Entrances and Exits

Emmy Award winner Richards, who played Kramer on the hit TV show Seinfeld, begins his memoir with stories about his California upbringing with a grandmother with schizophrenia who took care of him while his mother worked. As a child, Richards was told his father died in World War II, but he later learned that his mother’s pregnancy was the result of a rape. As he grew up, Richards discovered his penchant for physical comedy and a love of theater. Stage performances and stand-up comedy led to his being cast in the 1980s TV comedy sketch show Fridays, alongside future Seinfeld cocreator Larry David. Richards is an engaging storyteller, whether sharing his adventures in the U.S. Army’s V Corps Training Roadshow; his interest in literature, dreams, and spirituality; or the number of Cuban coffees he consumed to stay awake as an extra on Miami Vice. He also discusses the development of Kramer’s character and goes behind the scenes of Seinfeld episodes. The memoir doesn’t neglect to discuss Richards’s life after Seinfeld, including a canceled sitcom and his racist rant to a heckler at the Laugh Factory in 2006, which led to introspection and a self-imposed exodus from the spotlight.