Top 10 Celebs Who Played Themselves on Seinfeld
Cameos, cameos and more cameos! WatchMojo is counting down the top 10 celebrities who appeared on Seinfeld. We've included memorable and hilarious cameos from stars like Fred Savage, David Letterman, Marisa Tomei.
Top 10 Celebs Who Played Themselves on Seinfeld
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Cameos, cameos and more cameos! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Celebs Who Played Themselves on Seinfeld. For this list, we will only be including celebrities that A: were already famous prior to appearing on the show, and B: played themselves. So guys like Jon Lovitz, who had a hilarious cameo but was actually playing a character named Gary Fogel, are not eligible.
#10: Al Roker
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Longtime NBC weatherman and TV personality Al Roker sure made his one and only “Seinfeld” cameo count. He appeared in the season five episode “The Cigar Store Indian” and in a parody of a situation that occurred earlier, rips a sandwich out of Jerry’s hands after he gets stuck in a set of closing subway doors. He then proceeds to sit down in front of Elaine, quipping that her “boyfriend’s going to have to catch the next train”. Of course when Elaine tells him that Jerry isn’t her boyfriend he gets… a little creepy. Thankfully, it’s all in good fun given that it’s scripted. Oh Al Roker, what will you do next?
#9: Fred Savage
Fred Savage may not be the celebrity he once was, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worthy of a spot on our list! The former “Wonder Years” star made a hilarious cameo in the season four episode “The Trip”. During his brief move to L.A. Kramer runs into Savage at a café. Sensing an opportunity to share his movie with an actual Hollywood star Kramer approaches the young actor, albeit in a terrifyingly awkward manner. He proceeds to scare the living daylights out of Savage, babbling incoherently about how he’s just “a regular guy”. Savage understandably freaks out and then runs away. It might’ve been a simple misunderstanding, but good instincts nonetheless, kid!
#8: Rudy Giuliani
Despite being a sitcom, “Seinfeld” never shied away from incorporating real events into its plots; particularly when they involved New York City. An example would be the 1993 New York City mayoral election between Rudy Giuliani and David Dinkins. The event was referenced in the season five episode “The Non-Fat Yogurt”. In that episode Giuliani made a cameo appearance in which he denounced a chain of frozen yogurt shops for false advertising. A relatively small role, it is nevertheless makes for a pretty cool anecdote, one which most people would kill to have in their back pocket.
#7: George Wendt
George Wendt, best known for playing Norm on the long-running NBC sitcom “Cheers”, had a small but memorable role in “Seinfeld’s” fourth season. George Costanza strikes up a conversation with him and Corbin Bernsen of “L.A. Law” fame while accompanying Jerry to the set of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. While George believes the conversation to be a pleasant and interesting one for all parties involved, he later learns, from the mouths of his two conversation partners no less, that they thought of him as “some nut”. Another notch in the loss column for old George Costanza.
#6: Raquel Welch
Easily one of the most memorable celebrity cameos in the show’s history, Raquel Welch played a mean-spirited version of herself in “The Summer of George”. After Kramer mistakenly receives a Tony Award for a musical he had nothing to do with, he naturally begins flaunting his newfound, albeit fake success around town. When the producers of the musical in question find out they give him an ultimatum: fire Raquel Welch or return the Tony. Let’s just say it doesn’t end well for Kramer. Later in that same episode Welch gets into a catfight with Elaine, much to the enjoyment of a couple of police officers. All in all... a totally bonkers episode.
#5: David Letterman
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Legendary late night talk show host David Letterman had a brief but notable “Seinfeld” cameo in the show’s eighth season. The episode begins with Jerry agreeing to do some stand up at his old junior high school on career day, but ultimately gets bumped by a zoo worker. His agent is furious and books him a two-hour assembly to make up for it. Unfortunately when he finally gets to perform, the kids boo him. Jerry had originally been schedule to perform on the “Late Show with David Letterman”, but when Letterman learns that he bombed in front of the kids he calls Jerry to inform him he’s no longer invited. Short, sweet, hilarious. Classic Letterman.
#4: Marisa Tomei
Perhaps the most unlikely celebrity cameo in “Seinfeld” history if only because she was cast as one of George’s love interests, Marisa Tomei ultimately delivered a hilarious performance. After learning that one of Elaine’s friends would have set him up with Marisa Tomei had he not gotten engaged, George becomes obsessed with scoring a date with the Academy Award winner. However, when he finally does it doesn’t end the way he hopes. In fact, it ends with Tomei punching him in the face. We suppose he deserved it - he was engaged after all.
#3: Bette Midler
When she appeared in the season six episode “The Understudy”, Bette Midler essentially took over the show with her performance. From chirping George during a charity softball game to singing show tunes in a hospital bed next to Kramer, Midler played a version of herself not seen before or since. “Seinfeld” always did a good job of casting established actors and having them play exaggerated and / or ridiculous versions of themselves, but Midler’s cameo is without a doubt one of the most memorable. It’s over the top, totally outlandish and freaking hilarious.
#2: Jon Voight
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Leave it “Seinfeld” to whip up a plot that involves a used Chrysler LeBaron, a chewed up pencil and actor Jon Voight and somehow make it work. The Academy Award winner appears on-screen for no more than 20 seconds, and yet somehow manages to sneak into our top 2. How can this be you ask? Well for starters his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo involves him doing two things: hailing a cab and biting Kramer on the arm. And while we love seeing famous actors grab taxis as much as the next guy, it’s his animalistic response to Kramer’s bizarre request that earns him such a high spot on our list. In Voight’s defense, Kramer did look pretty deranged. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Geraldo Rivera Mel Tormé
#1: Keith Hernandez
He may not have been the only baseball player to make a cameo appearance during “Seinfeld’s” nine-season run (we’re looking at you Jeter), but he was definitely the funniest. After his playing career was over Hernandez appeared in a handful of films and TV shows, most notable of which was a two-episode arc on everyone’s favorite “show about nothing”, plus a brief return in “The Finale”. In his “The Boyfriend” storyline from season 3, he managed to make Jerry feel awkward, incur the wrath of both Kramer and Newman, AND date Elaine. Of course, we should mention that Kramer and Newman’s hatred of him was ultimately unfounded. Magic loogie? We think not.
