IMO: Not very deep, but funny and interesting. 2/5

(Contains Spoilers)

My Uncle Doug suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, he often had duct tape on his clothes, was always flossing his teeth, had an absolutely unruly beard and no doubt appeared homeless to at least 65% of people he encountered. Man I miss that guy. He loved his family and his dog, Sampson. Probably not in that order. And next to that, was his love of Seinfeld. I grew up watching Seinfeld and even watched a few episodes recently. Unlike Full House, the humor has stood the test of time. I once asked Uncle Doug every question from a Seinfeld Trivial Pursuit game… he got them all correct. Who remembers the fake name George goes by?? Uncle Doug!! (Art Vandalay). I’m pretty sure Uncle Doug had a genius IQ and a whole section of his brain specifically dedicated to remembering every bit of Seinfeld.

The moment I saw Michael Richards was coming out with his autobiography, ‘Entrances and Exits’, it went on my Goodreads, To Read list. I’d read it for Uncle Doug. Who’s Michael Richards you ask?! It took me at least 3/4 of the book to remember his real name. Michael Richards was (and always will be) Cosmo Kramer. Jerry’s neighbor. The most unorthodox and I would wager, most memorable character from Seinfeld.

When I picked up the book, I knew Kramer. I knew nothing about Michael Richards.

The writing style was unfamiliar. Much of it was like reading blurbs set on a pen-and-notebook-paper-timeline of Richards’ life. He mentions that he cried over the dad he never had, that he was lonely as a child and that he was almost raped by a man in an attic room; all said with very little emotion. It was a well-worded sanitary retelling of his experiences.

This book often left me wondering what was happening below the surface. By the end of page 425, I realized Richards wrote the book to reflect the fact that through his youth and even most of his adulthood, he didn’t even know what was happening below the surface. Richards said, “…coming out as myself, sharing the person behind the mask, will take some time to get to. Actually, a long time. All the way up to the writing of this book.” (pg 132). This is a story about a talented comedian that became Cosmo Kramer, and his self-discovery journey, that had moments of depth, but often fell short of the vulnerability that was needed to pull it all together and make a lasting impression on the reader.

To my surprise, Richards was someone before he was Kramer! He was a star on a series called, ‘Fridays’. I watched a couple skits. Never again. I love to laugh. I love comedy. After watching the Fridays skits, I realize I don’t love all comedy. As a young adult, Richards was a regular stand-up at popular comedy clubs. On several of the acts, the humor is completely lost on me. Sounds like men acting like children and being rough and breaking things and playing make-believe. Maybe it’s the same kind of humor as saying your own name out loud, really slow, over and over again until it’s actually funny and feels weird in your mouth. Or maybe the club served really strong drinks.

Richards shares a lot about his stage time and his professional life. And then there are the precious tidbits where he reveals his true off-stage humor. He and a friend cruise Sunset Strip in a borrowed Cadillac, wearing gas masks from the Army surplus store. He plays a prank on Jerry involving one of Jerry’s precious Porsches, a mysterious leaf and Richards hiding in the bushes. As he is being processed into the Army after getting drafted, he considered his options of escape. “…I can play lunacy. Don’t speak. Never say a word. Don’t answer any questions. Maybe just flap my arms, run down the hall, and throw myself out a window. That should do it.” (pg 62). He was in his early ’20’s… way before Cosmo Kramer existed, but as this scene played out in my mind, it was Kramer flapping his arms and running down the hall. How could I not laugh?

“If anything, comedy and laughter are anarchy. It upsets formality. It breaks things up. It’s Dionysian where Pentheus is torn to pieces. It’s Laurel and Hardy wrecking your house.”

-Michael Richards, Entrances and Exits, page 111

Richards didn’t do drugs or drink. He was a thinker and reader of the Classics. He married young, had a daughter, got divorced. His schizophrenic grandma helped raise him. He never knew his dad. He later learned his mom was raped. He was sexually assaulted at least twice as a young man. Richards shared these aspects of his life, yet did so while guarding the emotional toll they must have taken on him. His first marriage ends at the same time as a his role in Seinfeld hiccups. Richards tells us his wife is in love with another man and that he feels distant from his daughter, ‘Wow! After almost twenty years of marriage, I’m alone in an empty apartment determined to get on with my life, to buck up,” and goes on to say, “Larry did assure me that not being in an episode this week won’t happen again.” WHAAT? Why did the marriage end? I think I can infer. What kind of father and husband is Michael Richards? How did he feel when he held his daughter for the first time? What did his wife think of his career? Did she ask him to be home more? There was virtually none of that. (Maybe he’s the kind of father and husband that respects his wife and kids’ privacy more than most in Hollywood!)

Fate and the gods of humor brought Richards into the Army. Lots of laugh-out-loud scenes. Think Theater Kid in Boot Camp. “I’m anchored by my eighty-pound duffel bag, looking more like a teenage Jerry Lewis than a trim William Westmoreland as I try to get out of the truck. It’s still not fast enough for Sarge. ‘Get the fuck outta the truck!’ He screams. What is wrong with this man? Is he in a lot of pain?” If you read nothing else, stop by the library and glean the humor from pages 62-64. Priceless.

Richards was successful in every artistic venture; acting, writing plays, pratfall comedy, geometric art in the form of manadalas, even cleaning restrooms in Seattle! Shout out to Washington! He drove school bus and paid kids a dime for jokes. He prank-called the studio. He flipped a giant inflatable boat in the crashing ocean waves with Chris Farley, Jon Lovitz and a couple of cigars. He met Whoopi, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams and Pee Wee*! *If I read Paul Reubens’ autobiography, every word would be dictated in Pee Wee’s voice. And in every narrative, Reubens would be wearing the grey suit with the red bow tie. Did Richards and Reubens reach great success by becoming household names, or did they curse themselves into belonging to the screenname and not being known by much of anything else? Well… I guess they both had their moments of public personal embarrassment that gained some unwanted attention…

“Not that it is a curse, but I will always be seen as Kramer. Anything other than Kramer probably won’t fly.”

– Michael Richards, Entrances and Exits

Even though I didn’t get a deep look into Richards’ soul or learn how he is as a dad and husband, it was an entertaining recap of his upbringing and a very fun behind-the-scenes look at one of the best shows ever. Richards story changes drastically after Seinfeld ends. Things get deeper. Spiritual. Mystic. His mental ramblings often seem poetic. He admits to not knowing himself. The pages were missing something though. I think it was meant to express… I was a lonely young boy of a single mom and all of my experiences brought me to these profounds discoveries, and I’m not done seeking. It didn’t quite hit the spot, but his admissions here explain why it’s so hard to find him in the earlier part of the book. He talks about his deep-rooted insecurities, his anger issues and he gets real transparent about the comedy club disaster that ruined him in the public eye for a hot minute.

In summary… if you love Seinfeld OR if you love the great Playwrights of the past (lots of Theater lingo and name dropping that I constantly had to Google)… Definitely pick this book up. It will not however clear up where Michael Richards ends and Cosmo Kramer begins, or vice versa. The pages of this book prove they were born to be each other. Soul mates. Richards was Kramer before Kramer knew he existed.

Thank you Mr Richards for sharing your story, for being vulnerable to the best of your ability, for inspiring us to chase our dreams and to keep seeking. Giddyup!