30 Mar

who played elaine's father on seinfeld

27 votes, 13 comments. [2] The episode also contains the first mention to Elaine's job as a manuscript reader for Pendant Publishing; in early drafts of the script, her job was an optician. Though the film remains a career highlight for both, it's probably best not to ask Tarantino what it was like to work with the irascible screen tough. Susan Gleason, Gleason's wife, told Backstage that her husband had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer related to the inhalation of asbestos. And she quits. Martin joined the cast inSeinfeld season 2, debuting in "The Pony Remark." ", During her interview on Inside the Actors Studio, Julia Louis-Dreyfus said she believed Jerry and Elaine were soul mates but would never end up together because they were both too "insane and messed up.". George looks in admiration at the jacket]. Alton Benes is the father of Elaine Benes, and a famous writer. You got it." Chris credits Toy Story and Star Wars with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led him on the path to his career. Making several appearances acrossSeinfeld's nine-season run, the parentsbrought a hilarious dynamic to the show, most notably by providing amusing commentary on Florida's senior citizen communities, and Frank's famous Festivus holiday. Why was the actor that played Morty Seinfeld changed to a - Quora However, in "The Calzone" and "The Foundation" she is seen smoking a Cuban cigar. Later, in "The Apology", Peggy thinks Elaine has germs, and in retaliation Elaine intentionally coughs on Peggy's doorknob, rubs her stapler in her armpit, and rubs her keyboard on her backside. With her mop of curly hair, sometimes blue uniform, and kindly demeanor, Ruthie is one of the few Seinfeld characters who does no harm to others. Elaine accompanies Jerry as he visits his parents . In "The Pez Dispenser," from Season 3, Jerry makes Elaine laugh by placing a Pez dispenserspecifically a Tweety Bird Pez dispenseron her leg at George's girlfriend Noel's piano recital. The Season 8 episode, "The Millennium," is like many episodes of "Seinfeld" in that it revolves around an obsession over something deeply unimportant the now-dated and obsolete technology of speed dial as well as exploring the old fairy tale trope of wicked stepmothers. Morty Seinfeld, played by Barney Martin, is a fictional character on Seinfeld. The actor who played Alton Benes on "Seinfeld" is none other than late screen legend Lawrence Tierney. Most of Jerry's many failed dates and relationships had nothing to do with the woman in question. They are letters from the novelist John Cheever revealing the father is gay. Other references are made to Elaines father throughout the show, including the information that he is an author of the book Fair Game, and is known as an intimidating figure. There's little he won't do to get what he wants, no matter how petty it is. Next: Why Seinfeld Killed Off Susan In Season 7. While Frost's turn as Doc Hayward in Twin Peaks overshadowed his five episodes of Seinfeld, fans of the show continue to remember details about him fondlyespecially a passing reference to hisaffair with author John Cheever, which made him one of the first bisexual television characters in history. "The Jacket" premiered on American television on February 6, 1991, on NBC, it gained a Nielsen rating of 10.4/16 and was praised by critics. When she was 5 months pregnant, he suggested that they adjust the script to indicate that Elaine "got fat.". The next day Kramer notices Jerry's jacket hanging in the bathroom, badly damaged by the snow, and asks if he can have it. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. In one shot when Jerry, George, Alton, and Elaine are leaving the lobby, George goes from wearing to not wearing his glasses. Indeed, nothing funny about that. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The interesting aspect ofSeinfeld's recasting, is that both Morty Seinfeld and Frank Costanza became bigger players in the series after the fact. Seinfeld dating episodes - Video chat 100% Free It's hard to picture Morty's rivalry with Jack Klompus being as effective with Bruns in the role. Seinfeld: The Most Important Lessons from a Show About Nothing Played by British actor Ian Abercrombie, Mr. Pitt's idiosyncrasies almost put Kramer's to shame. That, understandably, scared theSeinfeld cast and crew to the point where everyone just felt safer if Tierney wasn't a recurring guest star. And though his time working on the show was apparently a littlecomplicated, his performance as ElaineBenes' curmudgeonly papa stands as one of the finest from the series' vaunted supporting player vaults. When "Twin Peaks" was revived in 2017, he returned as Jean-Michel Renault, a relative of Jacques. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Hall died at home in Glendale, California in June 2022. Seinfeld: 9 fun facts you never knew about the sitcom | EW.com Jerry and George are made increasingly uncomfortable by Alton's socially awkward and intimidating manner. Finally, Izzy Mandelbaum Sr. appears and also tries to best Jerry. Here's some Seinfeld trivia for ya: Fans of a certain age may not remember, but Jerry Stiller wasn't always the Festivus-creating patriarch of the Costanza family. When we first meet Ricky, he's sitting next to Elaine on the subway and offers her a highlighter to help with the TV Guideshe's reading. In the episode, Alton meets George, who he compares to a choir boy, and Jerry, who reminds Alton of his former Army buddy in Korea. Once season 5 rolled around, the series creators decided they wanted to rewrite Frank Costanzainto a much more involved character, as he was too passive in the series up until this point. Both Jerry's dad, Morty, and George's dad, Frank, were recast in Seinfeld with Barney Martin and Jerry Stiller, respectively. After it was discovered that Jerry Seinfeld once dated writer and comedian Carol Leifer, speculation grew that Elaine was based on Leifer, though that was later largely denied. Elaine's so puzzled by a New Yorker cartoon in a 1998 episode of Seinfeld that she stages a meeting with the cartoonist . Elaine, played by the now most-awarded actress in TV history, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, would never think of taking dance class. Lawrence Tierney's 100-project-plus career began in B-movies in the 1940s, per the Los Angeles Times, and his specialty was playing imposing criminals, toughs, and gangsters, such as the title role in the 1945 crime classic, "Dillinger," a bad guy who executes a train accident in the best picture-winning "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1952, and as boss Joe Cabot in 1992's "Reservoir Dogs." Hellllloooooooo! Leifer, who wrote or cowrote a number of episodes for the show, has said only some elements of the backstory of the character that she and Seinfeld had dated and have remained good friends since the relationship ended relate to her. The "Seinfeld" cast showers a dying man with birthday wishes. Though they're supposed to be enjoying their golden years and relaxing in the sun, none of the other residents got this memo, and certainly not Jack Klompus, Morty Seinfeld's main nemesis. Uncredited and unnamed, Ruthie might not always get a speaking line, but during the show's nine seasons, she appeared in the most episodes besides the core cast of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer. Frank was such a huge presence in Seinfeld, it's hard to believe he was only in 24 episodes. Jerry knows snow would ruin his suede jacket and asks Alton if they can take a cab, but Alton replies that the restaurant is only a few blocks away. Alton is also a successful author, and wrote the book titled Fair Game. But, before all that, Christine played Jerry's girlfriend, Ellen, in the Season 8 episode "The Van Buren Boys." As a side note, Christine's real-life father-in-law, Jerry Stiller, played the . Jerry Stiller death: Ben Stiller's dad has died age 92 His body was discovered in a hotel room there, and the local medical examiner's office ruled that the comic and actor died of natural causes brought on by a pulmonary embolism. Elaine has a cousin, Holly, who appears in "The Wink", where reference is made to Elaine's grandmother Mema, from whom Holly inherited a set of cloth napkins. Alton Benes is the father of Elaine Benes, and a famous writer. There's actually precedent for this; Phil Burns played Morty Seinfeld before being replaced by Barney Martin, and John Randolph was Frank Costanza before Jerry Stiller. He portrayed Carrie Mathison's father in "Homeland," and Special Agent Reese Hughes in "White Collar," and played many authority figures and legal professionals during short or recurring runs in "Law and Order," "Third Watch," "Blue Bloods," "The Practice," and "Boston Legal." Alton is also a successful author, and wrote the book titled Fair Game. Who Played Elaine's Dad On Seinfeld? This dynamic was perfectly encapsulated as early as "The Pen," proving David made the right choice for Seinfeldby moving on from Bruns. Actress Ruth Cohen made a career of extra work on shows like The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote, with her main success as Seinfeld's most prolific background star. Like many of her Seinfeld co-stars, Wallace was a well-known character actress who appeared in shows like Mad About You as well as films like Albert Brooks' Mother. George Costanza: We could build a cabin like. Kruger's first major story involves a trip to the beach with his family and a resulting photograph that George mucks up completely. But they couldn't name his father the same way because they already had a Jerry (though George's dad was originally played by John Randolph before being recast with Jerry Stiller). Ultimately, Frank is arrested for illegal parking when he's at an event honoring his achievements in community service. Outside of Screen Rant, Chris enjoys watching his favorite sports teams (Giants, Yankees, and Knicks) and playing video games. Elaine's religious beliefs are never fully confirmed, and she appears to have little interest in religion. Later, when Jerry chides her for fighting with an old man, she says, "Hey, he wrote the check. Cookies help us deliver our Services. In the same episode, when Elaine tells him that they're back together, he answers "Oh, no". In her rush to get away from him, Elaine forgets her magazine on the subway seatonly, it's not her magazine, but Frank Costanza's. Chris' favorite directors include Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino (among several others). Dreyfus was so deeply offended that Screen Rant . [2], The episode was first read by the cast on November 28, 1990 at 10:30 AM. That episode, titled "The Jacket", had Jerry Seinfeld buying an expensive suede jacket and having dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine. . Seinfelds co-stars Dreyfus and Alexander saw the situation and were extremely frightened by the actors behavior. Recurring actors like Bryan Cranston and Patrick Warburton found success on hit shows. Kramer makes a contact for Cuban cigars. 3rd episode of the 2nd season of Seinfeld, "Jerry's gang is back: First three seasons of 'Seinfeld' arrive on DVD", "DVD Review: Seinfeld: The Complete Series", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Jacket_(Seinfeld)&oldid=1142463012, Television episodes written by Larry David, Television episodes written by Jerry Seinfeld, Short description is different from Wikidata, Television episode articles with short description for single episodes, Television episode articles with short description and disambiguated page names, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Throughout the episode, George sings the song "Master of the House" from the musical, When Jerry and George discuss their options in the hotel bathroom, George suggests that they leave, to which Jerry replies "He'll clunk our heads together like Moe." Her competitive fire ignited, she tries to seduce and manipulate Jerry, and she wins the speed dial top spot, with Valerie secretly relegating Jerry's number to the poison control center's button which Mrs. Hamilton calls when she eats salsa inadvertently compromised by Kramer. In "The Chinese Woman", Jerry describes how Elaine has had a destructive effect on her relationship with her friend Noreen. "How could she leave us alone with this lunatic?"Season 2 Episode 5 'The Jacket': Jerry wears an expensive jacket when he meets Elaine's father, but an argum. He was 70. The episode was written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Tom Cherones. 'Seinfeld' Stars: Where Are They Now? + PHOTOS - Insider The New Jersey native was best known for his turn as croupier and bartender Jacques Renault in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" (1990). Jump's family told the Los Angeles Times that the actor had pulmonary fibrosis, a condition characterized by air sac scarring in the lungs, which leads to fatal respiratory or heart failure. In "The Wizard", Elaine is not sure if her new boyfriend Darryl is black or not and gets mixed signals when she tries to find out. Seinfeld - Elaine arrives late to a dinner with Jerry, George - YouTube Enter Mabel Choate, an elderly woman who simply wants a nice marble rye. Seinfeld / Trivia - TV Tropes So, theSeinfeld crew felt it was for the best to just write Alton out of the show completely. Played by Elmarie Wendel, Helena is a send-up of Hollywood queen Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, stealing the show as she descends the stairs with her sometimes inappropriate commentary. George & Jerry Meet Elaine's Father | The Jacket | Seinfeld Victim number 3 coming up', said one watcher. In a throwaway line, Elaine mentions to someone at a party that her father used to work at the book depository during Kennedy's assassination. In "The Summer of George", Elaine makes an enemy of her coworker Sam (Molly Shannon). An activist and actor since the 1930s, Randolph was in the original American stage production of "The Sound of Music" and won a Tony Award for his work in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound." Sandy Baron died in February 2001 at the age of 64 after battling emphysema for a number of years. Jerry Stiller passed away in his sleep in May 2020 at the age of 96, having spent the last 60 years of his life making people laugh, from his early appearances on the Ed Sullivan Showto Zoolander. George's attempt at persuasion ends with Kruger joining him for Festivus "celebrations" at the Costanza home. In just four episodes, Poppie manages to cause quite a lot of damage, including with a medical condition that causes him to unknowingly urinate on Jerry's new couch. I cashed it.". This plan was scrapped after Tierney stole a knife from the set of Jerrys kitchen, which the real Seinfeld called him out for doing. Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Elaine Benes - Wikipedia As it was, Alton Benes made just one appearance on "Seinfeld" during its nine-season run. Julia, who played Elaine Benes on the show (Seinfeld's ex in the comedy), has also gone on to enjoy a highly successful on-screen . That career was nonetheless quite impressive, with the actor becoming one of Hollywood's go-to tough-guy criminal sorts. However, they soon run into problems when no one will take the leftover stumps, and only by calling in "The Cleaner" (who turns out to be Newman) can they get rid of them. The parents of Jerry and George are frequently the center of "Seinfeld" plot arcs, but Elaine's father, Alton Benes, makes just . The show about nothing was created by Seinfeld andCurb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David and is loosely based on Seinfelds life. Chris Agar is a senior movie/TV news editor for Screen Rant and one of Screen Rant's Rotten Tomatoes approved critics. as she was usually referred to. It faced strong competition from the CBS crime drama Jake and the Fatman; viewers would frequently tune out of Seinfeld to watch the second half of Jake and the Fatman's. Played by another comedy and Broadway legend,Sandy Baron, for six episodes, Jack Klompus' general suspicion of the entire Seinfeld family goes to some pretty dark depths, culminating in Klompus accusing Morty of stealing. "Seinfeld" The Cheever Letters (TV Episode 1992) - IMDb Jerry Seinfeld's character is named."Jerry Seinfeld." (Justified in that Character!Jerry is a fictionalized version of Real!Jerry. Elaines father was set to become a regular part of the show in the second season, but that plan was eventually canceled because of the on-set actions of actor Lawrence Tierney. Elaine claims to have an IQ of 145 (although her scores range from 85 to 150). For viewers, Mr. Wilhelm's puzzled and shocked face over his 11 Seinfeld episodes often mirrored our own as we watched George's newest antics, amazed that the man somehow never got fired. The next time we meet Ricky, his obsession has veered into mild psychopathy; he designs mannequins that look just like Elaine, distributing them all over New York City. While Phil Bruns originally played Jerry's dad, Morty Seinfeld, . List of episodes. He returned over 20 minutes later, and the car had been towed for being illegally parked. Director Tom Cherones notes that after "The Stake Out" aired, Seinfeld and David decided they wanted a"harsher parent" for Morty, and replaced the actor. Elaine Marie Benes (/bns/) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. George Costanza: This is huge! The actor was 88 years old. Her performance at a J. Peterman company party, the central plot theme of "The Little Kicks", causes George to describe it as "a full-bodied dry heave set to music." Puddy answers back with a simple, casual, "Alright.". 14 Dark Stories From Behind The Scenes Of 'Seinfeld' - Ranker Apart from her villainous turn in "Seinfeld," Louan Gideon is probably best known for her long stint in the daytime soap opera "Search for Tomorrow," and as evil chemical company CEO Danielle Atron on Nickelodeon's "The Secret World of Alex Mack. He is a graduate of Wesley College's Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. Kramer's mother, Babs Kramer, was regularly mentioned and Elaine's father made an appearance. Most of George Costanza's bosses expected far more from him than he was ever able to provide, but not Mr. Kruger, George's beleaguered boss at Kruger Industrial Smoothing. Recasting isn't new for sitcoms when it comes to side characters. The majority of the episode was filmed on December 4, 1990. Jerry and George found themselves in an awkward situation when Elaine was late to their dinner with her . Co-created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, this sitcom follows the trials and tribulations of New York City-based stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld (who plays a version of himself) and his . Like jerry is a role in gymnastics - though the trailer for his. It's hard to imagineSeinfeld without them. [2] Cast and crew members were very impressed with his performance. But Seinfeld's four main characters all behaved that way around the Seinfelds or Costanzas they play-acted the role of good kids being polite to the grownups.Larry David and the show's writers never treated the parents like doddering old fools Jerry's meddling Uncle Leo (played by Len Lesser, who died in 2011) was a little more like that but, rather, like hall monitors or . Seinfeld episode 2x03 - "The Jacket" (originally aired February 6, 1991)In this clip, friends Jerry Seinfeld (played by Jerry Seinfeld) and George Costanza (. In March 1999,Wallace passed away from respiratory failure and emphysema at the age of 73. Related: How Old Elaine Is At the Beginning and End of Seinfeld. Via IDB. [2], The episode gained positive responses from critics. Seinfeld: The 5 Best (And 5 Worst) Guest Stars - ScreenRant Seinfeld stars Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld have paid tribute to Jerry Stiller who died yesterday aged 92. The following night, Jerry, Elaine and George have dinner with Elaine's father, writer Alton Benes. She was 93. It has been 30 years since Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's groundbreaking sitcom Seinfeld first hit the airwaves, and the show is still as timeless and relevant as ever. Shocked, she makes an excuse and leaves. "He took it out.". Morty and Helen's first appearance onSeinfeld was in the season 1 episode "The Stake Out," where they try to give Jerry some relationship advice. CNN . Years ago, Warburton told an outlet that he "desperately avoided" Jerry Seinfeld while on set out of fear of saying something stupid. While that impressive crew all delivered standout work in their brief time on the show, few "Seinfeld" supporting players left quite as memorable a mark on the show as the actor who played the father of Elaine Benes (series star Julia Louis-Dreyfus). " The Jacket " is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. Thisbrilliant comedic reversal makes Elaine one of the more fully rounded of these all-around awful characters. [2][pageneeded], It has been reported that other actresses were in line to play the character, including Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Mullally, Jessica Lundy, Patricia Heaton, Mariska Hargitay, and Amy Yasbeck.[3][4][5]. Who played Elaine in the Seinfeld pilot? - Quora In "The Airport", it is revealed that Gail lives in St. Louis. [8], In "The Andrea Doria", Elaine dates Alan, a "bad breaker-upper", who makes her feel insecure about having a big head. When I leave the house in this, it's with a whole different confidence. Before her signature role of Estelle Costanza on "Seinfeld," Estelle Harris had a few dozen roles. In The Jacket, Jerry and George met Alton, who proceeds to refer to George as "chorus boy" for his singing "Master of the House". "He just ran out of gas," Mike Erwin said of his father, who died at the age of 96. Probably the best and most high profile of all of his gigs is when he lands in the front office of the New York Yankees. While a second remarked: 'Think Elaine will be for . In "The Checks", her boyfriend Brett is so obsessed with the song "Desperado" that she feels ignored whenever it comes on. Even though everyone involved with "The Jacket" recognized how great Alton was, those feelings about Tierney influenced the decision to never have him return. Answer (1 of 3): Morty Seinfeld was originally played by Phil Bruns, who appeared in only the second episode. And can we have soup? Jerry and Elaine dated for a while before the show started. Alton fought in the Korean War, and once mentioned a friend of his he knew back in Korea who was a tail gunner that "got his brains blown out all over the Pacific". In "The Dog", she tells George she moved to New York in 1986, which, by coincidence, is the year Jerry moved into his apartment across the hall from Kramer. He succumbed to his illnesses in May 2020 at the age of 56. In November 2005, CBS News reported that North died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. If George Costanza was insufferable even to his best friends, he was exponentially worse at work. 1. Seinfeld character Elaine Benes . The 1993 "Seinfeld" episode "The Bris" revolves around many monumental life events involving birth and faith, and Jerry and the gang are characteristically uncomfortable with any and all displays of emotion or responsibility. North was 72. From cutting his Snickers bars with utensils and needing a specific kind of white sock that must be ironed before wearing to picking the salt kernels from even the smallest pretzels, Mr. Pitt is one of Elaine's biggest complaints in more than the seven episodes in which he appears. Lawrence Tierney was the veteran tough-guy actor who played the role of Elaine's dad, Alton Benes, on Seinfeld. There's one guy who played different characters in the same episode! We first meet Poppie, the owner of a well-known Italian pizzeria, when Jerry starts dating his daughter, Audrey (Suzanne Snyder). A box of letters from John Cheever is all that remains after Susan's father's cabin burns down. Marty Rackham. The actor who played Poppie, Reni Santoni, was best known for his role as Clint Eastwood's partner in Dirty Harry, andpassed away at 81 in August 2020 after a long illness. In "The Deal", Jerry and Elaine create a set of rules whereby they can be sexually intimate but remain only friends. [4] David stated in an interview that Richard Yates was "every bit as intimidating as Alton Benes". Initially, Estelle Costanza was meant to be the more overbearing character but that wasn't enough to justifywhy George turned out the way he did. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. I Let My Boyfriend Dress Me For an Entire Year. In May 2006, Gleason died at a hospital in Burbank, California, at age 67. Both clips appear in "The Clip Show, Pt. Kathryn Kates had a recurring role on "Seinfeld," portraying an unnamed but plot-pivotal character in two episodes that aired two years apart. George winds up needing to use a cane afterhe attempts to shave with butter and sprains a leg in the Season 9 premiere, "The Butter Shave." North received two Emmy nominations, for a guest spot in "Marcus Welby, M.D." Phil Totola. In "The Stall", Elaine is dating Tony, a very good-looking athletic type. "Walter, you did great work," he said. In "The Maestro", Elaine starts dating Bob Cobb, a conductor who insists on being called "Maestro". As Alton drives home, he finds himself singing "Master of the House". Jerry Seinfeld: Come on, it's not even a house. Martin, and Jack actor Sandy Baron, both had a stubbornness to their portrayals that made their interactions hilarious to watch. George Costanza, a lazy, obnoxious, and cantankerous ne'er-do-well, finds himself in a succession of great jobs throughout "Seinfeld," all of which he inevitably messes up and loses. Stars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jason Alexander have continued acting. The interesting aspect of Seinfeld's recasting, is that both Morty Seinfeld and Frank Costanza became bigger players in the series after the fact. TheSeinfeld seasons 1 & 2 DVD set includes a special inside look at "The Stake Out," which briefly discusses the Morty role. A detective turned actor,Barney Martin died at 82 of cancer in Studio City, California, in 2005. Don't forget wikipedia.en/List_of_Seinfeld_characters.md at main chinapedia It's, like, a cabin. Previously the female role was supposed to be Claire, the waitress at Pete's Luncheonette played by Lee Garlington, but Monk's Cafe replaced the luncheonette and Garlington was dropped from the role. Here's why Morty Seinfeld and Frank Costanza were both played by different actors in the series. Some of the main topics of the show include romantic relationships, the challenges of finding a fulfilling career, and the numerous strange experiences and encounters of adult life. Julia Louis-Dreyfus played Elaine Benes on 'Seinfeld' starting 30 years ago this week. Randolph appeared in nearly 200 movies and TV shows and was best known for his late-career work, as Roseanne's father in "Roseanne," Tom Hanks' character's grandfather in "You've Got Mail," and Clark Griswold Sr. in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." She expresses shock when Puddy is revealed as a devout Christian. In "The Stock Tip", Elaine mentions she has an Uncle Pete. From sleeping with his assistants and offering them unauthorized raises to napping under his desk instead of doing his job, George was a nightmare employee. However, their theory is ruined when Elaine is furious over Jerry giving her $182 as a birthday gift. Meals about nothing: 25 memorable foods featured in "Seinfeld" A reddit all about Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. But, inside this jacket, I am composed, grounded, secure that I can meet an social challenge. en.wikipedia.org. Barney Martin - Wikipedia They started dating in 1986 (as revealed in "The Truth") and dated until 1990. While Phil Bruns originally played Jerry's dad, Morty Seinfeld, for his first appearance on Seinfeld, it's Barney Martin that Seinfeld fans remember when thinking of the character, since he played him for 19 episodes.