Did Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David borrow some personality traits and expressions from Chris Lloyds character portrayal?
Or did Michael Richards use some of Lloyds stuff?
I know about the real Kenny Kramer, but watching Jim Ignatowski and then Cosmo Kramer........it's striking how they act the same and seem to be so out there.
Of anything Richards copied from some of his own characters he has used on shows like Fridays.
shareSo maybe he started there?
shareNah... Michael "KKK" Richards was already doing that schtick before the Ignatowski character was introduced on "Taxi."
share"KKK"? Wow, that is seriously ignorant--no, stupid. You, of course have never, ever said anything offensive to anyone, right? And if you have, you certainly deserve to be forgiven after a reasonable period of time, right? Fortunately for Richards, he made so much money off of "Seinfeld" he's financially set for life, and doesn't need approval from imbeciles like you.
sharePretty offensive to accuse a Jewish man of being part of the KKK, fyi.
shareI was wondering the same thing while watching Taxi last week: Jim was really Kramer version 1.
It may be largely coincidence, because Kramer began as a much more mellow character. Michael Richards only got wackier and more physical as the show progressed, as he incorporated more of his own unique energy.
But if you told me they were cousins, I'd believe it.
As somebody said, Richards (Kramer) was doing it long before Lloyd (Ignatowski). Also, Kramer isn't actually slow/drugged up like Ignatowski, he's just wacky and physical, incorporating his own unique energy as heywoodj2001 said. I'd take Kramer over Jim any day because I prefer 'Seinfeld', but I do love 'Taxi' for Kaufman!
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I agree they're different characters, and it's not like one borrowed from the other.
That said, it's also not true that Kramer was doing his thing prior to Lloyd playing Ignatowski. Lloyd's first appearance as Reverend Jim, in the episode "Paper Marriage", first aired on October 31st, 1978. He joined the cast full-time in 1979.
Richards did not even begin doing nightclubs until 1979, and got the gig on Fridays in 1980. And of course, he began playing everyone's favorite "hipster doofus" on Seinfeld in 1989.
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Kramer was wacky, thought he was smart, was stupid and impulsive, demanding, obnoxious, manipulative and not a really good friend, and caused many of the worst situations the Seinfeld characters experienced, and got woman.
Iggy was a good, poor misguided soul that only wanted the best for people.
Iggy was nothing like Kramer.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see them as that similiar. Jim was like the drugged up, burnt out hippie. Kramer was like the eccentric, living in his own world, odd kind of guy. You could have a semi-normal converstion with Kramer. When you talked with Jim, you never knew what you were going to get. I see that they were both odd, but I think in completely different ways. Again, maybe I'm missing something.
But both were great characters!
Interestingly enough I think Kramer from the really early episodes, especially the pilot is kind of similar to Ignatowski. As someone mentioned Richards plays him as a more mellow, slower kind of character in these episodes (from the first season and most of the second season) and I definitely do see a similarity in the two characters. I do think once Richards developed Kramer a little better he became pretty different from Lloyd's character.
shareI would say I never felt the Kramer character himself was mean spirited.. Maybe not innocent like Jim, but I never felt his actions were downright malicious as more as misguided or even sometimes oblivious. Although I do take your point that Jim was much more sensitive to the other characters where Kramer was more oblivious, but like I said.. I don't feel it was intentional so much as just not attuned/aware of it.
Nash he reminds me much more of tommy Chong character in that 70s show aged hippy
shareIt's clear that the creators of Seinfeld ripped this show off, including Reverend Jim. The formula was the same (group of male friends and one female named Elaine). Kramer, like Jim, is a tall wiry haired weirdo who lives in his own world.
shareKramer and Jim are both eccentric, tall guys with weird hair and exaggerated facial expressions. Beyond that, the comparison is weak. Kramer is nuts, but has a quirky, creative intelligence and charisma. Jim is just a washed up hippie who has fried his brain with drugs.
share There will always be comparisons made between characters on sitcoms because there are just only so many characters, just like there are only so many plots. Everything's a variation on a theme.
If you are talking "tall and eccentric", Ed Norton of The Honeymooners fit that description too. He was always odd.
Yes, Reverend Jim "fried his brain", but in the episode with his college flashback, he didn't do it on purpose. He was originally as tight-a$$ed as they come! It was his college girlfriend who insisted on his trying a marijuana laced brownie. Unfortunately for Jim, he was one of those people who got addicted right away. If not for her, who knows what heights Jim might have scaled!!