Larry David Based A Seinfeld Character On His Eccentric Neighbor

“Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator Larry David has been upfront about how much of his writing is inspired by his life. For instance, when he was working at “Saturday Night Live,” David once angrily quit the show, only to show up the next day and keep working as if nothing happened. George Costanza (Jason Alexander), who was Larry’s stand-in character on “Seinfeld,” did the same thing years later.

When it came to inventing Kramer (Michael Richards), Jerry’s zany, intrusive next-door neighbor, Larry once again turned to real life for inspiration. “The character of Kramer was based on my real next-door neighbor, Kenny Kramer,” David once explained in a featurette about the making of the series. “My neighbor was a guy who would come in, take a lot of my food, and he was a guy who didn’t work, really, or if he did nobody really knew what he did. But what I knew is that he was in that apartment 22 out of the 24 hours of the day.”

As the real Kenny Kramer explained, “People asked me if Michael [Richards] met with me to study me. The answer is no, he did not want to have anything to do with knowing about me […] Larry wrote the words and he interpreted it himself.”

As The New York Times reported in 1996, “Mr. Kramer, who still lives in the same midtown apartment, is starting up Kramer’s Reality Tour, which he cheerfully calls ‘a shameless attempt to capitalize on my illustrious name and branded identity.’ Beginning on Jan. 27 at the John Houseman Theater on West 42d Street, Mr. Kramer will show video clips, serve pizza and conduct bus tours of spots sacred to the legions of ‘Seinfeld’ fans.”

Kramer’s Reality Tour seems to have been successful; although it appears to have closed down (possibly for good) in 2020, it was still getting positive reviews on TripAdviser all the way up until late 2019. That’s not bad considering the website itself looks like it’s been trapped in the early 2000s. As of 2013, Kramer also started advertising his legitimate wedding services. As his website reads:

“The Real Kramer, Kenny Kramer, who for 17 years has led ‘Seinfeld’ fans on his popular ‘Kramer Reality Tour’, can now marry loving couples in a legitimate wedding ceremony that is bound to beat anything an ‘Elvis Impersonator’ can serve up in Las Vegas, or anywhere worldwide. A Kramer concept that could easily have been an episode of ‘Seinfeld,’ Kenny Kramer has become ordained by the Universal Life Church — a non-denominational Ministry […] and is now legally empowered to be a wedding officiant.”

As the “Seinfeld” finale gets further away, it appears that Kenny Kramer’s ability to monetize his connection to the show has tragically dwindled. Still, he can always take solace in how much of an impact he’s seemed to have on Larry David’s psyche; not only is Kramer a standout character on the biggest sitcom of the ’90s, but David used the same archetype again in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” season 6, when he introduced Leon (J.B. Smoove) as a regular character. (It’s no surprise that /Film ranked seasons 6 and 7 as the show’s best seasons.)

Much like how Kramer inserts himself into Jerry’s life, Leon inserts himself into Larry’s through sheer force of will. Leon invites himself into Larry’s home and then spends the next six seasons (or next 17 years) living in Larry’s various homes. Like Jerry, Larry is bewildered and annoyed by this behavior, but he vibes well enough with Leon that he doesn’t make a fuss about it. To at least a certain extent, Larry respects the hustle.

The Kramer/Leon connections were made explicit in the series finale of “Curb,” where Leon binges all nine seasons of “Seinfeld” and his main takeaway is that Kramer’s a total bum. “Man, this goddamn Kramer, man. He’s too much, man,” Leon tells Larry. “Walking in your f***ing house unannounced and s***. You might as well take off the f***ing door and put a f***ing saloon door. These motherf***ers just walking in when they want to.” His rant demonstrates a very funny lack of self-awareness, but the joke is wholesome overall; it reminds us that even 26 years after “Seinfeld” ended, Kenny Kramer’s spirit still lives on through Leon.