The backstage drama that could have brought down ‘Seinfeld’ - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 07-10-2016, 03:37 AM

http://nypost.com/2016/07/10/the-bac...down-seinfeld/

Quote:

Ask any self-respecting “Seinfeld” fan who the worst dancer on the show — heck, in the world — is, and they’ll immediately think of Elaine Benes’ herky-jerk performance from Season 8’s “The Little Kicks.” Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) boogied so awkwardly at a work function, it endangered her professional reputation.

But most people don’t know her dance was inspired by “Saturday Night Live” boss Lorne Michaels.

The story is told by “Seinfeld” writer Spike Feresten, who started out as an “SNL” receptionist, in the new book “Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed *Everything” (Simon & Schuster) by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong.

Feresten’s job at “SNL” included manning the door at the show’s notorious after-parties. At one such gathering, he told Armstrong, he saw Michaels “dancing as if he’d never seen another *human being dance before. The man heaved and gyrated to a rhythm only he could feel.”

To his delight, Feresten “even got to give Louis-Dreyfus a little dance lesson during production, schooling her in the singular Michaels method.”

“Seinfeldia” tells the complete tale of this New York institution (actually filmed in LA), which finished either first or second in the ratings for five years straight, from 1994-98, and in 2002 was proclaimed by TV Guide as the greatest television show of all time.

MathUser · 07-11-2016, 04:31 AM

I would have liked to hear the rest of that story, but it's not in that article. This is my favorite part of the article:

The four core cast members decided to go out for dinner,” Armstrong writes of an outing the group made after being photographed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1993. The show had been on the air three years.

“They wanted to sit outside, and they figured people were going to freak out when they saw the four of them together, outside, in New York, right on Columbus Avenue. But no one stopped except for a homeless man asking for money."

Dr. Thong · 07-11-2016, 05:38 PM

What exactly is the "drama" here?

Schmoopie · 07-12-2016, 12:57 AM

Wow, interesting... There is a bit of drama in that article but nothing that would seem to threaten the popularity of the show

07-11-2016, 05:38 PM	#3
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	What exactly is the "drama" here?
	__________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

07-11-2016, 04:31 AM	#2
MathUser Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 11, 2016 Posts: 53	I would have liked to hear the rest of that story, but it's not in that article. This is my favorite part of the article: The four core cast members decided to go out for dinner,” Armstrong writes of an outing the group made after being photographed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1993. The show had been on the air three years. “They wanted to sit outside, and they figured people were going to freak out when they saw the four of them together, outside, in New York, right on Columbus Avenue. But no one stopped except for a homeless man asking for money."

07-12-2016, 12:57 AM	#4
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	Wow, interesting... There is a bit of drama in that article but nothing that would seem to threaten the popularity of the show