This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the last ever episodes of Seinfeld! The two-parter ending was met with a mixed response when it first aired. Some people felt let down by the slightly dark ending of our heroes being sent to prison; others felt it captured the show's spirit perfectly by not giving in to lesser sitcom comedy tropes and staying to true what the program has always been about: nothing.
Still, the season finale certainly signaled the end of an era, so here are 10 things you may not of known about the final episodes of Seinfeld!
The Death Of Frank Sinatra
14th of May 1998 was certainly a historic date, not only because it was the airdate of the Seinfeld finale, but it also saw the passing of music legend Frank Sinatra. Halfway through the episodes, a 911 call was placed and the ambulance reportedly made it to the Sinatra home in mere minutes thanks to the fact that the streets were deserted with everybody at home watching Jerry & co. Sadly, despite the quick response time, Sinatra died a little later in the hospital. His daughter Nancy missed her chance to say goodbye, as she had also been watching the show and didn’t hear of her Father being taken in until after he passed.
TV Land
There is no doubt that Seinfeld won in the ratings the night of the finale, especially seeing as how it was the 5th most-watched TV finale of all time! There was no real competition going against it, in the case of the channel TV Land quite literally. For the duration of the evening, no programming was aired on the network, just the shot of a closed office door and a handwritten note which read “We're TV fans so ... We're watching the last episode of Seinfeld. Will return at 10pm et/7pm pt”
Jackie Chiles
One of Seinfeld’s most beloved side characters didn’t arrive until season seven, that being Kramer’s lawyer Jackie Chiles who was an obvious parody of O.J Simpson’s defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran was initially flattered by the character but then feared it may damage his image and reputation.
In the finale, Jackie represents our heroes. Whilst lying in bed with Jerry’s ex Sidra (played by Teri Hatcher) he comments how the verdict could take days, only for the phone to immediately ring and tell him they’re ready. This is another jab at the quick O.J court turn around which only took four hours! Jackie was reportedly supposed to get his own spin-off show, but for some reason or another, it fell through.
Wayne Knight-Verse
Wayne Knight had a lot of success in the ’90s, playing Dennis Nedry in the original Jurassic Park and of course, Jerry’s pathetic postman nemesis Newman in Seinfeld. Another memorable Knight role was that of Officer Don Orville, Sally’s boyfriend in 3rd Rock From The Sun. When Jerry and George attend their pitch meeting at the NBC offices in the first part of the finale, you can actually see a poster for 3rd Rock hanging on the waiting room wall!
Francis Baye's Third Finale
Frances Baye was a Canadian actress and national institution long before she played Mrs. Choate, the old lady Jerry has an argument over bread in the season 7 episode The Rye, and another season 7 episode The Cadillac. She returned for the final episode, but Seinfeld in fact was her third sitcom season finale! The other two were the Who’s The Boss finale back in 1992, and as the Fonz's Grandma Nussbaum in the finale of Happy Days in 1984. She sadly passed away in 2011 at the age of 92 but was immortalized with her induction in The Candian Walk Of Fame in 2008.
Larry David Returns
Co-creator Larry David wrote 62 episodes of Seinfeld and won a Primetime Emmy Award for the episode “The Contest”, but after season 7 he left the show on friendly terms, whilst still continuing his voice-over role as George Steinbrenner.
The Finale marked his return to the show as a writer two years after he last penned an episode. Despite not writing anything during his hiatus, David still continued to earn a fortune in residuals, earning $250 million in 1998 alone!
Top Secret
As one could imagine, the production for the last episode of one the most most popular shows ever made was kept wrapped as tightly as possible. Only the script supervisor was allowed to keep a copy of the script, providing to actors and crew after they have signed off, making sure they would return it at the end of the day so it could be shredded. The audience members for the recording were made up of family and friends of those involved with the show who had to sign affidavits swearing they would not reveal the plot.
The Button
The last time we see the four main characters together on screen they are sat in a jail cell with the camera slowly panning back whilst the chat about something inane like they used to back on the cafe. The subject matter of choice is George’s shirt buttons, a conversation resumed from the very first scene in the pilot episode, bringing the character journeys back fall circle. After nine years on it seems that despite their adventures they never actually learned anything!
Friday Connections
Writers Larry David, Bruce Kirschbaum, Larry Charles as well as actors Bruce Mahler and Michael Richards are alumni from Fridays, a Saturday Night Live style sketch show from 1980. In the finale, Bruce Mahler plays a rabbi, which is a nod to a sketch David and Kirshbaum used to do a sketch about two rabbi’s who used to host a TV show called “Live and Be Well”
The Prison Stand Up
Julia Louis-Dreyfus who played Elaine didn’t join the show until after the pilot, making her the only one of the leads who weren't there at the beginning or in the final scene. The four in jail was originally supposed to be the last shot, but after the wrap-up party, another scene was added with Jerry performing stand up in prison. As it’s a male prison it meant Elaine could not be present. On another note, one of the last lines of the show, a prisoner shouting to Jerry that he was going to “cut him up,” was voiced by Larry David.