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Kenny Kramer, who writer Larry David based the part of Cosmo Kramer on in the 90s hit comedy sitcom “Seinfeld” is suing a member of the cast of the now-defunct TV series.
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Kenny Kramer / Getty
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In a scenario that Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would well have been proud to include in one of the episodes of Seinfeld, their friend from way back, Kenny Kramer on whom the zany and excitable character “Cosmo” Kramer was based, is currently in the stages of raising a court action against Fred Stoller, an equally not so well known writer and actor who appeared in two “Seinfeld” episodes when the series was at its peak in the mid nineties.
Kenny Kramer, despite the fact he never took any part in the series, has been making himself some spending cash ever since through operating a scenic bus tour around Manhattan, which he has called “Kramer’s Reality Tour”. The tour takes Seinfeld fanatics around the most well-known haunts that Jerry and the other members of the cast used to hang out in the city, including the iconic Tom’s Restaurant, During the tour Kenny and his staff provides in-depth explanations, insights and reminiscences on peak moments of the show’s ten year run.
What apparently has got Kenny Kramer up in arms is that claims that Fred Stoller, now based in Los Angeles has made unpleasant references to him and his Seinfeld tour itinerary in “Maybe We’ll Have You Back; The Life of a Perennial TV Guest Star, ” which is a tongue-in-cheek autobiography relating to Stoller’s stuttering career in the entertainment industry
Kramer claims that in the autobiography, Stoller is pointing the finger at Kramer and his tour guides, accusing them of taunting members of the gay community that they happen to encounter in Greenwich Village during the tour. In his novel Stoller accuses Kramer and his staff off calling out to gay people that they encounter, the classic line ““Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”from one of Seinfeld’s episodes.
Kenny Kramer has taken umbrage and wasted no time in raising a $1 million defamation lawsuit, accusing Stoller of portraying him as a “gay-bashing hack”.
In true Cosmo fashion not only does the real Kramer wants Stoller to pay him a lot of money he also is demanding that make a public apology to him via Facebook.
In the days when the fictional Cosmo Kramer reigned supreme, for better or worse there was no such thing as Facebook, but the real Kramer has always been them to use the power of social media to his advantage, by not only denying that he or any members of his staff would make fun of the gay community, but that his bus tour itinerary does not include a visit to Greenwich Village.
The real Kramer appears to be as an interesting character as the fictional one, working in a variety of unusual professions, including hosting “Kramer’s New York” for WNYW’s Good Day New York radio station, appearing in environmental theater as a member of the original New York cast of the cult musical of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, attempting to run as mayor of New York on the Democratic Party, taking the role of warm-up act for some of the World’s leading pop groups when they appeared in New York and recently becoming ordained as a non-denominational minister with the Universal Life Church.
Unlike Cosmo Kramer who may have looked Jewish but wasn’t, Kenny Kramer certainly is.
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