Seinfeld: The Jacket

After getting past the origin stories and anecdotes of how the show Seinfeld came to be, I finally read about the making of one of my favorite episodes ever: The Jacket. The actor who plays Elaine's father, a famous author, is Laurence Tierney.  In the episode he plays an intimidating, old school sort of guy, making Jerry and George squirm while waiting for Elaine to arrive to the hotel.

Laurence Tierney: intimidating people since 1919.

Apparently, he was crazy on the set of the show, taking a knife from the kitchen and pretending to stab a cast member. Yeah - that got him the permanent adios from ever reprising his role on the show. However, the scene where Jerry and George try to make small talk with his character remains one of the funniest bits of uncomfortable comedy. It reminds me of so many family moments during the holidays where I can't seem to extricate myself away from terrible conversationalists...