On Saturday, TBS will honor the late Jerry Stiller with a marathon of some of the most memorable Seinfeld episodes that feature the actor playing George Costanza's hot-blooded father, Frank.
Stiller made his first appearance as the Costanza patriarch in the season 5 episode "The Puffy Shirt," and he appeared in 26 episodes throughout the sitcom's nine-season run.
The marathon, dubbed "The Best of Frank Costanza: In Memory of Jerry Stiller," will air on TBS on Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m. ET/PT. Here are some of the classic Frank Costanza moments that you won't want to miss, organized by episode:
"The Cigar Store Indian" (4 p.m.)
In this classic episode, Frank becomes irate with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) after she takes his TV Guide to read on the subway. (Frank's a collector, and can't stand it that there's an issue missing.) Perhaps the most entertaining moment in the whole half-hour is when a man that Elaine met on the subway tries to woo her by showing up at the Constanzas with a bouquet made from the TV Guide, which she accidentally left on the train. "That's my TV Guide, ripped to shreds," Frank says, sounding heartbroken. "She gave that to you?"
"The Chinese Woman" (4:30 p.m.)
Here, George (Jason Alexander) finds out his parents are getting a divorce—but he's almost more preoccupied by the fact that he spotted his father talking with a caped man in Manhattan. Turns out, the man in the cape (who's played by none other than series co-creator Larry David) is his lawyer. "He's very independent, doesn't follow the trends," Frank explains to everyone. When his wife, Estelle (Estelle Harris), tries to criticize the lawyer for his sartorial choices, he fires back, "You have no eye for fashion!"
"The Doorman" (5 p.m.)
Frank is staying with George while he's separated from Estelle. Because of the close quarters, George sees his father with his shirt unbuttoned and finds out that he basically has, well, breasts—or, "real hooters," as Kramer (Michael Richards) puts it.
So, Kramer and Frank come up with a genius invention: "the brassiere for a man, the Manssiere" (although Kramer prefers to call it a "bro"). Even though Stiller gets a lot of great quips in the episodes, Estelle actually delivers the funniest line here: "As soon as he leaves the house, he turns into J. Edgar Hoover."
"The Fusilli Jerry" (5:30 p.m.)
With everyone sharing and debating their best sexual moves throughout this episode, Frank reveals that his is to stop short and make a grab. And Frank isn't too happy when he hears that Kramer supposedly made that exact move on Estelle—and in his car featuring brand new "A**MAN" license plates, no less. It's this confrontation with the K-Man that's essential viewing, for the way that Frank screams and stretches out "A**maaaaaan!" and for the moment when Frank falls on top of a tiny Jerry figurine made from fusilli, forcing him to visit the proctologist. Million-to-one shot, doc, million-to-one.
"The Rye" (6 p.m.)
The Costanzas bring rye bread from Schnitzer's to the most awkward meeting of in-laws ever. Over dinner with the parents of George's fiancée Susan (Heidi Swedberg), Frank tries to make small talk about poultry's sex. "Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who's having sex with the hen?" he mentions at dinner. When Susan's father (Warren Frost) says that they're all chickens, so the rooster has sex with all of them, Frank remarks, "That's perverse." After the disastrous dinner, Frank steals back the rye bread, because the Ross family didn't put it out, which leads to George trying to sneak the bread back into the Rosses' apartment.
"The Caddy" (6:30 p.m.)
When George blows off work with the New York Yankees to spend a weekend at a cabin in the woods, Yankees-owner George Steinbrenner believes him dead. When Steinbrenner (no, it's not actually the real Steinbrenner playing himself in the episode) goes to deliver the news to the Costanzas, Frank couldn't care less about his son's safety; instead, he badgers the owner about moves within the Yankees organization. "What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for? He had 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs last year. He's got a rocket for an arm. You don't know what the hell you're doing," he tells Steinbrenner.
"The Showerhead" (7 p.m.)
When Jerry's parents announce that they're moving to Del Boca Vista in Florida, Frank decides to move there too, out of spite, because Jerry's parents don't want them there. He calls up Jerry's parents to tell them off. "You think you can keep us out of Florida? We're moving in lock, stock and barrel," he warns them. "We're gonna be in the pool. We're gonna be in the clubhouse. We're gonna be all over that shuffleboard court, and I dare you to keep me out!"
"The Fatigues" (7:30 p.m.)
After Kramer tries to recruit Frank to cook for a Jewish singles mixer, Frank reveals a traumatizing event in his past: The time when he overseasoned a dish while serving as a cook in the Korean War. Despite trying to power through and provide food for the event, he relives the awful memory when someone at the mixer starts choking on his food.
"The Serenity Now" (8 p.m.)
In one of the series' most iconic episodes, Frank tries to calm his blood pressure by screaming "Serenity now!" whenever he gets irritated, and it catches on with the rest of the gang. When George tells him that it doesn't work, because it just bottles up all the rage, he tells his father to try yelling something else. You know, like Kramer's preferred phrase, "Hoochie Mama."
"The Strike" (8:30 p.m.)
In this Christmas episode, George reveals that his father invented his own holiday called Festivus, a celebration (if you could call it that) that's meant to replace the commercial holidays. Key elements of Festivus include an aluminum pole, a wrestling match dubbed "The Feats of Strength" and, best of all, "The Airing of Grievances." Frank explains that last one thusly: "At the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around, and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
