Michael Richards
From The TV IV
| Michael Richards | |
| |
| Birth name | Michael Anthony Richards |
| Born | July 24, 1949 in Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Notable Roles | Seinfeld: Cosmo Kramer |
| Notable Episodes | |
| Awards | 3 Primetime Emmy Awards 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards |
Michael Richards is an American actor, problably best known for portraying Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, a role wich delivered him 3 Primetime Emmy Awards. He's engaged to actress Beth Skipp
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Michael Richards was born Michael Anthony Richards on July 24, 1949, to William Richards and Phyllis Nardozzi. He was born in Culver City, California, United States where he was raised with no specific religious tradition. He developed an early interest in acting while in high school. After attending at the California Institute of Arts he recieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama from The Evergreen State College in 1975. During the Vietnam war in 1973 Richards spent two years in the U.S. Army developing educational skits. After this Richards started a small improv company with Ed Begley, Jr. wich unfortunatly didn't last very long. He wasn't noticed for a while until comedian Billy Crystal gave him a part in one of his tv specials. In 1980 (at the age of 30) he became a regular cast member on ABC's Fridays (together with Larry David whom he would later work with for Seinfeld). Richards' most famous appearance on Fridays was the skit in wich he was thrown water on by Andy Kaufman wich now a days is referred to as the "Andy Kaufman Incident" because it wasn't very clear if this was a joke or an incident. In 1987 Richards auditioned for the role of Al Bundy on the populair FOX Sitcom Married... with Children but this part eventually went to Ed O'Neill. Richards made some guest appearances on various tv shows such as: Cheers, Miami Vice, Night Court, Hill Street Blues and It's a Living (1985) and had small recurring roles on St. Elsewhere and Marblehead Manor. His real television breakthrough came in 1989 when Richards was cast to portray the convulsive, frizzy-mopped neighbour Cosmo Kramer on the hit sitcom Seinfeld a role that earned him 3 Primetime Emmy Awards. After Seinfeld Richards was populair enough to persue his big dream, wich was portraying a private detective, wich led to The Michael Richards Show in 2000. The only problem was that when the series ended in 1998 Richards was so strongly identified with the Kramer character that he wasn't known as Michael Richards but as Cosmo Kramer. Wich caused the series to be cancelled after only 9 episodes. Richards was considered to portray Adrian Monk on Monk but this part whent to Tony Shalhoub. Richards has a small film career thanks to playing in films such as UHF, Trial and Error and Unstrung Heroes, in 2007 he voiced But Ditchwater in the animated film Bee Movie.
[edit] Roles
[edit] Starring Roles
| Series | Role | Year(s) | Season(s) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fridays | Various | 1980–1982 | 1 | ||||||||
| Herndon | Dr. Herndon P. Stool | 1983 | 1 | ||||||||
| Fresno | 2nd Henchman | 1986 | miniseries | ||||||||
| Seinfeld | Cosmo Kramer | 1989–1998 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| The Michael Richards Show | Vic Nardozza | 2000–2001 | 1 | ||||||||
[edit] Guest Starring Roles
[edit] Specials and Made-for-TV Movies
| Title | Role | Airdate | Series/Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ratings Game | Sal | December 15, 1984 | |
| Slickers | Mike Blade | July 11, 1985 | |
| On the Ledge | Various | 1987 | Jonathan Winters |
| Camp MTV | Stanley Spadowski | August 6, 1989 | |
| Behind the Scenes: 'UHF' | Himself | 1989 | |
| The First Annual Comedy Hall of Fame | Himself | 1993 | Comedian Hall of Fame |
| 40 Years of Television Magic | Himself | December 10, 1994 | The Wonderful World of Disney |
| A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman | Himself | March 29, 1995 | |
| London Suite | Mark Ferris | September 15, 1996 | |
| Trial & Error | Himself | 1997 | Reel Comedy |
| Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show | Himself | December 21, 1999 | |
| David Copperfield | Mr. Wilkins Micawber | December 10, 2000 | |
| The Eleventh Annual British Comedy Awards | Himself | December 15, 2001 | British Comedy Awards |
| The Seinfeld Story | Himself | November 25, 2004 | |
| 50 Most Shocking Celebrity Scandals | Himself | May 21, 2007 |
[edit] Talk, News and Game Show Appearances
| Series | Episode | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| The Rosie O'Donnel Show | May 29, 1997 | |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Show 809 | June 3, 1997 |
| The Rosie O'Donnel Show | November 6, 2000 | |
| V Graham Norton | November 8, 2002 | |
| V Graham Norton | January 30, 2003 | |
| Rove Live | October 12, 2004 | |
| Good Morning Australia | October 14, 2004 | |
| The Oprah Winfrey Show | November 29, 2004 | |
| Live with Regis and Kathie Lee | November 23, 2005 | |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Show 2659 | November 20, 2006 |
[edit] Notable Film Roles
| Film | Role | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Trial and Error | Richard 'Ricky' Rietti | May 30, 1997 |
| Bee Movie | Bud Ditchwater | December 12, 2007 |
[edit] Producer
[edit] Series Produced
| Series | Year(s) | Producer Credit | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Michael Richards Show | 2000–2001 | Executive Producer | 1 |
[edit] Writer
[edit] Staff Writer
| Series | Year(s) | Writer Credit | Season(s) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Michael Richards Show | 2000–2001 | Creator | 1 | ||||||||
[edit] Memorable Moments
[edit] Awards and Accolades
[edit] American Comedy Awards (TV)
(2 Nominations)
- Nominated: Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series (1996)
- Nominated: Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV Series (1999)
[edit] Emmy Awards
(3 Wins/2 Nominations)
- Won: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1993)
- Won: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1994)
- Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1995)
- Nominated: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1996)
- Won: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1997)
[edit] Satellite Awards (TV)
(1 Nomination)
- Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (1997)
[edit] Screen Actors Guild Awards
(2 Wins/3 Nominations)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (1996)
- Won: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1997)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (1997)
- Won: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1998)
- Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (1998)
[edit] Other Awards
- American Comedy Award (Motion Picture)
- Nominated: Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (1996) - Unstrung Heroes
[edit] Trivia
- Is the only main cast member on Seinfeld who has never hosted Saturday Night Live.
- Is the only main cast member on Seinfeld who isn't Jewish.
- Is the only main cast member on Seinfeld who didn't won or was nominated for a Golden Globe.
- Engaged to actress Beth Skipp
