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IMDbPro

Michael Richards(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00014
Michael Richards
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:19
Faith, Hope & Love (2019)
33 Videos
99+ Photos
Immortalized as Cosmo Kramer on the classic sitcom Seinfeld (1989), West Coast comedy star Michael Richards was born on July 24, 1949, and raised in South Los Angeles, California, to Phyllis (Nardozzi), an Italian-American medical records librarian, and William Richards, an electrical engineer. Michael displayed an early talent for performance as a top Forensic League competitor during grade school. He went on to star in multiple high school and college productions while working as an ambulance attendant and hospital orderly. Michael trained as a medic in the US Army during the Vietnam War, was appointed writer and director of plays on drug abuse and race relations for the Army's V-Corp Training Roadshow. He attended the California Institute of the Arts and was mentored by famed performance art guru Allan Kaprow. He graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington with his BFA in drama.

After first performing with the San Diego Repertory Company, he subsequently returned to L.A. where he was discovered by Budd Friedman, founder of the Improv comedy club and talent manager Charles H. Joffe. Also a trained theater actor under the tutelage of Stella Adler, Michael starred in regional productions, Off-Broadway, and in London's West End. In addition to his comedic roles, Michael performed regularly in comedy clubs during the late 1970s and 1980s while driving a school bus by day.

Inspired by the physical comedy of such legends as Charles Chaplin and Jacques Tati, he paid his dues on the comedy circuit until comedian Billy Crystal noticed him and gave him a break on one of his comedy specials. Michael earned a regular spot on the sketch comedy series Fridays (1980), where he created the character of Battle Boy who liked to blow up army soldiers. He also appeared in such minor slapstick films such as Young Doctors in Love (1982) and Transylvania 6-5000 (1985).

Michael worked regularly as a dramatic "heavy" in television throughout the 1980s in shows such as "Miami Vice," "St. Elsewhere," and "Hill Street Blues." Following a recurring role on the offbeat comedy series Marblehead Manor (1987), everything finally came together for the elastic-faced comedian in 1989, after being cast as Cosmo Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld's wired, convulsive, frizzy-mopped neighbor and pal on Seinfeld (1989). The frenzied character earned him three Emmy awards, SAG awards, and instant cult status. He followed this success with his own short-lived series, the comedy mystery as a private investigator in The Michael Richards Show (2000) and the role of Micawber in a TV version of David Copperfield (2000).

Subsequent film credits include the cult classic UHF (1989), Problem Child (1990), Airheads (1994), Unstrung Heroes (1995) and Trial and Error (1997), a top-billed comedy role. TV work into the millennium has been very sporadic; however, he appeared as himself in several episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), and played a regular role in Kirstie Alley's brief comedy series Kirstie (2013) with fellow TV comedy veteran and Rhea Perlman. He also made an isolated film appearance in the romantic comedy Faith, Hope & Love (2019).
BornJuly 24, 1949
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 24, 1949
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00014
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 3 Primetime Emmys

Photos158

Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Paul Reiser and Michael Richards in Mad About You (1992)
Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Wayne Knight and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Jerry Stiller, Estelle Harris, Tracy Letts, Colin Malone, Michael Richards, and Daniel von Bargen in Seinfeld (1989)
Mike Hagerty and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Jeff Norman in Seinfeld (1989)
Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)

Known for

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Seinfeld
8.9
TV Series
  • Cosmo Kramer
  • Kramer
'Weird Al' Yankovic in UHF (1989)
UHF
6.9
  • Stanley Spadowski
  • 1989
John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, and Michael Oliver in Problem Child (1990)
Problem Child
5.4
  • Martin Beck
  • 1990
Brendan Fraser in Airheads (1994)
Airheads
6.1
  • Doug Beech
  • 1994

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Edward Asner, Corbin Bernsen, Robert Krantz, Natasha Bure, and Peta Murgatroyd in Faith, Hope & Love (2019)
    Faith, Hope & Love
  • Kirstie Alley, Rhea Perlman, Michael Richards, and Eric Petersen in Kirstie (2013)
    Kirstie
  • Walk the Light (2013)
    Walk the Light
  • Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • Jerry Seinfeld in Bee Movie (2007)
    Bee Movie
    • (voice)
  • William Devane, Tim Meadows, Bill Cobbs, Amy Farrington, and Michael Richards in The Michael Richards Show (2000)
    The Michael Richards Show
  • David Copperfield (2000)
    David Copperfield
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
    Seinfeld
  • Redux Riding Hood (1997)
    Redux Riding Hood
    • (voice)
  • Jeff Daniels and Michael Richards in Trial and Error (1997)
    Trial and Error
  • Ellen's Energy Adventure (1996)
    Ellen's Energy Adventure
    • (uncredited)
  • London Suite (1996)
    London Suite
  • Andie MacDowell in Unstrung Heroes (1995)
    Unstrung Heroes
  • Brendan Fraser in Airheads (1994)
    Airheads
  • So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
    So I Married an Axe Murderer

Writer

  • William Devane, Tim Meadows, Bill Cobbs, Amy Farrington, and Michael Richards in The Michael Richards Show (2000)
    The Michael Richards Show
  • Fridays (1980)
    Fridays

Producer

  • William Devane, Tim Meadows, Bill Cobbs, Amy Farrington, and Michael Richards in The Michael Richards Show (2000)
    The Michael Richards Show

Videos33

Bee Movie
Clip 1:18
Bee Movie
Official Trailer
Trailer 0:31
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:57
Official Trailer
Official Teaser
Trailer 0:49
Official Teaser
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:19
Official Trailer
Season 11 Trailer
Trailer 2:28
Season 11 Trailer
Season 10 Trailer
Trailer 2:48
Season 10 Trailer
Season 8 Trailer
Trailer 1:53
Season 8 Trailer
Season 7 Trailer
Trailer 2:11
Season 7 Trailer
Season 5 Trailer
Trailer 1:37
Season 5 Trailer
UHF
Trailer 1:26
UHF
Trial And Error
Trailer 2:17
Trial And Error

Personal details

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    • July 24, 1949
    • Culver City, California, USA
    • 2013 - present (1 child)
  • Other works
    TV commercial for Clorets
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Portrayals
    • 2 Interviews
    • 6 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 6 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Is a Vietnam-era Army Veteran. He was drafted and served for two years in West Germany.
  • Quotes
    My job is to stay out of his way. - in an interview with Oprah explaining how he prepared for the character of Kramer
    • Physical comedy

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