Seinfeld Bio Disappoints

Review by Mike Gange

Seinfeld: The making of an American Icon
by Jerry Oppenheimer
Harper Collins, 39.50, 398 pages

If we had to make a characterization of Jerry Seinfeld, based on his portrayal on the incredibly successful TV show, it would be easy, right? Tall, thin, obsessively clean, always ready with a ‘bon mot’, surrounded by loyal, supportive friends....Jerry Seinfield is all of that, but he is also very determined, calculating, and a loner who might just as easily leave his friends to go off on his own.

Seinfeld: The making of an American Icon by Jerry Oppenheimer is an intense sifting through the life of the popular TV star/stand up comic. Mr. Oppenheimer has written biographies about several other big name Americans, including Bill and Hillary Clinton (State of a Union), Martha Stewart (Just Desserts), Barbara Walters (Barbara Walters: An Unauthorized Biography), and Rock Hudson (Idol: The True Story of an American Film Hero). In Seinfeld, Mr. Oppenheimer digs so deeply into the life of Jerry Seinfeld that not much is left unturned.

Mr. Oppenheimer tells us Jerry Seinfeld is the son of a once itinerant rag seller who was not above selling fake holy water to the unsuspecting. Jerry’s father, Kal Seinfeld, was a glib, wise-cracking, outgoing and opportunistic salesman who later went into the sign business, cutely changing the spelling of his name to SIGNFELD. From his father, Jerry Seinfeld seems to have developed his love of language and humour but as a young boy, reports Mr. Oppenheimer, he was shy and lonely. Kal Seinfeld grew up in New York city but moved to suburban Long Island so his family could have a better life. Ironically, Jerry Seinfeld always felt more affinity with the big city life and found more opportunity for his comedy and more sources of inspiration for his brand of humour.

Jerry Seinfeld had the desire to be a comic as early as grade nine, listening intently to and copying the mannerisms and delivery of comics like Bill Cosby. But he did not enunciate that goal until he was in college, surprising friends who knew him as a straight-laced student with a quick wit, but hardly the on-stage persona of confidence and humourous insight he would become. After admitting his secret ambition to be a comedian, Jerry Seinfeld became even more serious and determined in the pursuit of his goal. He was known to polish a five minute routine for months, working to control everything from inflection and pronunciation to timing and segue.

Jerry Seinfeld not only worked hard on his routines, he was also the lucky recipient of some good timing. As the Disco era ended in 1982, many of the once-overflowing nightclubs were left empty. The owners sought out young comics who could help fill the club, paying minimal wages to the newcomers and occasionally finding a headline act to draw in the crowds. Seinfeld, reports Mr. Oppenheimer, worked many nights for the minium $35, just to practice his craft. At that time, there were very few comics would could serve as MC, deliver a few laughs and survive on such a pittance. Jerry Seinfeld was a hard worker and a willing learner. Within a few years, he was performing constantly, both in New York and on the road at various comedy clubs that had sprung up. Even before his televison success, he was performing 300 nights a year, and earning better than a million dollars.

Among the few real eye-opening surprises in this book are the comedian’s relentless, dogged pursuit of his dream and his source of inspiration for some of the TV episodes. Nothing in the rise of Jerry Seinfeld’s career happened by chance, reports Mr. Oppenheimer. After appearing at the Montreal "Just for Laughs" Festival, he added ‘international star’ to his resume. Cool and calculating, he turned down an invitation to appear on The Tonight Show until he felt he was ready. Then when he did get another invitation, he trained like a prize fighter, so he was physically and mentally ready for the big time. As for his inspiration, many of the situations in Jerry Seinfeld’s everyday life show up in his comedy and on his TV show. For example, there really was a buddy named Costanza in Jerry Seinfeld’s life, only it was Mike Costanza, not George. Actor Jason Alexander, who played George on the TV show, so closely resembles the real life pal that the two were cast as brothers in one TV episode. Mr. Oppenheimer says Mike Costanza and Jerry later had a falling out, and now will hardly communicate.

Overall, Seinfeld: The making of an American Icon is disappointing. Mr. Oppenheimer paints Jerry Seinfeld as too driven, too obsessive to be really likeable. Aside from his relentless ambition to be the best, there are no revelations that truly show Jerry Seinfeld’s character. He is a straight arrow businessman who unwinds by driving one of his numerous sports cars in the countryside. He always buys the same clothes for the numerous road trips (white shirts and blue boxers), sending everything to the cleaners at the end of the day. When he returns from every trip, he discards it all, and replaces it before the next trip.

Further disappointing is the formulaic approach taken by Mr. Oppenheimer. ‘In grade nine, this happened, in first year university, that happened. His first love still loves him.’ As a result, this tale of an American icon by Mr. Oppenheimer leaves the reader saying "So what?"

Mike Gange teaches media studies and journalism at Fredericton High.