Seinfeld - Behind the Scenes - Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza

I couldn't imagine who they were gonna get from my husband because in the first episode I mentioned it's good thing your father's in Chicago so I knew that I had a husband I couldn't imagine who they were gonna get me and then I found out that it was John Randolph a darling sweet wonderful man and a marvelous actor the original way that was written was that Estelle really sort of wore the pants in the family and John really sort of took a back seat to her and so his his energy was very soft in that episode John Randolph and I had worked together on Broadway he had played my grandfather and Neil Simon's Broadway bound and John was 72 when we did the play and here we were several years later so I knew John was in his late 70s and and John is a Jewish man but he never looked at he looked at he had a very sort of waspy patrician look he didn't look like me and he didn't look like a Costanza this handicapped woman had an accident somebody gave her a used wheelchair with defective brakes sons-of-bitches pick up this big screen TV and deliver it to her big screen TV thank you the following season I don't know if John wasn't available or something about something made us want to change the actor and and so we brought in Jerry Stiller Larry all suggested Jerry Stiller and he didn't he was great and we loved him and and then because of this syndication they would keep rerunning the handicapped spot with John Randolph and it would seem odd that George would have two different fathers so I prevailed upon Castle Rock and NBC to let me reshoot those scenes with John Randolph and replaced him with Jerry Stiller which is what we did this handicapped woman had an accident somebody gave her a used wheelchair with defective brakes sons-of-bitches I want you to pick up this big screen TV screen TV you think you can handle it John Randolph was an actor who when I was making the rounds in New York looking for work had been in a play called command decision on Broadway and he was wonderful and I was so moved by that performance that I ran upstairs to his dressing room there he was taking a shower and ki he says who are you I said I'm Jerry Stiller I just want to tell you how much I love you so sit down and I started chatting with John and told him I want to be an actor he said just stick to it he says who knows maybe we'll work someday and that was it and I actually did work with him at the Phoenix Theatre and he was blacklisted he went through hell didn't work for years and then when he did finally come back here I was replacing him in this show and I had very mixed feelings but not for long John Randolph had done a thing where he would bash me in the forehead whenever he was displeased with me and it was a good Kanak you know and that was a nice bit and when when Jerry Stiller came in the first episode he did that we had a thing when I was standing by the the kitchen that Costanza's kitchen door and I said you know give it to me and he would do this very gentle thing because Jerry stores the gentlest sweetest man in the world I said no Jerry you gotta do it and he smacked it and my head went flying into the at the kitchen door and he eventually embraced it cuz he's always funny I got Frank Costanza almost like when my life was disappearing as an actor I was close to that 7 decade mark and one day I got a call they wanted me to come in as the father on Seinfeld I said what is Seinfeld Jerry did not audition for the part because he was in New York and this was probably the first time that we flew an actor in from New York to to do a role on the show without ever seeing him audition I know it still Harris the minute walked on the set she reminded me of my father's third wife and it didn't have to act with Estelle I know how where things were with us from the moment she opened her mouth yeah you know my friend the bra salesman he says they're looking to maybe put somebody on so I got you an interview next Friday what is boss thanks Friday what sides what do you have to know well it wouldn't wait to go in and be able to discuss it intelligently maybe you should take a look at a few bras where's your project and I said oh good he's a maniac now he's taking over and I can be more prim and proper and we gelled I always knew you had beautiful hands I used to tell people Frank didn't I used to talk about his hands what the hell did you ever mention his hands to the plenty of people you never mentioned it to me Georgie would you like some jello why'd you put the bananas in there Jerry Stiller started to appear on the show I I just loved him instantly the first day I got on the set Larry David said to me Jerry you're gonna be working with Estelle and she's kind of loud and obstreperous and we'd like you to have a contrast you know the meek the guy who was subdued because that'll be very funny it worked good and the other thing he said I want you to do he says I want you to wear a bald wig because George is partially bald and it would look good that the father has the ball wig and that and being new and knowing that there was one actor that has been replaced I said oh sure I'll go along with it for four days I I went along with this and lit and Estelle was screaming at me you're the one who ruined this life you're the one who did this yeah and I went along and I was very meek and I was very out of it and I felt by the fourth day that I too would be replaced as a sakta because nothing was happening a fearless so almost out of desperation on the day of the shoot the afternoon the cameras were ready the crew was there and she started screaming at me and Larry David looked at me and said that's it keep it that way he comes in and of and he is of course he he's brilliant and he doesn't even know why he's brilliant what really amazed me was Gerry drew Louie Michael and Jason gathered around the camera they formed a little semicircle and it separate rated May from the audience they stood there like they were holding me like like I was in I felt like I was in the womb and they were protecting me it's telling me we love you you're gonna be good you're gonna be wonderful and I swear I never saw actors behave in that manner in all the time I've been in theater and it shocked me most of the Jerry Stiller technique as Frank Costanza is his ongoing battle to try and remember the lines and they would come to him in pieces and they would come out of him in pieces in a very sort of psychotic way you're telling me that I it's not a it's not a planned reading it's really it's just as it's entering his brain what he has to say will you believe when I was 18 I had a silver dollar collection you know I couldn't bring myself to spend one of these that's some kind of a phobia and the two of them together he and Estelle together I mean it was just that whole season you know when they said you're gonna George moves back home I went it's Jerry and Stella it's yeah he really had some nuts for parents George Costanza you know you read about people coming up with some idea and it works out they make millions the man's ear was so popular that GQ quarterly actually put out a product a couple of a couple of months later in which they were actually an upper body support for men I've always felt I could use some support I know when I'm wearing van lon there appears to be some jiggling I wouldn't get caught dead and Bama so what do you what do you see in the back hooks velcro I think that was really the first show I worked very very closely with Jerry Stiller Michael was very meticulous about the way he worked I have a I made up a line about him I said he's a he he had a mercurial mind in a weightless body I remember the routine we created we were just given carte blanche to just work out some business just keep the cameras going we'd work it out then we get on camera forget it we just do whatever we wanted to do [Music] two minutes before the show ended Larry ran up with us with Caesars do this to dish I said what is it you're in bed with George and he says you're you you're reading kasha he says what he says you just eat the kasha in that moment it took a few takes for Jason [Laughter] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music] Jason just couldn't get through it he just busted up every time and we must've did like 12 takes of that before we got a decent take the last scene in the show when the fusilli Jerry gets shoved up Frank Costanza's ass is one of those moments for me that I could I could barely even watch it what are we doing he fell over mmm and he made that scream to think I almost split the profits on the man's ear with yo bro bro hey what happened it's my old move I use it on Estelle 40 years ago I told all my friends about it everybody knows that's my old move I use it on Estelle 40 years ago I told everybody about it everybody knows hmm I stopped short yeah stopping sure that's a good move you're not kidding that's a good move hey don't get me hey Frank I know what you did how dare you stop short with Frank relax I don't even know what you're talking about think I don't know to think to think I almost split the profits on the man's ear with you Frank Costanza's message on the machine Jerry George is dead call me back my only learned this the day I worked on a set for the table read I spoke fluent Korean I had had an affair with a Korean woman and I sold religious statues to sung-yueng moon Jerry was great I mean as you watch him work as you know he would he would use his hands a lot and look up to the sky and it would work so great for the character but the reality of it is him trying to find that next words what am I supposed to say what is it and then he would come out with it and as he's coming out with it he's hoping it's right don't think they'd enjoy being called Orientals anymore your mother likes Orientals thinks they have great turns out they started these Korean ladies who actually were Korean and before the show they started we had actual Korean words that they spelled out for me phonetically and before I went on the air they said to me you must not make fun of these words because you're going to get a lot of letters from the Korean people who are going to be watching this show so I learned everything phonetically and what was happening of course is they the women were making fun of me where's my tail I heard every word you said we got on camera and I knew what their words were phonetically I know got on camera they changed all the lines I kept saying no Korean whatever it was Yiddish Korean I couldn't figure it out are you telling me there's not one condo available in all of Dumbo the Boca Vista that's right in all of them but the best a bit go don't be slow back up I love the scene with the Jerry Stiller drinking and reminiscing in Sean Korea 1950 I was the best cook Uncle Sam ever saw slinging hash for the fighting 130 as we march north the supply lines were getting better one day I cut the gi's crate inside was 600 pounds of prime Texas deer at least it once was prime whose date was three weeks best but I was arrogant I was brash I thought if I use just the right spices and him pounding on that meat you know Jerry Stiller boy he was one of the real lumps of gold that we found that I mean amongst many but God how do you get funnier than that I was nominated for for an Emmy and the the reason I think I got that that nomination was because of Andy Ackerman the director Jerry Stiller would just slave and slave and slave over the material he wanted it to be perfect and he wanted to be just right and it was great just to be able to to be his to help him out any way I can Andy Ackerman was an amazing kind of guy who had the kind of gift of letting the act to find it from himself get the courage they were just boys Frank you were a boy too and it was war I was a crazy time forever you tell that to Bobby Colby all that kid wanted to do was go home well he went home all right with a crater and his caller the size of a cuspid the 18-hour flight home listen to me 200 Jewish singles need you this is your chance to make it all right again no get out of my house and when the scene was over I walked back to the dressing room to get ready for next scene and people coming over it says you're gonna get nominated I said oh no leave me alone I got ready to do it and and sure enough that that was the moment in my life that where the audience told me something because you never wait for an audience to tell you anything you go on to the next thing and I was I give credit to Michael I give credit to Andy acting at that point and in addition in that episode was the very last scene in the police precinct when Jerry Stiller shows off Julia louis-dreyfus has an extremely infectious laugh and and Jerry Stiller is a very funny guy and it began one of the greatest outtake runs I've ever experienced this was it huh all right wait a minute I think you've got it backwards my George isn't clever enough to hatch a scheme like this you got that right okay what the hell does that mean it means whatever the hell you want it to me you're saying you want a piece [Laughter] [Applause] I remember trying to finish that scene with Jerry Stiller and getting anxious which fueled my giddiness that we wouldn't be able to get it she could not get a takeout I was afraid we were gonna be there all night because she kept laughing and the other thing about her laughing is everybody started laughing my George isn't clever enough to hatch a scheme like this you got that right what the hell does that mean the minute I said that line she fell down laughing she was absolutely decimated by this the crew was laughing everybody was laughing and we would try it again same result same fierce reading Jerry Stiller had a unique effect on everyone the way that he just threw himself into this part it's like as if he was doing Stella you know this was his Brando moment you saying you want a piece should be you saying you want a piece of me [Applause] [Applause] you saying you want a piece of me I can drop you like a bag of dirt it was a killer and I remember actually the Jerry used that he had The Tonight Show to do a couple days later and he took that blooper reel to show on The Tonight Show as an example of the professional quality of of the work that was being done in our set oh there was a guy who was hiking in the California mountains who was came upon this mountain lion who was about to attack him and he screamed out the line because he had just seen the episode and he screamed out that the mountain lion do you want a piece of me and scared the mountain lion off I saw it I only know this because it comes up on Google if you type in Seinfeld and I came across this obscure item but somebody's life was saved by that lion now on the street wherever I want wrecked truck drivers would stick their head out hey you want a piece of age

Channel: Derpston P Derp

Views: 1,731,185

Rating: 4.8666329 out of 5

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Id: gMSwdO_LvnE

Length: 22min 51sec (1371 seconds)

Published: Wed May 13 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/kevinjoseph7898]

I wish Mr stiller would have had his own show especially, him and Kramer’s shenanigans would have been so funny.