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25. George Steinbrenner
Steinbrenner, like Keith Hernandez is another baseball icon that lasted more than a couple episodes in the Seinfeld saga. George actually gets a job with the Yankees making Steinbrenner his obvious "higher-up". The creators of Seinfeld went to town on their version of Steinbrenner making him out to be a non-sensical tycoon, often resembling a chimp. We remember how easily he believed that George worked for Tyler Chicken (7 States below New York) at nights with George flying up for work with the Yankee's during the day, much to George's dismay when he found out that he had been traded to Tyler Chicken for chicken in the Yankees concessions stand. We remember how easily Steinbrenner believed that George died because George's car had not left the Yankee parking lot for over a week, arriving at the parent's front door with the supposedly lugubrious news. Steinbrenner was a character who leaped beyond all normal gaps in logic coming to rash conclusions at the drop of a sentence, getting excited and anxious over the most trivial of matters, like when he could smell calzones somewhere in the Yankee's headquarters, frantically seeking George and his calzone bag. Steinbrenner was clearly the work and acumen of the creators of Seinfeld, blowing personalities so out of proportion that they seemed to belong more to mental institutions, than to normal civic life. What the real Steinbrenner must have thought when he saw this version of himself, one could only laugh at when thought about. Who knows, maybe Steinbrenner himself thought it was somewhat accurate.
24. Uncle Leo
![]() Uncle Leo. What’s up with this guy anyway? Why does he always sound like he’s yelling? Is he insane or just mad? Fervent or fanatical? Why is it when he orders a hamburger he automatically assumes the cook is an anti-semite if it comes out burnt? And why does he always grab people by the arm when talking to them? Is it to maintain their undivided attention, to make them feel important or is it like Jerry thinks, a sort of precautionary measure to make sure folks don’t walk away in the middle of his conversation. Uncle Leo leaves us with so many questions, so few answers. He’s an enigma of a man who taught us many good lessons that didn’t solely involve the shoplifting of books. Through Uncle Leo and his peculiarities, we learn there’s a great amount of wisdom to be gained in the idiosyncrasies of crazy old relatives that when given the right amount of suspension from reality could actually be adored rather than just endured. What more can we say other than we love you Uncle Leo, you crazy, arm-grabbing, paranoid, old shoplifter you. 23. The Doorman
The doorman becomes Jerry's nemesis for one episode in the 6th season. All his doormen buddies for that matter become Jerry's nemesis for the episode in Jerry's mind. The Doorman is a self-conscious, abashing character thinking everyone is out to treat him condescendingly because he's "just a doorman". Elaine herself would go on to be quoted in the episode as saying "No one's going to believe the doorman" confirming the condescending nature concerning the doorman position. What starts out as a want for a friendly conversation from the doorman towards Jerry becomes a foray into the doorman's life, family and self-recognition of the lowly state of his position in the eyes of others. "You think you're better than me", "No one want's to hear what the crazy doorman has to says". These words from the doorman himself reflect his own recognized position in society. Jerry in wanting to make a mends with the doorman, fills in for him as he goes out "just for a second" to get a beer. What seems like an eternity for Jerry working the position, makes him leave the post before the real doorman gets back leading to a stolen couch. Jerry starts to think that the entire event was a setup by the "doorman and all his little doormen buddies" cueing a scene of doormen frivolously laughing at the poor pedestrian. The perceived disparity in social status between people is displayed perfectly and openly in this episode, something that is ignored for PC reasons in all other shows. The Seinfeld series, never afraid to broach these cores, hits what everyone is REALLY thinking with "The doorman". In case anyone forgot, Darren was the intern for Kramerica Industries, a thriving business run from Kramer's apartment that was as ingenious as it was inefficient. Darren was a graduate student at NYU and was looking for some real world experience to augment his MBA studies. Little did he know that the “real world” would be the last thing he’d gain experience in, as he would be ordering and taking notes on everything in Kramer's life from when he was to have lunch with Jerry, to when a Mr. Lomez was calling. Darren also took down the details of the affairs of Kramer's friends like when George was taking ice cubes from Jerry's glass of water when Jerry was in the bathroom. All these ostensibly mundane events, Darren jotted down with pert and vigor. It was only when NYU found out about the extraneous adventures of Kramerica, that Darren would be curtailed from working on all of the Kramerian ingenious ideas from combining mustard and ketchup into one bottle, to solving the worlds oil problems by building an oil tanker bladder. Nonetheless, Darren showed commitment to Kramerica by working for Kramer regardless of NYU's persistence that the company merely "consists of one man with a messy apartment which may or may not contain a chicken". His exuberant youth would inspire Kramer back into working on some of the worst ideas in the world. The Kramer, Darren symbiosis would prove to be one of the most jocular combinations in Seinfeld's legacy. 21. Aaron the "Close Talker"
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