SEINFELD BLOG

Jerry and George's premise for "Jerry" was that the man involved in a car accident with Jerry had no insurance and, so, was sentenced to be Jerry's butler. A fan also of "The Andy Griffith Show," I hadn't realized that this, in a roundabout way, was the plot of "Andy's English Valet" about 30 years earlier! A character named Malcolm Merriweather, played by Bernard Fox, does not have the $40 Andy tells him to pay to repair the damage he caused in a bicycling accident. So Andy asks him to work around the house to pay off the debt. Malcom, in so doing, actually becomes a butler for Andy and Opie!

And don't forget "Doc Hollywood." I never saw a more clever rip-off of an Andy Griffith plot. The filmmaker changed it from a butler to a doctor, but that's the genius of it. And Andy ripped-off all those stories and movies where the guy couldn't pay his restraurant bill, so he had to wash dishes.

(Jimmy sitting in the background) It's the chicken and the egg...

I don't think the "Seinfeld" writers -- Larry David, Jerry himself, or someone else -- was aware of this "Andy Griffith" episode. I'm certain it was a coincidence. I often make these observations because I watch too many sitcoms.

Every comic writer worth their salt knows of the Andy shows, or should

I just hope nobody ever steals my idea for a cologne that makes you smell like you just came from your grandparent's.

"Impending Death" or "Musty Dusty"?

I had an earlier idea for adding chlorine to Lagerfeld... I was going to call it "I Was In The Pool!"

It never materialized.