Cosmo Kramer

Lore & Background

Kramer appears in all but three episodes: "The Chinese Restaurant," "The Pen," and "The Subway," in the second and third seasons, respectively. For the pilot episode, Kramer was named "Kessler" to avoid potential legal issues; Kenny Kramer later authorized the use of his name. Kramer never completed high school; in "The Heart Attack," it is revealed that he dropped out, and in "The Bottle Deposit," it is mentioned that he has a GED. Kramer was estranged for a long period from his mother, Babs Kramer, who works as a restroom matron at a department store. He is one of two main characters whose father never appears on screen (Elaine's father Dr. Benes also only appears via voice). In "The Wait Out," Kramer mentions that he has or had a deaf cousin, from whom he learned fluent American Sign Language. Kramer's apartment is the subject of numerous radical experiments in interior design, including a plan to eliminate all furniture and build "levels... like ancient Egypt" mentioned by Jerry in "The Pony Remark." He found the original set of The Merv Griffin Show being discarded and installed it in his apartment in "The Merv Griffin Show."

In Their Own Story

Kramer was originally envisioned as a recluse who never left his apartment except to visit Jerry. This was the original reason behind why Kramer helps himself to Jerry's possessions and food without any pushback and also why he is absent from the season two episode "The Chinese Restaurant," which takes place entirely outside of the building. However, in season three Kramer starts to join Jerry, Elaine, and George in various scenes outside of the building. Kramer gets his friends directly into trouble by talking them into unwise or even illegal actions such as parking in a disabled parking space ("The Handicap Spot"), urinating in a parking garage ("The Parking Garage"), committing mail fraud ("The Package") or even hiring an assassin to get rid of a dog ("The Engagement"). Kramer is known for his extreme honesty and lack of tact; in "The Nose Job," he tells George's insecure girlfriend that she needs a nose job. In "The Cartoon," Kramer makes comments to Sally Weaver, who then blames Jerry for "ruining her life" as a result. Kramer has displayed an almost unbending loyalty toward Jerry, such as in "The Millennium" and "The Bottle Deposit," risking the failure of his own plans for Jerry's benefit. Kramer also thought nothing of giving Jerry a large amount of his banked blood in "The Blood."

Reader's Guide

Kramer is obsessed with high-quality fresh fruit and occasionally smokes pipes and Cuban cigars. He is also known for his habit of bursting through Jerry's apartment door without knocking, and eating Jerry's food. His antics include frequent pratfalls and a penchant for noisy, percussive outbursts to indicate skepticism, agreement, irritation and a variety of other feelings. He has been described as "an extraordinary cross between Eraserhead and Herman Munster." In early episodes, Michael Richards played Kramer slow, but then learned to play him faster by coming up with such things as Kramer's sliding entrances through Jerry's door. "After 13 shows, I started playing him faster so that he's ahead of everybody," Richards said. In the second season of the series the trademark physical comedy of the character was introduced. Richards suggested that a scene Larry David had written where Kramer talks about how he took revenge on a washing machine by putting cement in it instead be more visual and acted out physically. Richards has stated that this scene in the episode "The Revenge" is the scene he is most proud of. George finds out his first name of "Cosmo" through an encounter with Kramer's long-estranged mother, Babs, in "The Switch."

Did You Know?

• Kramer appears in all but three episodes: "The Chinese Restaurant," "The Pen," and "The Subway."
• For the pilot episode, Kramer was named "Kessler" to avoid potential legal issues with the real Kenny Kramer.
• Kramer never completed high school; he dropped out (revealed in "The Heart Attack") and later earned a GED (mentioned in "The Bottle Deposit").
• George finds out Kramer's first name is "Cosmo" through an encounter with Kramer's mother, Babs, in "The Switch."
• Michael Richards has stated that the scene in "The Revenge" where Kramer acts out putting cement in a washing machine is the scene he is most proud of.