Jerry Seinfeld (character)

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For the actor, see Jerry Seinfeld.
Jerome (Jerry) Seinfeld
First appearance The Seinfeld Chronicles
Last appearance The Finale, Part II
Cause/Reason Incarcerated
Statistics
Gender Male
Age 30s
Occupation comedian
Family Morty (father)
Helen (mother)
Relatives Uncle Leo, Nana
Portrayed by Jerry Seinfeld
Created by Jerry Seinfeld.
A fictional variant of himself.

Jerome (Jerry) Seinfeld is a semi-fictional character on the US television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) who was named after, based on, and played by comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

The series centered around Seinfeld's misadventures with his best friends: George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). He is usually the voice of reason amidst his friends' antics and the focal point of the foursome's relationship. An eternal optimist, he rarely runs into major personal problems. Jerry is the only main character on the show to maintain the same career (a comedian, like Seinfeld himself) throughout the series and to appear in every episode. He is the most observational character, sarcastically commenting on his friends' quirky habits.

Much of the show's action takes place in Jerry's apartment. He and his friends also frequently appear in "Monk's," a (fictional) coffee shop.

Contents

[edit] Character summary

Jerry is the 'only sane man' in the show, a figure who is "able to observe the chaos around him but not always be a part of it."[1] Plot lines involving Jerry often concern his various relationships -- Jerry often finds "stupid reasons to break up" with women[2] which, according to Elaine, occurs "every week."

Jerry is generally completely indifferent to what goes on in his friends' lives, seeing their misery as just an opportunity for material. He often plays along with their harebrained schemes, though this is often just so that he can see them fail. On one occasion when Jerry lets out his emotions and cries, he is perplexed by the experience, asking, "What is this salty discharge?"[3] Elaine points out that he has "never felt remorse," to which Jerry replies, "Yeah, I feel kinda bad about that."[4] He will often nonchalantly state, "That's a shame" when something sad happens (often due to his or his friends actions).

Jerry rarely runs into major personal problems, unlike George and Elaine. In "The Opposite," this tendency is explicitly pointed out, as Jerry goes through a number of experiences of "breaking even" and constantly "evening out," even as his friends are going through intense periods of success or failure. In "The Rye," during a particularly trying time for Elaine, she angrily tells Jerry, "You know, one of these days, something terrible is going to happen to you. It has to!" Jerry simply replies, "No, I'm going to be just fine."

On the rare occasions in which Jerry becomes angry or upset, it is usually at the instigation of his archnemesis Newman (Wayne Knight), a disgruntled postal worker.

Much like the real Seinfeld, Jerry is an avid comic book fan, particularly of Superman, who, along with Mickey Mantle, is one of his heroes. As far as sports, Jerry is a fan of the New York Mets, New York Yankees, New York Knicks, New York Giants and New York Rangers. In early episodes, a Yankees hat sat on the counter near his computer. Later on, by the middle of season 3, it was replaced with a Mets cap.

[edit] Background

Jerry grew up in New York with George, who, according to "The Outing," were friends ever since an encounter in gym class in their school days. Flashbacks in episodes such as "The Library" portray George and Jerry at this point in their lives. A pizza place which they frequented is portrayed in "The Frogger." George and Jerry attended school together at Edward R. Murrow Middle School, high school and college at Queens College.[5] After college, Jerry worked as an umbrella salesman and invented the "Twirl" to make the umbrella look more attractive.

"I haven't vomited in thirteen years!"
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"I haven't vomited in thirteen years!"

[edit] Family

Jerry's parents are Morty and Helen Seinfeld, a retired Jewish couple living in Florida. Although born and raised Jewish, Jerry apparently doesn't practice and generally doesn't "observe" many traditions, like the real Seinfeld. He also has a sister (mentioned in "The Chinese Restaurant"), although she is never named, and never appears on screen.

Jerry has an uncle, Leo, an eccentric minor character who appears in 15 episodes. Uncle Leo has a son, Cousin Jeffrey, about whom he constantly talks, but who never appears. In "The Stakeout," Jerry speaks to an "Uncle Mac," as well as a cousin "Artie Levine."

The mother of Helen and Leo (the grandmother of Jerry), Nana, is an elderly woman living alone in the city and suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Nana makes appearances in "The Pledge Drive," "The Kiss Hello," and "The Doodle."

In "The Pony Remark," Helen, Morty, Jerry, and Leo attend a 50th-anniversary party for Manya and Issac, an elderly couple whose relationship to Jerry is never explicitly defined. Manya is described as a Polish immigrant. In the same episode, Jerry references having an "Aunt Rose," and Helen mentions a family member "Claire" who is getting married.

[edit] Relationships

Jerry is notorious for his detached approach towards relationships and for breaking up with women for the slightest of flaws or for the most minor of reasons. He only dates attractive young women, and has a new girlfriend in almost every episode.

[edit] Jerry and Elaine

  • Elaine and Jerry had once dated, and usually mention that things didn't work out. However, they slept together at least twice after breaking up: In "The Deal", they create a set of rules whereby they can sleep together but remain only friends. Their theory is ruined, however, when they start squabbling too much (Elaine is furious when Jerry gives her $182 as a birthday gift). Then, in "The Mango", Jerry is so upset at learning that Elaine had faked her orgasms while they were together, that she agrees to give him another chance "to save the friendship". The only other hint that they may still have feelings for each other is seen in "The Finale", when they think their plane is about to crash. Elaine says "Jerry, I gotta tell you something...I've always loved..." Before she can finish, however, the plane steadies itself. When Jerry asks what she had been about to say, Elaine says "I've always loved... You-nited Airlines."

[edit] Long term relationships

  • Vanessa is one of the two women that Jerry has dated in a long term relationship. He starts dating her in the "The Stake Out" episode and breaks up with her in "The Stock Tip". Although she is only seen in these two episodes, Jerry dated her throughout the course of four episodes. They break up because of an uncomfortable weekend trip to Vermont.
  • Rachel Goldstein is the other woman that Jerry dated over multiple episodes. He dated her over the course four episodes, and appears in all these episodes: "The Raincoats" (a two-part episode), "The Hamptons" , and "The Opposite". Rachel ends the relationship, but Jerry, who was "even steven" at the time, didn't become upset, and was confident that he would find another girlfriend (which he did in the deleted scenes for that episode).

[edit] Breakups

Jerry has broken up with women (or provoked them into breaking up with him) for many, completely unimportant reasons. They include:

  • For refusing to tell him why she refused to taste his pie at the coffee shop ("The Pie").
  • For wearing the same dress on every date (she dumped him.) ("The Seven").
  • For eating her peas one at a time ("The Engagement").
  • Because she had "man hands" ("The Bizarro Jerry").
  • Because he realizes he doesn't want to be with someone exactly like himself ("The Engagement").
  • Because she had once dated Newman, who had ended the relationship ("The Big Salad").
  • Because she wouldn't give him a massage ("The Masseuse").
Jerry Seinfeld and Courteney Cox
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Jerry Seinfeld and Courteney Cox

[edit] Jerry's famous guest star girlfriends

[edit] Favorite Sayings

Throughout the series, Jerry uses a number of catchphrases, including:

  • "That's a shame" (picked up from George in "The Chaperone")
  • "It was a scene, man" (said throughout the series with some small variations)
  • "Hello, Newman"
  • "But I don't wanna be..(whatever Kramer said he is)" (Often said when Kramer compares him to something. So far Jerry has not wanted to be a pirate ("The Puffy Shirt"), a cowboy ("The Mom & Pop Store"), and Switzerland ("The Label Maker").)
  • "Ohhh, right right right right" (used throughout the series sarcastically when other characters are trying to get him to recognize something)
  • "All right!" (said several times with some variation, usually used after he has just been persuaded by another character)

[edit] Career and finances

Jerry is also very financially successful and occupationally stable in comparison with his friends and never seems to be at a loss for money.

  • For example, Jerry buys his father a Cadillac Deville[6] and buys it back after his parents sell it, spending over $20,000. In "The Apartment," it is revealed that Jerry could easily lend Elaine $5,000 for an apartment. Also, Jerry is regularly called upon to pay the check for the group at Monk's and allows Kramer to depend on him for food. Despite his apparent financial security, his parents seem to think he needs money, offering to pay for everything when they visit him (even if they have no money, as seen in The Watch) and occasionally urging him to find a new job.
  • In "The Checks", Jerry is revealed to be famous in Japan where he appears in the opening montage of Japanese TV's "Super Terrific Happy Hour" and he even continues to earn royalties from each appearance (although each royalty check is only a few cents).
  • Jerry spends most the series making a living from stand-up comedy, except for the periods when he and George co-write their own sitcom. Jerry also acts in the pilot episode of their show "Jerry", playing himself.
  • Twice, it is suggested that Jerry enter the "Bloomingdales Executive Training Program" as a career alternative. First, in "The Money", after he bounces a check, his worried parents suggest it as a career switch. Then, in "The Van Buren Boys", after Jerry starts dating a "loser", George and Kramer reveal that they also think that he should switch careers to the Bloomingdales training program.

[edit] Cleanliness

  • Jerry has an obsessive insistence on cleanliness and neatness. A girlfriend of his comments that "he would have made a great Nazi" because "everything has to be just so."[7].
  • In "The Pothole," Jerry inadvertently knocks his girlfriend's toothbrush into the toilet bowl, and after she uses it, he is unable to bring himself to kiss her. As revenge, she proceeds to put one item of his in the toilet without telling him what it was; a distraught Jerry, thinking it could be anything, ends up throwing away virtually every item in his apartment in panic. Upon learning it was the toilet brush, he reassures himself that it can be replaced.
  • In "The Voice", he throws out a belt because it touched the edge of a urinal.
  • In "The Butter Shave", he throws out a shoelace because it touched the floor of a men's room.

[edit] Newman

  • Jerry has a long-running hatred of Newman, describing him as his "sworn enemy" in "The Andrea Doria" and showing general contempt for him at their every meeting.
  • Jerry's snide and sarcastic greeting for him ("Hello, Newman") became a trademark of their relationship. Even Jerry's mother Helen uttered the greeting, with as much displeasure as Jerry in "The Raincoats, Part 2".
  • Jerry wanted rid of Newman so badly that he once even helped him on his postal route so that he could get a prized transfer to Hawaii ("The Andrea Doria").

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC Comedy Guide: Seinfeld
  2. ^ "The Engagement"
  3. ^ "The Serenity Now"
  4. ^ "The Foundation"
  5. ^ "The Marine Biologist"
  6. ^ "The Cadillac, Part 1" and "Part 2"
  7. ^ "The Implant"


Seinfeld
Characters
Main Characters: Jerry Seinfeld | George Costanza | Elaine Benes | Cosmo Kramer
Related to Jerry: Helen Seinfeld | Morty Seinfeld | Uncle Leo | Kenny Bania | Sally Weaver | Dr. Tim Whatley
Related to George: Estelle Costanza | Frank Costanza | Susan Ross | Mr. Wilhelm | Mr. Kruger | Lloyd Braun | George Steinbrenner
Related to Elaine: J. Peterman | David Puddy | Mr. Lippman | Justin Pitt | Sue Ellen Mischke
Related to Kramer: Newman | Mickey Abbott | Jackie Chiles | Bob Sacamento | Babs Kramer | Lomez
Other: Soup Nazi | "Crazy" Joe Davola | Minor characters in Seinfeld
Culture of the Seinfeld Universe
Festivus | Master of Your Domain | Regifting
List of fictional films in Seinfeld | Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables
Episodes
List of Seinfeld episodes | The Seinfeld Chronicles
Other
List of Seinfeld references to actual people | Running gags in Seinfeld
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