Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.
The character is loosely based on comedian Kenny Kramer, Larry David's ...
on the NBC television sitcom ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first entering the national spotlight when he was featured on
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
's first cable TV special, and went on to become a series regular on
ABC's ''
Fridays
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
''.
From 1989 to 1998, he played Cosmo Kramer on ''Seinfeld'', three times receiving the
. During the run of ''Seinfeld'', he made a guest appearance in ''
Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Gl ...
'', reprising his role as Kramer. Richards also made numerous guest appearances on a variety of television shows, such as ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
''. His film credits include ''
So I Married an Axe Murderer'', ''
Airheads
''Airheads'' is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes, directed by Michael Lehmann, and starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Ernie Hudson, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Michael Richards, Amy Lo ...
'', ''
Young Doctors in Love
''Young Doctors in Love'' is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. It spoofs a variety of medical shows (in particular, '' General Hospital'') and has many guest stars from ABC soap operas.
The film stars Sean Young, Michael ...
'', ''
Problem Child
Problem child may refer to a child who is particularly difficult to raise or educate, especially due to disruptive or antisocial behavior.
Problem child may also refer to:
Film, television and theatre
* ''Problem Child'' (film), a 1990 comedy ...
'', ''
Coneheads
The Coneheads are a fictional family of extraterrestrials with bald conical heads, created for a series of recurring sketches on ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL). They first appeared on the January 15, 1977 episode hosted by Ralph Nader (episode 35 ...
'', ''
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
'', and ''
Trial and Error
Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying.
According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...
'', one of his few starring roles. In 2000, he starred in his own sitcom, ''
The Michael Richards Show
''The Michael Richards Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin and Richards, that debuted on NBC from October 24 to December 19, 2000. The show starred Michael Richards as socially awkward ...
'', which was canceled after only two months.
After that stint, Richards returned to stand-up. In 2006, a video was obtained by
TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, ...
of him going on a racist tirade against hecklers while performing at the
Laugh Factory
Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada.
Endurance record
The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...
.
Following significant backlash, Richards retired from stand-up in early 2007. In 2009, he appeared as himself in the
seventh season of ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...
'' alongside his fellow ''Seinfeld'' cast members for the first time since that show's
finale
Finale may refer to:
Pieces of music
* Finale (music), the last movement of a piece
* ''Finale'' (album), a 1977 album by Loggins and Messina
* " Finale B", a 1996 song from the rock opera ''Rent''
* "Finale", a song by Anthrax from ''State of E ...
. In 2013, he portrayed Frank in the sitcom ''
Kirstie'', which was canceled after one season.
He most recently played Daddy Hogwood in the 2019 romantic comedy ''
Faith, Hope & Love''.
Early life

Richards was born in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
to a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
family. He is the son of Phyllis (née Nardozzi), a
medical record
The terms medical record, health record and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdict ...
s librarian, and William Richards, an
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...
. His father died in a car crash when Michael was two, and his mother never remarried.
Richards graduated from
Thousand Oaks High School
Thousand Oaks High School (TOHS) is a high school in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. Established in 1962, it is part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. It has a suburban campus with one story buildings primarily accessed by c ...
. In 1968, he appeared as a contestant on ''
The Dating Game
''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...
'', but was not chosen for the date. He was
drafted into the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
in 1970. He trained as a medic and was stationed in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
where he was a member of a theatrical group called The Training Road Show. He became interested in performing after taking a theatrical class in seventh grade.
After being honorably discharged, he used the benefits of the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
to enroll in the
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...
and received a
BA degree in drama from
The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...
in 1975. He also had a short-lived
improv
Improv may refer to:
*Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention
** Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy)
**Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of i ...
act with
Ed Begley Jr.
Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''St. E ...
During this period, he enrolled at
Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District.
The college is adjacent to Grant High School in the neighborhood of Valley Glen. Often cal ...
and continued to appear in student productions.
Career

Richards got his big TV break in 1979, appearing in
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
's first cable TV special. In 1980, he began as one of the cast members on
ABC's ''
Fridays
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
'' television show, where
Larry David
Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first sev ...
was a fellow cast member and writer. It included a famous instance where
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...
refused to deliver his scripted lines, leading Richards to bring the
cue card
Cue cards, also known as note cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the au ...
s on screen to Kaufman, causing him to throw his drink into Richards's face before a small riot ensued (Richards later claimed he was in on the joke).
[Michael Richards 'Speaking Freely' transcript](_blank)
via First Amendment Center
The First Amendment Center supports the First Amendment and builds understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.
The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, includin ...
, Recorded February 28, 2002, in Aspen, Colorado The film ''
Man on the Moon'' featured a re-enactment of the
Andy Kaufman incident where Richards was portrayed by actor
Norm Macdonald
Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...
(although he is never referred to by name, so he could be seen as a composite character taking the place of Richards).
In 1986, Richards had a minor role in the cult satirical TV miniseries ''
Fresno
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
'', playing one of a pair of inept criminal henchmen. That same year he auditioned to play
Al Bundy
Al Bundy is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' Married... with Children''.
Played by Ed O'Neill, Bundy is a misanthropic, working-class father of two who is portrayed as a somewhat tragicomedic figur ...
in the upcoming TV series ''
Married... with Children'', but he was passed over for
Ed O'Neill
Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. His roles include Al Bundy on the Fox Network sitcom '' Married... with Children'', for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes, and Jay Pritchett on the aw ...
. In 1989, Richards had a supporting role in
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
's comedy film ''
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
'' as janitor Stanley Spadowski. On television, he appeared in ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Me ...
'' as an unscrupulous
bookie; in ''
St. Elsewhere
''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels a ...
'' as a television producer making a documentary about Dr. Mark Craig; in ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
'' as a character trying to collect on an old bet with
Sam Malone
Samuel "Mayday" Malone is a fictional character on the American television show ''Cheers'', portrayed by Ted Danson and created by Glen and Les Charles. The protagonist of the series, Sam, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox baseba ...
; and made several guest appearances with
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2 ...
as an accident-prone fitness expert.
According to an interview with executive producer David Hoberman, ABC first conceived the series ''
Monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'' as a procedural police comedy with an
Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical '' The Pink Panther'' series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in ...
-like character suffering from
obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hoberman said ABC wanted Richards to play
Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series '' Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Monk has obsessive–compuls ...
, but he turned it down.
''Seinfeld''

In 1989, Richards was cast as
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.
The character is loosely based on comedian Kenny Kramer, Larry David's ...
in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
television series ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'', created by fellow ''Fridays'' cast member
Larry David
Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first sev ...
and comedian
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...
. Although it got off to a slow start, by the mid-1990s it had become one of the most popular
sitcoms
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
in television history. It ended its nine-year run in 1998 at No. 1 in the
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. In ''Seinfeld'', Kramer is the across the hall neighbor of the show's
eponymous character, and is usually referred to only by his last name. His first name, Cosmo, was revealed in the sixth-season episode "
The Switch".
Richards won more Emmys than any other ''Seinfeld'' cast member, taking home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1993, 1994, and 1997.
Starting in 2004, he and his fellow ''Seinfeld'' cast members provided interviews and audio commentaries for the ''Seinfeld'' DVDs. Richards stepped down from providing audio commentary after Season5, though he continued to provide interviews.
When referring to speculation that he would launch a
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
to ''Seinfeld'' about Kramer, Richards said he was not interested in doing so.
[Davis, Ivor (May 30, 1997)]
Fame is a 'Trial' for Michael Richards
''Ventura County Star''.
''The Michael Richards Show''
In 2000, after the end of ''Seinfeld'', Richards began work on a new series for NBC, his first major project since ''Seinfeld''s finale. ''
The Michael Richards Show
''The Michael Richards Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin and Richards, that debuted on NBC from October 24 to December 19, 2000. The show starred Michael Richards as socially awkward ...
'', for which Richards received co-writer and co-
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
credits, was conceived as a comedy/mystery starring Richards as a bumbling private investigator. When the first pilot failed with test audiences, NBC ordered that the show be retooled into a more conventional, office-based sitcom before its premiere. After a few weeks of poor ratings and negative reviews, it was canceled. Critics said the show said it was too "Kramer-esque" and Richards invoked the so-called "
''Seinfeld'' curse" as to why the show failed.
2006 Laugh Factory incident
During a performance on November 17, 2006, at the
Laugh Factory
Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada.
Endurance record
The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record ...
in Hollywood, California, Richards launched into a racist rant in response to repeated heckling and interruptions from a small group of Black and Hispanic audience members. Richards was recorded shouting "He's a
nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cas ...
!" several times and making references to
lynching and the
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
era.
Kyle Doss, a member of the group that Richards addressed, said the group had arrived in the middle of the performance and were "being a little loud". According to Doss:
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...
issued a statement following the incident saying he felt "sick" over Richards' remarks and "felt terrible for all the people that have been hurt". On November 20, Seinfeld invited Richards via satellite during a broadcast of the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...
'', where Richards was recorded saying: "For me to be at a comedy club and to flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry. I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this."
Many studio audience members laughed as Richards began his unscripted explanation and apology, thinking it was a bit, leading Seinfeld to reprimand them, saying: "Stop laughing. It's not funny." Richards said he had been trying to defuse the heckling by being even more outrageous, but it had backfired. He later called civil rights leaders
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrat ...
and
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson ( né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...
to apologize.
He also appeared as a guest on Jackson's syndicated radio show.
Doss stated that he did not accept Richards's apology, saying: "If he wanted to apologize, he could have contacted ... one of us out of the group. But, he didn't. He apologized on camera just because the tape got out."
The incident was parodied on several TV shows, including ''
Mad TV
''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
'', ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...
'', ''
South Park'', ''
Extras'', and ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show f ...
''. In an episode of ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...
'', Richards appeared as himself and poked fun at the incident. In 2008, rapper
Wale referenced the incident and used recordings of the incident, as well as Richard's apology, in the song "The Kramer" on ''
The Mixtape About Nothing'' album. In a 2012 episode of Seinfeld's web series ''
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' is an American talk-show web series directed and hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The series premiered on digital network Crackle on July 19, 2012. As of May 2015, it had been streamed nearly 100 million tim ...
'', Richards explained that the outburst still haunted him, and was a major reason for his retirement from stand-up.
Comedian
Paul Mooney also cited the incident as a key factor leading to his decision to remove the racial slur from his own live performances.
Cameo roles, guest appearances, and film roles
Richards played himself in Episode2 of Season1 "The Flirt Episode" (1992) of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
The Larry Sanders Show
''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...
''. He also had a
cameo role
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in the comedy thriller film ''
So I Married an Axe Murderer'', credited as "insensitive man". In 1996, Richards made a cameo in Epcot's
Ellen's Energy Adventure, where he portrayed a caveman discovering fire. He played radio station employee Doug Beech in ''
Airheads
''Airheads'' is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes, directed by Michael Lehmann, and starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Ernie Hudson, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Michael Richards, Amy Lo ...
'', and co-starred with
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
as an actor pretending to be a lawyer in 1997's ''
Trial and Error
Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying.
According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...
''. He also made guest appearances on ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Me ...
'', ''
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...
'' and ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...
''. In 2007, he voiced character Bud Ditchwater in the animated film ''
Bee Movie
''Bee Movie'' is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film co-produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and Columbus 81 Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner (in the fo ...
'', which starred and was produced by Jerry Seinfeld. In 2009, Richards and the other main ''Seinfeld'' cast members appeared in the seventh season of ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...
''. In 2012, Richards appeared in comedy web series ''
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' is an American talk-show web series directed and hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The series premiered on digital network Crackle on July 19, 2012. As of May 2015, it had been streamed nearly 100 million tim ...
'', hosted by
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...
. In 2014, he appeared as the president of Crackle in a trailer for Season5. Seinfeld said the trailer's storyline would be expanded on in one of the episodes. In the comedy book ''SuperMega Saves the Troops'' written by
Matt Watson and Ryan Magee, Michael Richards was a key character as an undercover spy.
Richards played Frank in the sitcom ''
Kirstie'', costarring
Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...
and
Rhea Perlman
Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...
. It premiered on
TV Land
TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...
on December 4, 2013
[ and was canceled after one season.
In 2019, Richards played Daddy Hogwood in the romantic comedy '' Faith, Hope & Love'' starring ]Peta Murgatroyd
Peta Jane Murgatroyd (born 14 July 1986) is a New Zealand-born Australian and American professional Latin dancer. She performed in the international tour of the dance production ''Burn the Floor'', including its Broadway run. She is best known fo ...
and Robert Krantz.
Personal life
Richards was married to Cathleen Lyons, a family therapist
Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counsellors, life coachers and others. They are helpful in counselling individual ...
, for 18 years. They have one daughter, Sophia. They separated in 1992 and divorced the following year.
In 2010, Richards married his girlfriend Beth Skipp. They have been together since 2002 and have one son.
Richards is a Freemason.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Michael
1949 births
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American male actors
American Freemasons
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
Anti-black racism in the United States
California Institute of the Arts alumni
Combat medics
Comedians from Los Angeles County
Evergreen State College alumni
Living people
Los Angeles Valley College people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Los Angeles County, California
Military personnel from California
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
People from Culver City, California
United States Army soldiers
Thousand Oaks High School alumni