Celebrity recollections #1
Whenever backyard barbecue chat turns to work and I happen mention to a new acquaintance that I used to interview celebrities, they often ask for a list of names. The one that usually gets the biggest reaction is Michael Richards, best known as Kramer from the iconic TV series Seinfeld.
Part of their excitement is the show itself – for Gen-Xers, Seinfeld was generation defining – and part of it is the character. While Kramer didn’t end up dominating his show the way the Fonz did in Happy Days or Homer did in The Simpsons, his frizz-haired wackiness made people curious about the man who played him. I know I was.
I met Richards in a hotel lounge at The Rocks in Sydney. We were convening to discuss Seinfeld, which had finally come out on DVD after years of pleading from fans. We shook hands, sat down, and commenced one of the most awkward interviews of my career.
In short, Richards was Kramer minus the funny bits. The stilted speech, the unfocused eyes, the vague responses, the general weirdness – it was like talking to someone who had taken an overdose of amphetamines… or maybe someone who had forgotten to take his medication that morning.
I must have been one of the few people not the least bit surprised when Richards lost his cool at a heckler and had his infamous “He’s a nigger!” brain snap while performing stand-up comedy in 2006. Even during the 15 minutes I spent with ‘Kramer’, I could tell he was one peculiar individual.