Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer,
best known for his portrayal of Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld, for which
he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three
times.
Richards began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when
he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special.
He went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays.
Prior to Seinfeld, he made numerous guest appearances on a variety of television shows
including Cheers, Night Court, Miami Vice and St. Elsewhere.
His film credits include So I Married an Axe Murderer, Airheads, Young Doctors in Love,
Problem Child, Coneheads, UHF, and Trial and Error, one of his few starring roles.
During the run of Seinfeld, he made a guest appearance in Mad About You.
After Seinfeld, Richards starred in his own sitcom, The Michael Richards Show, which lasted
less than one full season.
After Seinfeld ended, Richards performed stand-up comedy.
After inciting media furor for losing his temper and repeatedly shouting "nigger" at
an African American heckler in late 2006, Richards announced his retirement from stand-up
in 2007.
Richards appeared as himself in the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2009, acting
alongside his fellow cast members for the first time since Seinfeld's finale.
In 2013, Richards played the role of Frank in the sitcom Kirstie, costarring Kirstie
Alley and Rhea Perlman.
Early life
Richards was born in Culver City, California, the son of Phyllis, a medical records librarian,
and William Richards, an electrical engineer.
He has British ancestry on his paternal side and Italian ancestry on his maternal side.
His father died in a car crash when Michael was two and his mother never remarried.
He was drafted during the Vietnam War, served in the U.S. Army for two years, and was stationed
in West Germany as one of the co-directors of the V Corps Training Road Show.
He attended the California Institute of the Arts, and received a BA degree in drama from
The Evergreen State College in 1975.
He also had a short-lived improv act with Ed Begley, Jr. during this period.
Enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College, he continued to appear in student productions.
Career Richards got his big TV break in 1979, appearing
in Billy Crystal's first cable TV special.
In 1980, he began as one of the cast members on ABC's Fridays television show, where Larry
David was a writer.
This included a famous instance in which guest Andy Kaufman refused to deliver his scripted
lines, leading Richards to bring the cue cards on screen to Kaufman, causing him to throw
his drink into Richards's face before a small riot ensued.
The film Man on the Moon featured a re-enactment of the Andy Kaufman incident in which Richards
was portrayed by actor Norm Macdonald.
He was also famous for a brief sketch that he did on the show, during which he simply
improvised with a large pile of dirt and some army toys.
In 1989, Richards had a supporting role in "Weird Al" Yankovic's comedy film UHF as janitor
Stanley Spadowski.
On television, Richards also appeared in Miami Vice, Cheers, and made several guest appearances
with Jay Leno as an accident-prone fitness expert.
According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman, ABC first conceived the series
Monk as a procedural police comedy with an Inspector Clouseau-like character suffering
from obsessive–compulsive disorder.
Hoberman said that ABC wanted Richards to play Adrian Monk, but Richards turned it down.
Seinfeld In 1989, he was cast as Cosmo Kramer in the
NBC television series Seinfeld, which was created by fellow Fridays cast member Larry
David and comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
Although it got off to a slow start, by the mid-1990s, the show had become one of the
most popular sitcoms in television history.
The series ended its nine-year run in 1998 at #1 in the Nielsen ratings.
In the setting of Seinfeld, Kramer is usually referred to by his last name only and is the
neighbor of the show's eponymous character.
Kramer's first name, Cosmo, was revealed in the sixth-season episode "The Switch".
Richards won more Emmys than any other cast member on Seinfeld.
He took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1993, 1994 and
1997.
Starting in 2004, he and his fellow Seinfeld cast members provided interviews and audio
commentaries for the Seinfeld DVDs, but Richards stopped providing audio commentary after Season
5 though he continued to provide interviews.
The Michael Richards Show In 2000, after the end of Seinfeld, Richards
began work on a new series for NBC, his first major project since Seinfeld's finale.
The Michael Richards Show, for which the actor received co-writer and co-executive producer
credits, was originally conceived as a comedy/mystery starring Richards as a bumbling private investigator.
However, after the first pilot failed with test audiences, NBC ordered that the show
be retooled into a more conventional, office-based sitcom before its premiere.
After a few weeks of poor ratings and negative reviews, it was cancelled.
Laugh Factory incident During a November 17, 2006 performance at
the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, California, Richards shouted a racially charged response
to black hecklers in the audience, shouting "He's a nigger!"
several times and referring to lynching.
Kyle Doss, a member of the group Richards addressed, said that the group had arrived
in the middle of the performance, going on to explain:
[H]ere's what happened.
As we walked in, we sat down and started ordering drinks.
And, as we ordered drinks, I guess we're being a little loud, because there was 20 of us
ordering drinks.
And he said, "Look at the stupid Mexicans and blacks being loud up there."
That's the first thing he said.
And then he kept on with his bit.
And, then, after a while, I told him, "My friend doesn't think you're funny."
And then when I told him that, that's when he flipped me off and said, "F-you N-word."
And that's how it all started.
Richards made a public apology on the Late Show with David Letterman, when Jerry Seinfeld
was the guest, saying, "For me to be at a comedy club and to flip out and say this crap,
I'm deeply, deeply sorry.
I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this."
The audience seemed confused and were laughing during his explanation because he appeared
to be in his Kramer character.
At one point Seinfeld told the audience "Stop laughing, it's not funny."
Richards said that he had been trying to defuse heckling by being even more outrageous, but
that it had backfired.
Richards later called civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to apologize.
He also appeared as a guest on Jackson's syndicated radio show.
The incident was later parodied on several TV shows, including MadTV, Family Guy, South
Park, and Extras.
In an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Richards appeared as himself and poked fun at the incident.
In a 2012 episode of Seinfeld's web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Richards
admitted that the outburst still haunted him, and was a major reason for his withdrawal
from performing stand-up.
Cameo roles, guest appearances, and film roles Richards played himself in Episode 2 of Season
1 "The Flirt Episode" of the HBO series, The Larry Sanders Show.
Richards also played a cameo role in So I Married an Axe Murderer where he was an "insensitive
man".
Richards played radio station employee Doug Beech in Airheads.
He also made guest appearances on Miami Vice, Night Court and Cheers.
In 2007, Richards voiced character Bud Ditchwater in the animated film Bee Movie, which starred,
and was produced by, Jerry Seinfeld.
In 2009, Richards and the other main Seinfeld cast members appeared in the seventh season
of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In 2012, Richards appeared in comedy web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, hosted by
Jerry Seinfeld.
Richards played the role of Frank in the sitcom Kirstie, costarring Kirstie Alley and Rhea
Perlman, premiering on TV Land on December 4, 2013.
The show was canceled after airing one season.
Personal life Richards was married for 18 years to Cathleen
Lyons, a family therapist.
They have one daughter, Sophia, and divorced in 1992.
In July 2007, Richards announced his retirement from stand-up comedy.
He further announced plans to travel to Cambodia with his fiancée and visit Angkor Wat for
"spiritual healing" purposes on a tour sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Nithyananda Foundation.
Filmography Film
Television References
External links Michael Richards at the Internet Movie Database