Entrances and exits / Michael Richards ; foreword by Jerry Seinfeld.

By:

Richards, Michael, 1949-

Contributor(s):

Seinfeld, Jerry [writer of foreword.]

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New York : Permuted Press, 2024Description: xiv, 425 pages, 16 unnumbered leaves of unnumbered plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cmContent type:

text
still image

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781637589137
1637589131

Subject(s):

Summary: "The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius--the way he came into himself as an artist, the ups and downs as a human being, the road he has traveled in search of understanding."--Amazon.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	791.45028092 RIC	Available		36748002559211

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

As seen on The Today Show , The View , and Jesse Watters

The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius--the way he came into himself as an artist, the ups and downs as a human being, the road he has traveled in search of understanding.

"The hair, so essential, symbolizes the irrational that was and is and always will be the underlying feature not only of Kramer but of comedy itself. This seemingly senseless spirit has been coursing through me since childhood. I've been under its almighty influence since the day I came into this world. I felt it all within myself, especially the physical comedy, the body movements, so freakish and undignified, where I bumped into things, knocked stuff down, messed up situations, and often ended up on my ass.

"This book is a hymn to the irrational, the senseless spirit that breaks the whole into pieces, a reflection on the seemingly absurd difficulties that intrude upon us all. It's Harpo Marx turning us about, shaking up my plans, throwing me for a loop. Upset and turmoil is with us all the time. It's at the basis of comedy. It's the pratfall we all take. It's the unavoidable mistake we didn't expect. It's everywhere I go. It's in the way that I am, both light and dark, good and not-so-good. It's my life."

--Michael Richards, from Entrances and Exits

"The man who brought the kavorka to the Seinfeld show through one of the most remarkable and beloved television characters ever invented, Kramer, shares the extraordinary life of a comedy genius--the way he came into himself as an artist, the ups and downs as a human being, the road he has traveled in search of understanding."--Amazon.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Foreword (vii)
Introduction: The Hair (xi)
Part 1 Got Any Meat?
Chapter 1 If You Want Funny (3)
Chapter 2 Kessler (14)
Part 2 Oh Mama!
Chapter 3 The Backstory (29)
Chapter 4 Love (40)
Chapter 5 The Summer of '69 (46)
Chapter 6 Next (55)
Chapter 7 Drafted (61)
Chapter 8 The Road Show (73)
Chapter 9 The Burgermeister (80)
Part 3 I'm Out There!
Chapter 10 Higher Intelligence (99)
Chapter 11 Zapped (118)
Chapter 12 The Ha-Ha Returns (127)
Chapter 13 Fridays (141)
Chapter 14 The Real Don Johnson (152)
Chapter 15 The Truth (165)
Chapter 16 Stella! (177)
Part 4 Giddyup!
Chapter 17 The Shortest First Season in the History of Television (185)
Chapter 18 The Ah-Ha (196)
Chapter 19 The K-Man Cometh (208)
Chapter 20 The Hipster Doofus (219)
Chapter 21 And the Emmy Goes to (238)
Chapter 22 The Celebrity (251)
Chapter 23 Cosmo (273)
Chapter 24 Finding Home (291)
Chapter 25 It's Go Time (314)
Chapter 26 Have a Good Show (329)
Part 5 You Gotta Listen to the Little Man
Chapter 27 The Flop (341)
Chapter 28 Whirling (361)
Chapter 29 Not Funny (380)
Chapter 30 Heart-Work (392)
Chapter 31 The Light (405)
Acknowledgments (423)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

Cosmo Kramer tells his story. The creation and portrayal of Kramer, the wacky neighbor who slid his way into TV history on Seinfeld, serves as the center of Richards' detailed yet guarded memoir. Don't expect a lot of belly laughs. There are more references to 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, comparative mythology professor and author Joseph Campbell, and trailblazing Black architect Paul R. Williams than there are actual jokes. The author ably chronicles his difficult early life before stardom, including his brief service in the Army, degree in drama from Evergreen State College, and improv work with Ed Begley Jr. Even when Richards found success on Seinfeld, he still worried. When actor Elliott Gould told him, "Enjoy it while it lasts," Richards wondered if it was an insult as he learned to deal with his newfound celebrity. It turns out that Gould was offering sage advice. While Richards delves deeply into his infamously meticulous preparations for Kramer's character--sometimes even outlining changes from one episode to the next--he doesn't provide many details about his mistakes. He only mentions the collapse of his first marriage in passing, and he sort of yadda-yaddas past his well-publicized 2006 meltdown at the Laugh Factory in response to a heckler. "He went low and I went even lower," he writes. "We both ended up at the bottom of the barrel." The author takes responsibility for all the racial slurs, claiming that anger got the best of him. However, he fails to explain why he used those specific words. Richards often says he has a hard time being authentic and letting people know the real him, and this book doesn't change that much. Jerry Seinfeld provides the foreword. Kramer was Seinfeld's "hipster doofus," but his average memoir shows how serious Richards was about being funny. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.