Everything But The Weed

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Linda Maze, a Wedding photography Gainesville FL in Gainesville Florida

I have been a comedy fan for all my adult life.  I have observed so many various styles of comedians that I feel like I am an expert in detecting a comedian who is regularly funny.  From the early days of comedy (Jack Benny, for instance) to present day comedy stars, no one has arrived at the comedic level of Jerry Seinfeld.  By virtually any measurement, he is the most successful comedian who ever graced the stage.

The Seinfeld stand up comedy tale is an fascinating one.

Jerome Allen Seinfeld was born in April of 1954 in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Kalman Seinfeld, was of Galician Jewish background and owned a sign-making company. His mom, Betty, is of Syrian Jewish ancestry.
Seinfeld developed a serious interest in standup comedy in his college days, even though he was considered the class clown all the way through college.  After graduating from Queens College, he discovered himself at an open-mic night at New York City’s Catch a Rising Star. 

Fortunately for Jerry, he was seen by the reigning king of humor at the time, Rodney Dangerfield (another favorite comic of mine).  Rodney had Jerry perform on one of his HBO programs, which began his ascent to eventual stardom.  In 1979, he had a really small continuing role on the Benson sitcom as “Frankie”, a mail delivery boy who had comedy routines that no-one wanted to hear. Oddly enough he was fired from the show due to creative differences.

It’s difficult to appreciate today that anybody would fire Seinfeld from a Television show, but it actually occurred.  And it wasn’t dealt with very well. No one bothered to tell him he had been dismissed until he turned up for an episode read-through meeting and discovered that there was no script for him.  Although it was hard to fathom at the time, the Seinfeld stand up comedy era was about to begin.

Obviously Jerry was able to overcome this setback, and went on in 1981 to a extremely productive appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.  His act had truly impressed Carson, which led to frequent Tonight Show performances over the next several years.  

By the end of the decade he and his pal, Larry David started development on a ground-breaking sitcom known as the The Seinfeld Chronicles. Eventually the name would change to the moniker that we all recognize these days:  ‘Seinfeld’.  They did this to prevent confusion with the short-lived teen sitcom known as The Marshall Chronicles.

By its fourth season, ‘Seinfeld’ had become the most popular and successful sitcom on American television. The Seinfeld stand up comedy machine had really found its mark.  The final episode aired in 1998, and the show has preserved its popularity with syndicated re-runs ever since.

Jerry’s post-sitcom career has continued to thrive, with regular appearances in Las Vegas, and in large comedy locations around the country. His emphasis has been live, stand up comedy as opposed to venturing out into movies as many of his peers have done (Tim Allen and Ray Romano, for instance).  

2010 has witnessed another milestone in the career of Jerry Seinfeld.  He has introduced a new tv series which will also prove to be breaking new ground.  Jerry is the master of pressing the comedy envelope, and his latest Television effort is yet another example.  It is known as the Marriage Ref, and stars Tom Papa, Natalie Morales, and obviously Jerry himself. 

The premise involves real-life couples currently involved in a conflict (and aren’t we all?). There is a three person panel made up of various celebrities who are showed both sides of the discussion. These celebrities then talk about the merits of each participant and vote on their selection of the winner.

The initial reviews of the show were almost completely bad, with many bordering on nasty.  Even so, The Marriage Ref was renewed by NBC for another season.  It’ll be fascinating to see if Jerry can perform his magic on this show, and I guess I would not bet against him.  After all, ‘Seinfeld’ was a slow starter in its first season, but was able to develop into a ratings powerhouse in the ensuing years.  
With a little luck The Marriage Ref can do the same.

If you ask me, if anyone can turn around a ratings catastrophe, it’s Jerry Seinfeld.

Want to read more?  Click here:  How To Do Standup Comedy