The sitcom trope of the annoying, intrusive neighbor had been around long before Seinfeld arrived on the air, but what made Cosmo Kramer unique was that he was based on Larry David’s actual neighbor. Kenny Kramer used to barge into David’s apartment and help himself to the food in his fridge, just like the TV icon he was turned into.
Seinfeld’s writing team didn’t have to try very hard to write a good Kramer storyline. All they had to do was put him in a situation that was ripe for physical comedy and simply let Michael Richards do his thing on set.
The Wait Out
The writers of Seinfeld could write a Kramer storyline as simple as wearing a pair of tight jeans and spin it into comedy gold. He can’t get the jeans off to save his life, so he wears them to Mickey’s audition for the Actors’ Studio in which he’s supposed to be playing a businessman.
Then, Kramer wears them to babysit a kid down the hallway named Joey Zambino. His staggering silhouette makes Joey think that Frankenstein’s monster is in the apartment, so he runs away.
The Lip Reader
When Jerry starts dating a lineswoman, she manages to score Kramer a gig as the world’s first “ball man.” Kramer is determined to prove to all the young recruits that he’s just as capable of catching stray balls, despite his age.
However, at the U.S. Open, just moments into his first match as a ball man — and moments into Monica Seles’ comeback following her 1993 stabbing — he bumps into her, giving her another injury.
The Strike
In season 9’s “The Strike,” Kramer revealed that throughout Seinfeld’s entire run, he’d been on a 12-year strike from his job at H&H Bagels. When the strike comes to an end, he goes back to work and learns that all his co-workers got other jobs during his time away.
While he’s working at the bagel place, Kramer learns about Frank Costanza’s Festivus celebrations and gets excited to celebrate it himself for the first time.
The Fusilli Jerry
In “The Fusilli Jerry,” Kramer brings over a little model of Jerry that he made out of pasta in his spare time. He claims to be working on a model of George made of ravioli.
Frank Costanza ends up injuring his bottom when he attacks Kramer in Jerry’s apartment and falls on the little pasta model. He tells the proctologist it was “a million-to-one shot.”
The Merv Griffin Show
In one of Kramer’s most delightfully absurd storylines — and a sign that Seinfeld’s writers were just about out of ideas by the final season — he finds the sets from The Merv Griffin Show in a dumpster.
Kramer recreates the set in his apartment and decides to host a talk show, without cameras, 24 hours a day. He takes on Newman as a co-host and books celebrity guests to talk in front of imaginary cameras.
The Sponge
While Elaine is desperately searching for her favorite contraceptive in “The Sponge,” Kramer prepares to take part in a charity AIDS walk. He neglects to train for it and stays up drinking and smoking cigars the night before the event, so Jerry doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it.
On the day, Kramer refuses to wear a ribbon and wants only to take part in the walk. A bunch of “ribbon bullies” beat him up, so he’s battered and bruised by the end, which Jerry thinks is just because he was up all night.
The Sniffing Accountant
Jerry becomes suspicious when he sees his new accountant sniffing a lot, looking antsy, and taking regular trips to the bathroom, fearing he’s given all his money to a cocaine addict.
Kramer and Newman have just hired him, too, so they have a vested interest. Kramer goes undercover into a bar to see if he’s “hip to the whole scene,” presenting Michael Richards with ample opportunities for physical comedy.
The Voice
In season 9’s “The Voice,” Kramer gets sick of all his invention ideas getting made by other people while he’s distracted with daily chores, so he brings in a local college student, Darin, to work as an unpaid intern for his company, Kramerica Industries.
As soon as the university catches on that Darin is just being used to pick up dry cleaning and make lunch plans for a guy in an apartment, they pull him out. But he returns of his own volition and says, “I believe in Kramerica!”
The Bottle Deposit
In the two-part episode “The Bottle Deposit,” Kramer and Newman scheme to collect recyclable bottles in bulk and drive them down to Michigan in a spare mail van to make a boatload on the state’s recycling reward fee, which is higher than New York’s.
However, along the way, they spot Jerry’s stolen car and have to ditch the bottles and abandon their route in order to continue the pursuit.
The Junior Mint
When Kramer expresses concern about an operation that Elaine’s friend is about to undergo, the surgeon invites him to come along and watch. Jerry goes with him and Kramer brings Junior Mints, a classic movie snack, to eat during the procedure.
While Elaine’s friend is being operated on, Kramer offers a Junior Mint to Jerry, who turns it down. The mint falls into Elaine’s friend and leads to a miraculous recovery.