Over its eight seasons, Seinfeld had an impressive amount of minor characters who were every bit as funny as the main cast and we’re not talking about all of Jerry’s girlfriends, either. Sometimes they had bigger roles, like George’s parents, and sometimes they are remembered for only one episode, but we love them all. Here are 32 of those side characters.
Newman
Actor Wayne Knight’s Newman is one of the most annoying characters in television history and that’s why we love him so much. As Jerry’s arch-enemy and Kramer’s best friend, he’s brash, annoying, and obnoxious. It’s what makes him so great. None of us want a neighbor like that, but many of us have had one.
Susan Ross
Poor George, nothing ever goes right for him. Take, for example, his fiancee Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg). She dies before the wedding in a freak stamp accident and leaves George alone. Of course, every action George takes makes us think he deserves everything coming to him, and his reaction to her death is example 1A.
Jackie Chiles
Every great show needs a slimeball lawyer and for Seinfeld, that’s Jackie Chiles. He’ll take any case, no matter how ridiculous, and though he probably won’t win, he’ll at least pretend to be on your side. Phil Morris’ portrayal of a Johnnie Cochran-type is perfect and the character ranks among the best in Seinfeld history.
Kenny Bania
The only character on Seinfeld that could give Newman a run for his money as the most annoying is Kenny Bania (Steve Hytner). As the kind of bizarro Jerry, Kenny is just awful, which is wonderful.
Estelle Costanza
You have to have sympathy for Estelle Costanza (Estelle Harris). Not only does she have to deal with George as a son, but she has to be married to Frank. Being married to Frank can’t be easy, but Estelle seems to delight in being the voice of reason in the family. It’s not hard to do, and even she gets a little…out there… but she’s more reasonable. Sort of.
David Puddy
There are two things here, you gotta support the team, and you gotta support Elaine’s sometimes boyfriend Puddy (Patrick Warburton). In a way, he reminds me of Karl Pilkington from An Idiot Abroad in that he sounds like an idiot, but often his logic is sound. At least sometimes.
Uncle Leo
Uncle Leo (Len Lesser) is one of the funniest side characters on the show. Forever forgiving and kind whenever he returns, despite whatever awful thing he experienced before. He appeared in every season except the first and will always be a favorite.
George Steinbrenner
Larry David played a lot of roles on Seinfeld but probably his most iconic was the voice of George Steinbrenner, the late owner of the Yankees and George’s boss. Though we never saw his face, all we needed was the back of his shaking head and Larry David’s voice to make him one of our favorites.
Mr. Kruger
Mr. Kruger (Daniel von Bargen) was only George’s boss for one season, the final season, but, mostly due to his appearance in the Festivus episode, he’s among the most iconic side characters ever. Not only is he a victim of George’s Human Fund scam, but he’s the one who inspired us all to drink from a flask at Festivus parties.
Mickey Abbott
Mickey Abbott (Danny Woodburn) is one of Kramer’s best friends and often his cohort in one of Kramer’s many schemes. Woodburn plays the role of an ill-tempered man perfectly, and really, it’s what Mickey gets up to off-screen that makes us want more of him. The guy has been married four times? Where’s that spinoff?
Babu Bhatt
As has been discussed in pop culture forums before, the characters on Seinfeld were really kind of awful people. Babu Bhatt (Brian George) is one of the notorious victims of their awfulness. He finally gets his revenge at the end of the series when he testifies against them at their trial.
Lloyd Braun
George can never live up to Lloyd Braun’s standards, at least according to George’s parents. That doesn’t stop the crew from ruining his life at least twice, including landing him in the looney bin once. He’s also responsible for one of the best quotes in Seinfeld’s run with, “Serenity Now, sanity later.”
J. Peterman
J. Peterman, played by John O’Hurley, is simply one of the most ridiculous, and best, characters not only on Seinfeld but in TV history. O’Hurley plays the role of the obnoxious rich guy better than almost anyone else, ever, with the possible exception of Stephen Root’s Jimmy James in NewsRadio.
Jack Klompus
Just like Jerry has an arch-enemy, so does his father Morty. Jack Klompus (Sandy Baron) does everything he can to make Morty’s life suck at their mutual retirement community in Florida, though, it’s not like Morty is any better. They both should have just let the pen thing go!
Tim Whatley
Seinfeld introduced a ton of phrases to our language, and Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston) is responsible for two of them. First, he labels Jerry an “Anti-Dentite” when Jerry calls him out for converting to Judaism “for the jokes” and then he is responsible for introducing “re-gifting” to the lexicon when Elaine calls him out for giving a label maker she gave him as a gift to Jerry.
Keith Hernandez
Though he only appeared in one episode, playing himself, Mets legend Keith Hernandez made a huge mark in the history of the show. Not only does he briefly date Elaine, but he leads Kramer and Jerry to one of the funniest bits of the show when they figure out Roger McDowell was the “second spitter.” You have wonder if he led to George getting the job as the assistant to the traveling secretary of the Yankees after George asks about baseball teams and plane crashes.
Justin Pitt
Justin Pitt (Ian Abercrombie) is one of Elaine’s eccentric bosses. He’s an extremely fastidious man with a Mid-Atlantic accent who seems to barely tolerate Elaine after initially falling in love with her at first sight. Eventually, he suspects he’s been the victim of the crew’s awfulness when he suspects them of trying to poison him and he fires Elaine.
Mr. Wilhelm
One of the reasons George gets away with so much at work is because his boss, only known on the show as “Mr. Wilhelm,” is even more inept. Although his first name is never given on the show, Wikipedia and other sites say his first name is Matt, though that probably isn’t canon.
Frank Costanza
George’s father Frank Costanza, played by the late, great Jerry Stiller, is one of the funniest characters on the show. He plays a pivotal role in many of the best episodes, and it’s Frank who invented the wonderful holiday of Festivus, which may just be Seinfeld’s most enduring legacy.
Mr. Lippman
Mr. Lippman (Richard Fancy) is Elaine’s boss at Pendant Publishing, though he may best be known as the guy who takes Elaine’s idea about the greatness of muffin tops and opens “Top Of The Muffin To You.”
Helen Seinfeld
Helen Seinfeld (Liz Sheridan) is the stereotypical Jewish mother on the show. She adores her son Jerry and does her best to deflect whatever her husband Morty is up to. The character is more of a “straight man” to the clowns around her, but without her to help set up the jokes, the show wouldn’t be nearly as funny when she and Morty are involved.
Bob Sacamano
Did you ever wonder where some of Kramer’s ideas come from? Many, of course, seemingly come from the unseen “Bob Sacamano.” He appears to be one of Kramer’s best friends, but unlike Newman and Mickey, audiences never once see Bob. Could it be that Bob Sacamano is just a figment of Kramer’s imagination? We’ll likely never know.
Crazy Joe Davola
Crazy Joe Davola (Peter Crombie) has to be the strangest character on the show and the closest Seinfeld ever got to true absurdist or surrealist humor. Of course, it all starts when Elaine rejects him and sends him in a spiral that leaves him dressing like a clown. Another victim of the awfulness of the crew.
Russell Dalrymple
The list of people whose lives are ruined by Elaine goes on and on. Russell Dalrymple, played by the brilliant Bob Balaban, is one on that list. Though he starts with an important job at NBC working with Jerry on his pilot, he soon falls for Elaine and meets a tragic end after giving up everything to save the whales, which, of course, Elaine doesn’t really care about.
Morty Seinfeld
Morty Seinfeld (Barney Martin) is a mensch. Most of the time at least. He reminds me of my dad. Always meaning well, and often frustrated with technology. The former raincoat salesman (and the inventor of the beltless trenchcoat known as “The Executive”) is most often in Florida, picking fights, or defending himself, against the other members of his retirement community, especially his arch-nemesis Jack Klompus.
Mr. And Mrs. Ross
Susan’s parents, played by Warren Frost and Grace Zabriskie, are never once fooled by George’s shenanigans. They see through him every time. Even after Susan’s death, in one of the best episodes of Seinfeld, in my opinion, they smell his nonsense from miles away. George tells them he has a new house in the Hamptons, Mr. and Mrs. Ross know he’s lying, but insist on having him show them the house. George only gets himself deeper and deeper into the lie, until it’s “on foot from here!”
Izzy Mandelbaum
Although he’s only in a couple of episodes, the owner of Magic Pan Crepes. Izzy Mandelbaum is a great character. He’s an extremely competitive 80-year-old who keeps picking fights with Jerry. Played by the amazing Lloyd Bridges, it’s like Bridge’s character in Airplane! got older and even angrier. Do you think you’re better than Izzy? Find something heavy to lift.
Art Vandelay
To be clear here, Art Vandelay isn’t a real character. He’s more the alter-ego of George who has made it big in the latex business. George uses the name a lot throughout the show’s run, so much so that the writers included an easter egg in the show’s finale by naming the judge Arthur Vandalay.
Ada
There are times when it is really hard to like George. For example, while working for the Yankees, he hires Ada (Vicki Lewis) to be his secretary because she’s the only interviewee he’s not attracted to. If that’s not bad enough, he gets so turned on by Ada’s efficiency that they end up hooking up anyway. It’s not a good look for a guy who rarely looks good. Lewis is brilliant in the role.
Maestro Bob Cobb
Truly one of Elaine’s most conceded short-term boyfriends, Bob Cobb, who really prefers to go simply by “Maestro” makes Jerry insane, while wowing everyone else. it’s rare that Jerry is only one annoyed, but Bob really gets him. Bob gets pretty annoyed with everyone else, of course. Except Kramer. Elaine is not impressed with “Maestro.”
Sid Farkus
One of Frank’s good friends, Sid Farkus, appears a few times throughout the show. Played by Patrick Cronin, Farkus works in ladies’ undergarments and almost hires George before George screws up the interview. Later he listens to Frank and Kramer’s crazy scheme to sell “bros” or “manssiere,” depending on who you ask (Frank prefers manssiere). He even dated Estelle for a minute, but that wasn’t his best idea.
Yev Kassem
One of the most enduring characters in the show’s history is Yev Kassem (Larry Thomas), known better as “The Soup Nazi.” Although he only appears once (twice if you count the finale), it’s often regarded as the best episode in Seinfeld history. As the borderline sadistic owner of a soup restaurant, Yev simply does not suffer fools and you can guess how that works out for George, Jerry, and the rest. If you somehow haven’t seen the episode, then you should put everything down and go watch, otherwise, NO SOUP FOR YOU.
Source Agencies
