I have been a comedy enthusiast for all my adult life.  I have observed so many different styles of comics that I feel like I’m an authority in detecting a comic who is constantly funny.  From the early days of comedy (Jack Benny, for instance) to present day comedy stars, nobody has reached the comedic level of Jerry Seinfeld.  By virtually any measurement, he is the most successful comedian who ever lived.

The Seinfeld stand up comedy story is an interesting one.

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

Luckily for Jerry, he was seen by the ruling master of comedy at the time, Rodney Dangerfield (another favorite comedian of mine).  Rodney had Jerry perform on one of his HBO specials, which began his ascent to ultimate stardom.  In 1979, he had a really small recurring role on the Benson sitcom as “Frankie”, a mail delivery boy who had comedy gags that no one wanted to listen to. Oddly enough he was fired from the show due to creative differences.

It is hard to comprehend these days that anyone would can Seinfeld from a Television show, but it really occurred.  And it was not handled very well. No one bothered to tell him he had been dismissed until he turned up for an episode read-through meeting and found 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 really impressed Carson, which led to normal Tonight Show performances over the following several years.  

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

By its 4th season, ‘Seinfeld’ had turned out to be the most popular and successful sitcom on American tv. The Seinfeld stand up comedy machine had really found its mark.  The final episode aired in 1998, and the show has retained its reputation with syndicated re-runs ever since.

Jerry’s post-sitcom career has continued to thrive, with regular appearances in Las Vegas, and in big comedy venues around the nation. 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 example).  

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

The premise consists of real-life couples presently engaged in a conflict (and aren’t we all?). There is a three person panel made up of numerous celebs who are shown both sides of the debate. These celebrities then talk about the merits of each participant and vote on their selection of the winner.

The preliminary reviews of the program were almost completely negative, with many bordering on nasty.  Nevertheless, The Marriage Ref was renewed by NBC for an additional season.  It’ll be fascinating to see if Jerry can work his magic on this show, and I suppose I would not wager against him.  After all, ‘Seinfeld’ was a sluggish starter in its first season, but was able to develop into a ratings powerhouse in the following years.  
With a little luck The Marriage Ref can do the same.

If you ask me, if anybody can turn around a ratings catastrophe, it is Jerry Seinfeld.

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