressed remorse for stealing from her, a little old lady. 

For three episodes, character actress Frances Bay plays Mabel, bringing scathing wit and impeccable comedic timing to this very physical role. Bay passed away at 92 years old in September 2011 after an accident left her with an amputated leg and a series of unfortunate health complications followed.

Every single character in "Seinfeld" is a certified drama queen whose unnecessary shenanigans take the story to Bizarro World and back, but the most absurd of them all might be Cosmo Kramer. His wacky entrances into Seinfeld's apartment have an entire category of their own in "Seinfeld's" behind-the-scenes commentary, "Notes About Nothing." At the end of the third season, Kramer gets annoyed after Jerry takes his keys back and decides he wants to go to Los Angeles to be an actor. During his quest to get his grizzled mug on television or in a movie, he meets Helena, a former actress who haunts the hallways of his new apartment building. 

Played by Elmarie Wendel, Helena is a send-up of Hollywood queen Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard," stealing the show as she descends the stairs with her sometimes inappropriate commentary. Wendel might have been better known for her turn as Mrs. Dubcek on "Third Rock From the Sun," but "Seinfeld" fans will still be saddened to hear of her passing in July 2018 of undisclosed causes. She was 89. 

There are three Izzy Mandelbaums in "Seinfeld": Izzy Sr., Izzy, and Izzy Jr. Comically, all three generations of this family appear to be roughly the same wizened age. Izzy is a resident of Del Boca Vista, and all three men work at their family's restaurant, The Magic Pan.  

Izzy the second and third, played by Lloyd Bridges and Gene Dynarski, respectively, are two of the most competitive people to grace "Seinfeld's" soundstage. Izzy first gets our attention when, irritated by Jerry, he challenges him to feats of physical prowess that land Izzy in the hospital. While visiting Izzy's sickbed, Jerry runs into Izzy Jr., who throws his back out trying to goad Jerry into lifting a hospital television that's bolted to a table. Finally, Izzy Mandelbaum Sr. appears and also tries to best Jerry. By the end of this absurdity, all three Izzys are incapacitated, but still trying to provoke fights with anyone who speaks to them. 

Sadly, all three Mandelbaum actors have passed away. Hollywood icon (and father of Jeff Bridges) Lloyd Bridges died in March 1998 at 85 after several illnesses, Gene Dynarski passed in April 2020 after a series of heart issues, and Mandelbaum patriarch Earl Schuman died of undisclosed causes at 100 years old in March 2016.

In Elaine's extensive catalog of men who become obsessed with her, Ricky is one of the creepiest. Played by Sam Lloyd (nephew of Christopher Lloyd), Ricky becomes fixated on Elaine over two "Seinfeld" episodes. When we first meet Ricky, he's sitting next to Elaine on the subway and offers her a highlighter to help with the TV Guide she's reading. His intensity freaks Elaine out. In her rush to get away from him, Elaine forgets her magazine on the subway seat—only, it's not her magazine, but Frank Costanza's. He's none too pleased when Ricky stalks Elaine to the Costanza house having made a bizarre bouquet out of Frank's TV Guide. The next time we meet Ricky, his obsession has veered into mild psychopathy; he designs mannequins that look just like Elaine, distributing them all over New York City.  

Unfortunately, "Scrubs" actor Sam Lloyd was only 55 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and lung cancer. He died from his illnesses in May 2020 at the age of 56.

Character actor Walter Olkewicz, who played Nick the cable guy in "Seinfeld," died of complications from infections in 2021. He was retired from acting following several knee surgeries. "He was a good man who pushed his love for creativity and the arts into everything he did," his son, screenwriter Zak Olkewicz, said in a statement (via Deadline). He was 72.

The New Jersey native was best known for his turn as croupier and bartender Jacques Renault in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" (1990). His character died in the cult show, but Lynch insisted on bringing him back for the film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me," released two years later. "David said, 'We love what you did, we want you for the movie,'" Olkewicz told The Jersey Journal. When "Twin Peaks" was revived in 2017, he returned as Jean-Michel Renault, a relative of Jacques. Lynch paid tribute to Olkewicz on his YouTube channel following his death. "Walter, you did great work," he said.

"Seinfeld" fans will no doubt remember Olkewicz from his memorable guest star role in the 1996 two-part episode "The Cadillac." As Nick the cable guy, he chased Kramer through the streets of New York City and later hugged it out with him after apologizing on behalf of Plaza Cable for making him wait at home all day. The actor reached out to Jerry Seinfeld in 2019 via YouTube, revealing that his insurance had stopped picking up the cost of his repeated surgeries.

Over the span of 27 episodes of "Seinfeld," viewers got a chance to see just why George Costanza was the way he was — neurotic, emotionally volatile, and self-loathing. It was all because of a comically fraught relationship with his overbearing, overprotective, judgmental, and often shrieking mother, Estelle Constanza, or "MA!" as she was usually referred to. Estelle was often a hindrance to George's goals, or a burden to be dealt with. She was great at embarrassing her son, as was the case in her very first appearance in the 1992 episode "The Contest."

Before her signature role of Estelle Costanza on "Seinfeld," Estelle Harris had a few dozen roles. She only began seriously acting in her late forties, with frequent theatrical and TV commercial roles, according to CNN. After "Seinfeld," she often played a version of Estelle Costanza as a voice actor, most notably as Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" movies. Harris died in April 2022 at the age of 93.

Veteran actor Philip Baker Hall appeared onscreen nearly 200 times in a 50 year career that stretched from the early 1970s to the 2020s. A definitive character actor, he was always noticeable for his uniquely raspy voice and intense stare, which he brought to dozens of shows and movies.

Hall was a member of writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's repertory players, landing major parts in "Hard Eight," "Boogie Nights," and "Magnolia." He was also part of the award-winning ensembles of "The Contender," "Argo," and "Dogville," but Hall is probably best remembered for the character he played on one episode of "Seinfeld" (and reprised in a cameo in the series finale). He portrayed the wonderfully and aptly named Lt. Joe Bookman, the stern and relentless "library cop" who tracks down Jerry in the 1991 installment "The Library" over a 20-years-overdue copy of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer."

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Hall died at home in Glendale, California in June 2022. He was 90 years old.

There isn't anyone on "Seinfeld" who loved, adored, and cherished the hard-to-love Jerry Seinfeld more than his mother, Helen Seinfeld. "How could anyone not like him?" she often rhetorically asked the world of her boy, whom she visits often at his home in New York City when he can't make it down to Florida to visit her and her husband Morty in their retirement community. Those visits usually morphed into meddling and butting in, verging on smothering. The doting, relentlessly sunny and persuasive Helen appeared in 21 "Seinfeld" episodes over the course of the series.

Playing the nosy Helen (immediately after a recurring role as nosy neighbor Raquel Ochmonek on "ALF") was Liz Sheridan, a veteran of multiple '70s Broadway productions and many '80s sitcoms. Sheridan's representative told Deadline that the actor died in her sleep in April 2022. She was 93.

Kathryn Kates had a recurring role on "Seinfeld," portraying an unnamed but plot-pivotal character in two episodes that aired two years apart. In the lead-up to the titular event in the 1994 episode "The Dinner Party," Jerry and Elaine head to the stellar Royal Bakery to purchase a chocolate babka, but are unable to because they don't follow procedure and take a number, enabling someone else to buy the last one. They buy a "lesser" cinnamon babka and must deal with the busy, harried counterwoman (Kates) to return it.

Kates pops up as the bakery cashier once more in the 1996 episode "The Rye." The installment includes one of the most famous scenes ever on "Seinfeld." Once more trying to buy something at the Royal Bakery only to have someone else purchase it right before he can, Jerry loses out on a marble rye to an elderly woman, which he gets after mugging her and taking it.

In January 2022 (per People), Kates — a prolific character actor who appeared in many episodes of "Law and Order: SVU" as a judge and in "The Many Saints of Newark" — died in Florida after a history of lung cancer. She was 73.

The 1993 "Seinfeld" episode "The Bris" revolves around many monumental life events involving birth and faith, and Jerry and the gang are characteristically uncomfortable with any and all displays of emotion or responsibility. Jerry and Elaine are asked by some friends to be the godparents of their new baby, and, in accordance with that, must help arrange hiring a mohel, the Jewish holy figure who performs the sacred rite of circumcision, or bris. Everything that can go wrong does — Jerry and Elaine are annoyed, George's car gets damaged, and Kramer attempts to kidnap the baby. As for the guy they've hired, he's not the best mohel. He's prone to wild mood swings and maybe once faced malpractice allegations for botching another bris. It all boils over into a full-on fight between Jerry and the mohel.

Portraying the unnamed but memorable mohel was character actor Charles Levin, probably best known for — apart from "Seinfeld" — the pilot episode of "The Golden Girls" and multiple Woody Allen films. In July 2019 (per USA Today), Levin's remains were found in a remote area of Oregon, where he had gotten lost and stranded. He was 70.

The character known only as Vivian appeared in just a single episode of "Seinfeld" — Season 9's "The Blood." She's introduced as a friend of Elaine, and then deeply offends the latter when she doesn't allow her to babysit her obnoxious young son, prompting Elaine to try to prove her responsibility instead of letting Kramer get the assignment. But then Vivian gets involved with George, kindling an instant mutual attraction because they share a couple of specific quirks, such as a love of deli meats and a preference for watching TV while having sex.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kellie Waymire appeared in mostly supporting roles in indie movies and network television shows, including "Friends," "NYPD Blue," and "Six Feet Under." In November 2003, Deseret News reported that Waymire died suddenly at her Los Angeles home from a previously undiagnosed and undisclosed medical issue. Waymire was 36 years old.

Howie shows up just once in "Seinfeld," but it's in both halves of the two-part 1998 series finale, and the way Jerry and the gang react to his extreme misfortune sets the concluding events of the show into motion. While visiting a small town in Massachusetts, Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine witness Howie getting carjacked. Not only do they not try to prevent the crime or assist the victim, but they make fun of poor Howie. It's this behavior that gets the foursome arrested under a "Good Samaritan" law, and they're later sent to prison. Howie is one of the first of many to testify to the malicious nature of the main characters.

Like the show's star, Jerry Seinfeld, John Pinette came up in the stand-up comedy boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Entertaining audiences with his self-deprecating routines poking fun at himself and his weight, he appeared on all the major TV stand-up showcases, like "An Evening at the Improv," "Make Me Laugh," and "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist," while also costarring as a gym teacher in "Parker Lewis Can't Lewis" and playing Bumpo in the 2004 comic book movie "The Punisher."'

In April 2014, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Pinette took his stand-up through Pittsburgh. His body was discovered in a hotel room there, and the local medical examiner's office ruled that the comic and actor died of natural causes brought on by a pulmonary embolism. Pinette was 50 years old.

The titular old man in the Season 4 "Seinfeld" episode, "The Old Man" is played by Bill Erwin. After the gang uncharacteristically signs up to volunteer their time with a nonprofit service to assist lonely elderly people, Jerry is assigned Sidney Fields, a cantankerous old jerk who insults his helper and calls him names, and becomes convinced that he's going to murder him (and then teases him when he doesn't actually kill him).

Kramer and Newman manage to destroy Sid's teeth with a garbage disposal, and after a trip to the dentist, he runs away and later resurfaces hanging out at Monk's Café. Sid makes one more cameo appearance later in the "Seinfeld" run, watching the TV show Jerry and George make about their lives. True to form, Sid badmouths Jerry to his housekeeper.

Erwin was primarily a stage actor, a veteran of several decades of the Los Angeles-area theater scene, according to CBS News. He was also a prolific cartoonist, and guest-starred on lots of TV shows in the '80s and '90s, capped with his Emmy-nominated turn in "Seinfeld." Erwin's son, Mike, told the Associated Press (via the Toronto Star) that his father died on December 29, 2010 from factors related to the actor's advanced age. "He just ran out of gas," Mike Erwin said of his father, who died at the age of 96.

The parents of each of the main four "Seinfeld" characters loom large over their lives as they're largely responsible for making the anti-heroes into the amusingly selfish, loathsome, nit-picking, stunted adults they'd become. The parents of Jerry and George are frequently the center of "Seinfeld" plot arcs, but Elaine's father, Alton Benes, makes just one appearance in the Season 2 episode, "The Jacket." Elaine attends an awkward dinner with the estranged patriarch, and she brings Jerry and George along for emotional support. They're impressed with Alton, an accomplished author, while he doesn't think much of Elaine's social group.

Lawrence Tierney's 100-project-plus career began in B-movies in the 1940s, per the Los Angeles Times, and his specialty was playing imposing criminals, toughs, and gangsters, such as the title role in the 1945 crime classic, "Dillinger," a bad guy who executes a train accident in the best picture-winning "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1952, and as boss Joe Cabot in 1992's "Reservoir Dogs." The New York Times reported in March 2002 that Tierney died in New York City following a series of strokes and a pneumonia diagnosis. The veteran character actor was 82.

Veteran comic performer and actor Jerry Stiller is best known for his recurring role as the perpetually apoplectic Frank Costanza, father of George, in "Seinfeld," but he wasn't the first person to play the part. Frank first shows up in the Season 4 episode, "The Handicap Spot." Some mutual friends of the primary foursome get engaged, and Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George agree to buy the couple a big-screen TV and borrow a car from George's father to go pick it up. George parks it in a handicapped-reserved spot, and it imperils a woman in a wheelchair, and an angry mob forms and destroys the car. Ultimately, Frank is arrested for illegal parking when he's at an event honoring his achievements in community service.

Before Stiller portrayed Frank, John Randolph did. An activist and actor since the 1930s, Randolph was in the original American stage production of "The Sound of Music" and won a Tony Award for his work in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound." Randolph appeared in nearly 200 movies and TV shows and was best known for his late-career work, as Roseanne's father in "Roseanne," Tom Hanks' character's grandfather in "You've Got Mail," and Clark Griswold Sr. in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Randolph died in February 2004 at home in Hollywood, his family told the Los Angeles Times. The actor was 88 years old.

Dr. Howard Cooperman made a single but memorable appearance in the Season 6 episode, "The Fusilli Jerry." In the minutia-obsessed, modernity-skewing world of the show, Dr. Cooperman is supposed to receive a ridiculous vanity license plate that winds up in Kramer's possession, and because it reads "ASSMAN," he's convinced it belongs to a proctologist. Dr. Cooperman is indeed the rightful owner of the plate, and he gets it after a pasta sculpture of Jerry winds up in a very uncomfortable place for Frank Costanza, who requires the doctor's specialized services.

In addition to his one-off role in "Seinfeld," character actor Lou Cutell appeared in more than 100 films and TV shows. In later years, he popped up in "Grey's Anatomy" and "Betty White's Off Their Rockers," and before "Seinfeld," he played Big Larry in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and Dr. Brainard in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." Cutell's close friend Mark Furman announced on Facebook in November 2021 that the prolific actor and "Seinfeld" guest star had passed away. After attending kidney dialysis treatments three days a week for several months, Cutell died at age 91.

George Costanza, a lazy, obnoxious, and cantankerous ne'er-do-well, finds himself in a succession of great jobs throughout "Seinfeld," all of which he inevitably messes up and loses. Probably the best and most high profile of all of his gigs is when he lands in the front office of the New York Yankees. In the Season 5 episode, "The Opposite," George is interviewed by a tough hiring manager for the baseball team, Mr. Cushman, who is so impressed by George's resume and candor that he sends him through to team owner George Steinbrenner.

Actor Paul Gleason made a niche out of playing smug, retreating, and guarded authority figures, particularly in '80s movies. He played LAPD Deputy Chief Robinson, who hindered more than helped John McClane in "Die Hard," the resentful Vice Principal Vernon in "The Breakfast Club," and nasty operative Clarence Beeks in "Trading Places." Susan Gleason, Gleason's wife, told Backstage that her husband had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer related to the inhalation of asbestos. In May 2006, Gleason died at a hospital in Burbank, California, at age 67.

In Season 6 of "Seinfeld," George very briefly dates a woman named Lindsay, and one of the reasons why the relationship fizzles out quickly is likely because of the influence of Lindsay's mother who witnesses a string of embarrassing and distinctively George incidents. In the episode, "The Gymnast," Lindsay's mother, billed as Mrs. Enright, comes to believe that George is an unhoused person. In one of the most notorious "Seinfeld" moments, she sees George fish an eclair out of a garbage can and eat it. She then spots him cleaning a man's windshield and then at a gathering not wearing a shirt.

A 1948 Miss America semifinalist, Lois Nettleton moved into theatrical acting, earning raves and awards attention for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "They Knew What They Wanted," and "A Streetcar Named Desire." In addition to a three-year run in "General Hospital," Nettleton appeared in "Cagney and Lacey," "The Twilight Zone," and "The Golden Girls," which earned her an Emmy nomination for outstanding guest performer in a comedy series. Nettleton died in Woodland Hills, California, in January 2008, due to complications of lung cancer, according to the New York Times. The actor was 80 years old.

Kramer is the most inscrutable and mysterious of all the major "Seinfeld" characters, and even the most vital parts of his backstory and identity are doled out slowly over the show's run, and even then, just barely. For example, in the early seasons of the series, Kramer occasionally mentions his mother, and that she has a problem with alcohol. Babs Kramer doesn't appear on camera until the middle of Season 6 in the episode, "The Switch," at which point she's two years sober. She works as a restaurant bathroom attendant, and lets slip to George that Kramer actually has a first name, never uttered in the show, which she reveals is Cosmo. Babs returns in the "Seinfeld" finale as a courtroom observer in the trial of her son and his criminally negligent friends.

By the time she made it to "Seinfeld" as Kramer's mother, episodic television was familiar territory for actor Sheree North. In the early '60s, she appeared in episodes of everything from "Gunsmoke" to "Burke's Law" to "The Untouchables," and spent the '70s similarly landing guest arcs in detective dramas including "Kojak" and "Barnaby Jones." North received two Emmy nominations, for a guest spot in "Marcus Welby, M.D." and for her leading role in a comedy for "Archie Bunker's Place." In November 2005, CBS News reported that North died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to the actor's daughter, she suffered fatal complications following surgery. North was 72.

The Season 8 episode, "The Millennium," is like many episodes of "Seinfeld" in that it revolves around an obsession over something deeply unimportant — the now-dated and obsolete technology of speed dial — as well as exploring the old fairy tale trope of wicked stepmothers.

In the episode, Jerry is thrilled when he gets the #1 speed-dial slot on the phone of his new girlfriend, Valerie. As happy as this tiny thing makes Jerry, it deeply upsets Valerie's stepmother, identified only as Mrs. Hamilton, so much so that he confronts Jerry in his car and tells him to back off of Valerie, or at least her phone. Her competitive fire ignited, she tries to seduce and manipulate Jerry, and she wins the speed dial top spot, with Valerie secretly relegating Jerry's number to the poison control center's button — which Mrs. Hamilton calls when she eats salsa inadvertently compromised by Kramer. 

Apart from her villainous turn in "Seinfeld," Louan Gideon is probably best known for her long stint in the daytime soap opera "Search for Tomorrow," and as evil chemical company CEO Danielle Atron on Nickelodeon's "The Secret World of Alex Mack. In the 2000s, Gideon moved to Asheville, North Carolina, to pursue writing and a career in real estate, according to the Citizen Times. In 2009, Gideon's breast cancer was declared in remission, only for the disease to aggressively return in February 2014. Gideon died at age 58.

George winds up needing to use a cane after he attempts to shave with butter and sprains a leg in the Season 9 premiere, "The Butter Shave." Then he lands one of last of the many jobs he takes on over the course of the show, at a playground equipment company called Play Now. He's hired by the very welcoming Mr. Thomassoulo, who appears again in the episode, "The Voice" to fire George, the source of disdain and hatred among all the other employees. Kramer gets involved, injures one of Mr. Thomassoulo's employees, and a lawsuit forces the man's company to go bankrupt.

Well before his short stint in "Seinfeld," Gordon Jump made an impression on viewers with important and visible TV roles. For four seasons in the '70s and '80s, he played radio station manager Arthur Carlson in "WKRP in Cincinnati," Maggie Seaver's father in "Growing Pains," and Mr. Horton, the predatory bike shop owner in a serious two-part "Diff'rent Strokes." He also enjoyed a long stint as the comically underworked Maytag Repairman in a number of TV commercials, per the New York Times. Jump's family told the Los Angeles Times that the actor had pulmonary fibrosis, a condition characterized by air sac scarring in the lungs, which leads to fatal respiratory or heart failure. That factored into Jump's death at age 71 in 2003 at his home in California.

"Seinfeld" finished up its extremely popular nine-season run with a two-part, massively viewed, polarizing series finale in which Jerry, Elaine, George, and Cosmo come to be collectively known as "The New York Four" when they're prosecuted in Massachusetts under a "Good Samaritan" law for not helping out (and actively teasing) a carjacking victim. A courtroom circus develops, and it's all presided over by Mr. Hoyt, the crusading local District Attorney who swears to do whatever it takes to get Jerry and his friends prosecuted, which mainly involves bringing in character witnesses — numerous people done wrong by the four defendants across the run of "Seinfeld."

In the years after his pivotal role in "Seinfeld," actor James Rebhorn made a lot of television. He portrayed Carrie Mathison's father in "Homeland," and Special Agent Reese Hughes in "White Collar," and played many authority figures and legal professionals during short or recurring runs in "Law and Order," "Third Watch," "Blue Bloods," "The Practice," and "Boston Legal." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rebhorn received a melanoma diagnosis in 1992 and lived with that form of cancer until March 2014 when, after a week and a half of hospice care, he died at his New Jersey home. He was 65.

The fan-favorite installment "The Marine Biologist" is beloved for its A-story, where George pretends to be an expert on sea life to impress a woman. But the episode's B-story isn't to be forgotten, as Elaine is forced to serve as assistant to a surly Russian author visiting New York for the first time. An enigmatic, brooding writer who is annoyed by modern technology, he's played by George Murdock, and the actor joyously hams it up as the angry Testikov.

Sci-fi fans will know Murdock for his role as Colonial scientist Dr. Salik in the original "Battlestar Galactica" or his pair of appearances in "Star Trek," where he played Admiral Hansen in the iconic two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds" and God himself in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." But Murdock's most memorable role might be Lt. Ben Scanlon, the grouchy Internal Affairs officer on the 1970s classic "Barney Miller." 

With a career that stretches back to the early 1960s, Murdock was everywhere on television. From "Rawhide" and "The Twilight Zone" to '80s favorites like "Hillstreet Blues" and "CHiPs," he transcended genres. By the 2010s he'd amassed hundreds of screen credits, which also included several movies, including the 1998 "The X-Files" film. He was 81 when he died in 2012, with one of his final roles coming in the "Doctor Who" spin-off series, "Torchwood."

Actor David Graf might not be the most recognizable '80s star, but he is famous for an iconic comedy classic, "Police Academy." There he played Sgt. Tackleberry, a role he returned to for all six of its sequels, including the 1994 bomb, "Mission to Moscow." And funnily enough, his role in "Seinfeld" was also a cop, though he never did get a credited name — his nametag reads "Pike" but he is listed only as "Cop #2" — in the episode "The Ticket."

Graf's police officer is sitting at the diner counter when Jerry and George become fearful of Crazy Joe Davola (Peter Crombie). Jerry asks if the officer will help them with the situation, but he grows annoyed when Graf decides to wait until he's eaten his lunch after saying he was only going to order a muffin. The role wasn't Graf's only TV role as a cop: He also played a sheriff in an episode of "Quantum Leap" and a police sergeant in "Family Matters." He had a long history with the "Star Trek" franchise, appearing in an episode of "Voyager" as real-life Amelia Earhart navigator Tom Noonan among several other roles in TV and video games.

Oddly enough, though, Graf's first TV appearance came as a contestant on "The $20,000 Pyramid" in 1979 and he returned as a celebrity guest years later — where he revealed that his earlier winnings had helped him start his Hollywood career. He died in 2001 at the age of 50.

A classic crooner who was at the height of his fame in the 1960s, Tormé — known by his nickname "The Velvet Fog" – was also an actor, making his screen debut alongside Frank Sinatra in "Higher and Higher" in 1943. Tormé often played a singer or entertainer, as he did in the films "Ghost Catchers" and "A Man Called Adam." Later in his career, he even played himself in several movies and TV shows — and that's what got him a role in an episode of "Seinfeld." 

It was in the episode "The Jimmy," where Kramer is mistaken for a person with an intellectual disability by a man he shares a cab with. And because the man is hosting a benefit gala for AMCA (Able Mentally Challenged Adults), Kramer finds himself the guest of honor, where legendary singer Mel Tormé serenades him. 

It wasn't the first time Tormé appeared in a sitcom as himself, though: He also had memorable appearances in episodes of "Night Court," "Webster," and "Dave's World" previously. Following an impressive career that spanned six decades, Tormé died in 1999 at the age of 73. In his final TV appearance, he played himself one more time, guest-starring in an episode of the sci-fi series "Sliders" in a story co-written by his son, Tracy Tormé.

One of George Costanza's childhood friends was Deena Lazzari (Mary Jo Keenen). In the episode "The Gum," she seems to always turn up at the most awkward of moments, and begins to see George as somewhat unstable. His odd behavior reminds her of her father, Pop Lazzari, played in the episode by actor Sandy Ward. George bumps into Pop and Deena when he's back in his old neighborhood visiting his parents, and George quickly realizes that there's something wrong with Pop when he starts banging randomly on the engine of his car, inadvertently causing serious damage.

Ward, a Hollywood veteran by the time he made his guest appearance, actually had his largest TV role after "Seinfeld." That came in the family comedy "Malcolm in the Middle," where he played Pete — another possibly senile old man — who worked with brother Francis when he was living in Alaska.

Sitcoms weren't the only genre on Ward's resume, though. He also had recurring roles during his career on several of TV's biggest dramas, from "The A-Team" to "JAG." At the movies, Ward also had roles in "Under Seige," "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment," and "Delta Force 3: The Killing Game." He died in 2005, just two years after his final performance in the film "Finding Home." 

In the Season 7 episode "The Friar's Club," Jerry gets invited to join the fabled Friar's Club by none other than legendary actor and comedian Pat Cooper, who guest stars as himself. But when he is loaned a Friar's Club jacket and mistakenly takes it home, Jerry winds up losing it to a band of stage performers. Cooper is understandably enraged and gives Jerry an ultimatum to return the jacket or not receive membership to the club. 

Cooper may not be as well-remembered by younger fans of "Seinfeld," but he was a comedy star in his day. As early as the 1960s he was a regular on the nightclub circuit where his comedy sensibilities as an angry, grumpy cynic made him a precursor to the likes of Lewis Black, Bill Burr, and Larry David. He made his first television appearance in 1963 as a guest comic on Jackie Gleason's variety show, "American Scene Magazine."

Later in his career, he had a memorable role as Salvatore Masiello in the Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller comedy "Analyze This" and its sequel, with "Analyze That" being his final movie role. Outside of "Seinfeld," Cooper also guest-starred on "L.A. Law" and "Charlie's Angels" and appeared in an ABC Afterschool Special, "Class Act: A Teacher's Story." Cooper died in June 2023 at the age of 93.

One of Kramer's most frequent nemeses was Cedric, who, along with his partner Bob, would harass Kramer on the streets. Cedric and Bob first appeared in "The Soup Nazi" as a pair of tough guys who steal the armoire that Kramer was tasked with guarding by Elaine. Cedric shows up again in "The Sponge" where he and Bob attack Kramer for not wearing an AIDS ribbon during a charity walk, and their final appearance is in "The Puerto Rican Day," where they chase Kramer down after he accidentally sets fire to a Puerto Rican flag.

Cedric is played by actor John Paragon, but although fans of "Seinfeld" may know him for this role, it's not nearly his most memorable. In addition to guest spots on "Cheers" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," Paragon is best known for playing Jambi, the body-less genie on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." But acting wasn't his only gig. In addition to performing in front of the camera, Paragon was also a writer and director. In addition to penning some two dozen episodes of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," Paragon also scripted several projects involving Elvira.

As a director, Paragon also helmed 20 episodes of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," as well as episodes of "Renegade" and "Silk Stalkings." In 2021, Paragon died at the age of 66.

In the "Seinfeld" finale, the series brought back nearly every major character whom the gang had offended over the years, which meant another appearance from Wendel Meldrum. Back in Season 5, Meldrum had appeared as a one-time girlfriend of Kramer's named Leslie, better known as the so-called "Low Talker." Leslie was exactly that, speaking too quietly for anyone to understand, leading to several misunderstandings, most notably forcing Jerry to wear a puffy pirate-like shirt for his appearance on the Today Show.

As Leslie, Meldrum mostly had to gesture — save for her final scene where she screams at Jerry for insulting her puffy shirt — but rest assured, most of her other roles involved dialogue. Meldrum appeared in "Knots Landing," "Pursuit of Happiness" and "The Wonder Years" in the ”80s, while making single-episode stints on "The Pretender," "The Commish," and "Picket Fences" in the '90s. In 2008, she got her first leading role, joining the ensemble cast of the Canadian comedy "Less Than Kind," which ran for four seasons. In 2005, she made her screenwriting debut, penning (and starring in) "Cruel But Necessary," directed by fellow actor Saul Rubinek.

By the mid-2010s, Meldrum had put Hollywood behind her, with her final performance coming in an episode of the Andrea Martin comedy "Working the Engels." Meldrum passed away at the age of 66 in 2021.

Veteran character actor David Byrd already had an impressive filmography by the mid-1990s, and he certainly didn't need a role on "Seinfeld" to have a solid career. He'd already had small roles in "Starsky and Hutch" and "All in the Family" in the 1970s, and he did the biggest shows the '80s had to offer. He showed up in comedy classics like "The Man with Two Brains" and "Big Top Pee-Wee" as well as cult dramas "Tango & Cash" and "The Hudsucker Proxy." But he was perhaps best known as Vernon Bales, the surly copy editor on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," a recurring role he held for more than 50 episodes. 

Then, in the Season 7 episode of "Seinfeld" called "The Sponge," Byrd added to his resume by playing Roger Hoffman, the confused pharmacist at Pasteur Drugs. It's there that Elaine is able to finally track down Today sponges, a special brand of contraception that she favors that was recently discontinued. The pharmacist tells her he has a full case, but is perplexed by Elaine's awkwardly escalating interest in them. And like many "Seinfeld" guest stars, he returns in "The Finale."

Byrd's 1995 "Seinfeld" episode wasn't the end of his career. Later that decade he appeared in "ER" and "Everybody Loves Raymond," with his last role being just a year before his death in 2001.

It's not so often that an actor begins their career with their biggest role. But that's what happened to Ann Morgan Guilbert, who, just two years into her young career, landed a plum role on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in 1961 as next-door neighbor Millie. She continued in the role for six seasons and returned to Van Dyke's side in "The New Andy Griffith Show" a decade later. A sitcom favorite, Guilbert later held recurring roles on "Picket Fences," while audiences in the '90s will remember her best as Yetta Rosenberg in "The Nanny."

In "Seinfeld," Guilbert had a semi-recurring role, too, appearing in two episodes in the show's third and seventh seasons. There she played another neighbor, Evelyn, this time to Jerry's parents who live in a retirement community in Florida. Nobody seems to care for Evelyn, who draws eye rolls at her very presence.

Beyond "Seinfeld," Guilbert continued acting into the 2010s, appearing in episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Modern Family," and "Grey's Anatomy." Her final recurring role was in the HBO medical drama "Getting On," where she played a regular patient at the hospital. Guilbert died from pancreatic cancer in 2016. She was 87.

Jerry's friends Sam and Myra welcomed a baby in "The Bris," and, being Jewish, had to get a certified expert to visit to handle the circumcision. The Mohel (played by Charles Levin) turns out to be the wrong man for the job: He's nervous, angry, accident-prone, and he may or may not have fowled up another circumcision years before. Thankfully, the only person the Mohel hurts is Jerry, mistakenly circumcising his finger.

Levin got his career started in the '70s with minor parts in "Annie Hall" and "Between the Lines." He moved on to TV from there, getting episodes of "Family Ties" and "It Takes Two" under his belt, while also playing a role in the landmark musical mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap." Levin snagged a few recurring roles on "Hill Steet Blues," "Designing Women," "NYPD Blue," and the short-lived Lloyd Bridges drama "Capital News."

Sadly, in 2019, Levin was reported missing, and after a two-week search, he was found dead some distance from his abandoned car. A subsequent investigation revealed that Levin's car had likely broken down and he'd gotten lost looking for help before taking a fatal fall. 

If an actor makes even a single appearance on "Seinfeld," it seems their entire resume doesn't matter: No matter what else they've been in, their role in "Seinfeld" is likely to be one of the performances they're best remembered for. That's the case for Richard Roat, who played just one small role in the Season 8 episode "The Package," but whose obituary described him as a "Seinfeld actor." He played Dr. Berg, whom Elaine visits about a rash, but who gets tough when she tries to abscond with her own medical chart, afraid of what he wrote about her attitude.

Calling Roat merely a "Seinfeld actor," however, might be something of a disservice to him as a performer, because Roat's career was incredibly prolific. Some of his earliest work was in all-time favorites like "The Fugitive" and "Hawaii Five-0," before he joined the medical soap opera "The Doctors" in 1963, where he appeared in a whopping 172 episodes. From there it was off to the races, as he had roles in everything from "The F.B.I." and "The New Perry Mason" to "Kojak" and "The Bob Newhart Show." 

For several more decades, Roat appeared in just about every major TV show you could imagine before finally closing out his career with an episode of "24" in 2009. After spending more than a decade in retirement, Roat died in 2022 at the age of 89.

Beyond its four leads and numerous recurring characters, "Seinfeld" rounded out the cast with frequent one-off performances that proved to be just as funny and unforgettable as any other in the series. But Sonya Eddy actually made a pair of appearances, both as the same character, in two episodes years apart.

Eddy first appeared in the Season 8 episode "Muffin Tops," where Elaine goes into business selling just the tops of muffins. When it comes time to discard the stumps, however, Elaine realizes that it's easier said than done. Even the homeless won't take them, and Eddy's character — who comically shares a name with movie star Rebecca DeMornay — is an employee at the shelter, who is offended that Elaine would dump the muffins on her shelter. DeMornay returned in the Season 9 episode "The Bookstore," this time as a cashier refusing to accept a return for a pricey book on art that George brought with him into a bathroom.

Unlike many former "Seinfeld" actors, Eddy's brief time on the series was far from her most memorable role. That title instead goes to the long-running soap opera "General Hospital," which she was a part of for over 500 episodes as Nurse Epiphany Johnson. Eddy went into surgery in late 2022 before returning to the hospital days later with a serious infection that took her life at just 55 years old.

The fourth season of "Seinfeld" was defined by one of the show's best story arcs, which saw Jerry and George teaming up to develop their own sitcom. A meta-story that poked fun of "Seinfeld" itself, it all started in "The Pitch," which also marked the introduction of one of the show's strangest recurring characters, "Crazy" Joe Davola, played by Peter Crombie. The character became one of its most menacing quasi-villains who always seemed to have it out for the comedian. He appeared on and off again throughout the season, even dating Elaine, while terrorizing Jerry, George, and Kramer before a final unexpected appearance in the season finale, assaulting Jerry at the filming of his sitcom's pilot episode.

As Joe Davola, Peter Crombie found one of the more memorable characters in his career, but the five-episode stint on "Seinfeld" wasn't his only noteworthy project. Often credited with unnamed or similarly minor roles, he appeared in plenty of movies, including David Fincher's "Se7en," Frank Darbont's remake of "The Blob," and the Tom Cruise anti-war movie "Born on the Fourth of July."  

On television, though, is where Crombie found the most work, appearing in episodes of "Law & Order," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and "NYPD Blue" before leaving Hollywood in 2000. In early 2024, Crombie's ex-wife reported that the former actor passed away after a brief bout with an unspecified illness at the age of 71.