Jerry Seinfeld
A billionaire who still treats the tight five like a religion.
3 specials · 1998–2020
Start with I'm Telling You for the Last Time, the most honored (1998 · 75 min · HBO)
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He holds the microphone close to his mouth and leans forward from the waist. The pitch goes up half an octave when he hits the punchline. A Seinfeld bit is an exercise in counting syllables. He takes a tiny, unnoticed annoyance like the physical properties of a cotton ball or the shape of a coffee lid and builds a tight, rhythmic argument around it. When a joke misses the exact laugh he wants, he tilts his head, assesses the room, and tweaks the phrasing by one word the next night.
Specials
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Jerry Seinfeld brings his meticulous irritation to the Beacon Theatre.
Netflix · 60 min
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Jerry Seinfeld performs his earliest material at his original home club.
Netflix · 61 min
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I'm Telling You for the Last Time
A live farewell to the material that made him famous.
HBO · 75 min · also an album
On stage
He is a billionaire who insists on sweeping the floors. He possesses television wealth that insulates him from normal life, yet he still drops into small New York rooms to run material. He treats standup as a blue-collar trade. Younger comics study his work ethic even when they reject his clean, observational style.
He picks apart the mechanics of air travel, marital squabbles, and food packaging. The tension on stage comes from the gap between his massive fame and the minor inconveniences he still gets mad at.
You do not watch him to hear about his inner life. You watch him to see how many angles he can find on a Pop-Tart.
The television show made him an institution, but he always looked like a comic forced to act. The stage is where he actually lives. He views the sitcom as a project he finished decades ago, while writing jokes about socks is a job that never ends.
Turning points
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1988–1989
Creation of the Eponymous Sitcom Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld paired with fellow stand-up comic Larry David to pitch a comedy about everyday minutiae that evolved into one of television's most acclaimed sitcoms.
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Retiring Classic Stand-up Material on Broadway
Following the conclusion of his sitcom, Seinfeld performed his Broadway special and album 'I'm Telling You for the Last Time', symbolically burying his past material to start anew.
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Donation of the Puffy Shirt to Smithsonian
Seinfeld formally presented the iconic ruffled 'puffy shirt' from episode 66 of his sitcom to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
At a glance
Also on screen
- Benson
- 1989–1998
- Seinfeld
- Bee Movie
- 2012–2019
- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
A clip to start with
Jerry Seinfeld Compares Married Men To Game Show Losers | Netflix Is A Joke