{"id":1567744,"date":"2022-07-23T12:19:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T16:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1567744"},"modified":"2022-07-23T12:19:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T16:19:29","slug":"apolitical-jerry-seinfeld-is-comedys-undisputed-elder-statesmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/apolitical-jerry-seinfeld-is-comedys-undisputed-elder-statesmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Apolitical Jerry Seinfeld Is Comedy\u2019s Undisputed Elder Statesmen"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fapolitical-jerry-seinfeld-is-comedys-undisputed-elder-statesmen%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1567744&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Jerry Seinfeld is a very wealthy man, and he can thank a show about \u2018nothing\u2019 for his millions.<\/p>\n<p>The New York native\u2019s rise to superstardom isn\u2019t unique, but his current status as comedy\u2019s beloved elder statesman is. And that deserves attention.<\/p>\n<p>The now-68-year-old did it the old-fashioned way, without family ties, gimmicks or scandals. He might be the most universally adored comic at a time when everyone has a scalding hot take against the Hollywood elite.<\/p>\n<p>Seinfeld\u2019s story began, where else, in the greater New York area. The young Seinfeld honed his craft in clubs like Catch a Rising Star, although the raw comic needed a nip of liquid courage before his very first gig back in 1976.<\/p>\n<p>He kept working, deepening his observations to the tiniest details, hearkening back to the comedy morsels he devoured as a child to guide his path. Think classic comedy albums from Alan King and Robert Klein, spiced by watching the pros crack wise on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The comedian picked the right time to embrace stand-up. Comedy clubs flowered in the 1980s, and as the decade wore on network executives plucked the best of the best and gave them sitcoms all their own.<\/p>\n<p>Right as that trend was taking root, Seinfeld landed a coveted spot on Johnny Carson\u2019s \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d circa 1981, and his comedy career began to bloom. He spent the better part of the Reagan decade defining a style that differed from his stand-up peers.<\/p>\n<p>Seinfeld didn\u2019t get his hands dirty with political yuks like George Carlin or Bill Hicks. Nor did he ape the bawdy tactics of Sam Kinison or Andrew \u201cDice\u201d Clay, the decade\u2019s comedy giants. He kept his commentary clean, leaning on the signature crack in his voice for grand comic effect.<\/p>\n<p>No props. No wacky voices or impressions. Just \u2026 funny observations everyone could understand.<\/p>\n<p>By the late 1980s he was at the top of his craft, which explains why NBC began courting him for a sitcom all his own.<\/p>\n<p>The show\u2019s pilot, dubbed \u201cThe Seinfeld Chronicles,\u201d didn\u2019t become an instant smash. Far from it. Still, something clicked within the NBC inner chambers and the Peacock Network dubbed the show \u201cSeinfeld\u201d and gave it a four-episode commitment, giving him and co-creator Larry David the second chance they deserved.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all the show needed. That, of course, and adding a fourth member of the troupe established in the pilot \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2021\/09\/seinfeld-pilot-episode\/2\/\">Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The rest is TV history. The show ran for nine seasons, ending not due to any creative or ratings decline but because Seinfeld felt it was time to move on. That, plus the show\u2019s ability to eschew pop culture touchstones that might date the storylines, give the series a timeless quality.<\/p>\n<p>We still use the show\u2019s catch phrases, from \u201cyada yada yada\u201d to \u201cnot that there\u2019s anything wrong with that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Who knew a show about nothing could become arguably TV\u2019s best sitcom?<\/p>\n<p>Seinfeld didn\u2019t hang up his mic once the series ended, even though it made him fabulously wealthy. Celebrity Net Worth says he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.celebritynetworth.com\/richest-celebrities\/richest-comedians\/jerry-seinfeld-networth\/\">worth a cool $950 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He took his sweet time between projects, from the animated \u201cBee Movie\u201d (2007) to multiple Netflix stand-up specials. His folksy \u201cComedians in Cars Getting Coffee\u201d found him lounging with fellow comics for hilarious chats that didn\u2019t follow any set formula. We were all flies on the wall, catching every last drop (and quip).<\/p>\n<p>Seinfeld\u2019s aggressively apolitical bent has served him well through the years. He avoids culture war battles and finds passionate fans across the ideological spectrum. That\u2019s true both on, and off, the stage.<\/p>\n<p>A wise movie character once said, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uki4lrLzRaU\">A man\u2019s gotta know his limitations.\u201d<\/a> And for Seinfeld it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/life\/tv\/2018\/07\/03\/jerry-seinfeld-new-season-comedians-cars-netflix\/746672002\/\">political yuks.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not good at it. And I don\u2019t like \u201cwe agree\u201d applause. As a comedian, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s fun to get. I like it when people just laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The only time he generated headlines for something that didn\u2019t involve his comedy? An off-handed comment in 2015 about his decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/article\/2015\/06\/08\/jerry-seinfeld-politically-correct-college-campuses\/\">stop playing college campuses<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t play colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me, \u2018Don\u2019t go near colleges. They\u2019re so PC. \u2026 They just want to use these words: \u2018That\u2019s racist;\u2019 \u2018That\u2019s sexist;\u2019 \u2018That\u2019s prejudice. They don\u2019t know what the hell they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even more refreshing? Seinfeld isn\u2019t apologizing for \u201cSeinfeld\u201d at a time when artists are being attacked for their past work. \u201cFriends\u201d is the perfect example. Woke critics have slammed the NBC sensation for not being diverse enough and dabbling in problematic comedy (like Fat Monica jokes).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFriends\u201d co-creator Marta Kauffman <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2022\/tv\/news\/friends-creator-embarrassed-diversity-donates-4-million-1235307727\/\">cut a $4 million check<\/a> to fund the Marta F. Kauffman \u201878 Professorship in African and African American Studies at Brandeis University to assuage her guilt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdmitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It\u2019s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I\u2019m embarrassed that I didn\u2019t know better 25 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Seinfeld doesn\u2019t engage with such trifles. He<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jerry Seinfeld is a very wealthy man, and he can thank a show about \u2018nothing\u2019 for his millions. The New York native\u2019s rise to superstardom isn\u2019t unique, but his current status as comedy\u2019s beloved elder statesman is. And that deserves attention. The now-68-year-old did it the old-fashioned way, without family ties, gimmicks or scandals. He &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1575265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1567744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1567744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1567744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1567744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1575265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1567744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1567744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1567744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}