“Do You Know Who I Am?”
Highlights
- Jerry Seinfeld had an awkward and tense moment with Larry King on his show, where he had to clap back with a smart retort.
- During the interview, Larry King seemed unaware of Jerry’s sitcom history and mistakenly assumed he had been canceled.
- Despite the awkward interaction, Jerry Seinfeld made two more appearances on Larry King Live after that incident, indicating that he didn’t have a terrible experience.
Most people agree that Jerry Seinfeld is pretty funny, but the quip that his character on Seinfeld couldn’t really get angry (only higher-pitched) might not be entirely true of the actor himself. During a tense moment with Larry King, Jerry did get a bit high-pitched.
Plenty of celebrities have had awkward moments while chatting with Larry King, so Jerry Seinfeld was far from the only one. But although the once financially-troubled TV host often smoothed things over with his guests, working with Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t always the easiest. In fact, Larry seemed so uncomfortable—and couldn’t get a word in edge-wise—that he cut to a commercial rather than trying to calm Jerry down.
Jerry Seinfeld Appeared On Larry King Live Six Different Times
Seinfeld may have ended in 1998, but that wasn’t the end of Jerry Seinfeld’s fame. The actor and comedian continued to enjoy a lucrative career post-sitcom, working on everything from Saturday Night Live (he hosted twice) to appearing on pal Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm to comedy specials and standup runs.
In between those gigs, Jerry also made time to sit down and chat with Larry King on his TV show. Jerry’s appearances spanned from 2005 to 2010, with three appearances in 2005 alone.
Somewhere in the middle, in 2007, Jerry appeared on Larry King Live, and viewers were a bit uncomfortable.
Not only did Larry King seem “off,” he also might have annoyed Jerry Seinfeld to the point where the comedian couldn’t do anything other than clap back with a smart retort.
During his CNN appearance in November 2007, Jerry Seinfeld faced a series of questions from the Larry King Live host that centered on his sitcom history. Larry starts by asking, “You gave it up right?” to which Jerry answered, “I did.”
Larry continued, “They didn’t cancel you, you canceled them?” Jerry paused, looking at Larry with his mouth open, seemingly in shock. Then he asked, “You’re not aware of that?”
He began smiling as Larry started to backtrack, interrupting to ask the host “You think I got canceled?” At first, viewers might have thought Jerry was amused, but it soon became clear he was not.
Talking over Larry’s protests, Jerry continued, “Are you under the impression that I got canceled? I thought that was pretty well documented.”
King continued to try to interject, the camera panning outward, as Seinfeld asked, “Is this still CNN?”
Things cooled down a bit as Jerry said, “Yeah, no, I went off the air was the number one show in television, Larry.” As Larry stuttered and tried to speak, Jerry drove it home with, “Do you know who I am?”
Larry laughed, amid a pause, then replied, “Jewish guy, Brooklyn.” Jerry nodded, smiling, and said, “Yes… 75 million viewers, last episode.”
Larry told Jerry he shouldn’t have ‘taken it so bad,’ to which Jerry leaned back in his chair and explained that it’s a big difference between being canceled and being number one.
Larry apologized, then moved to cut to commercial, as Jerry exclaimed, “Geez! Can we get a resume in here for me.”
Jerry continued talking over Larry as the host called out Jerry’s project at the time (Bee Movie), proving that the commercial break was much-needed.
Were Larry King And Jerry Seinfeld On Good Terms When King Passed Away?
The whole interaction was awkward yet hilarious, according to viewers who relived the now-dated moment on YouTube. Some thought it even funnier that amid his being adamant that he was never “canceled,” Jerry was also promoting his work on an animated film, one that wasn’t necessarily well-received.
Some pointed out that it wasn’t cool of Larry, amid his other faux pas, to “reduce” Jerry to the descriptor, “Jewish guy, Brooklyn.”
Various fans pointed out that the phrase could also describe Larry, which made the quip more tolerable than the affront of not knowing his guest’s career history (especially after multiple appearances on his show).
Yet there’s the fact that in 1991, Jerry and Larry chatted about the then-newer sitcom, and given the fact that the two talked every few years at least, Larry should have known better.
Some questioned whether Larry King was doing alright, suggesting he was losing his touch. At the time, the CNN host was about 74 years old; he passed away at age 87 in 2021.
But Jerry did return to Larry King Live two more times before the host’s passing; his last appearance was in 2010. Even if Jerry was offended by Larry’s line of questioning during their 2007 chat, it didn’t stop him from making other appearances, like the episode that honored George Carlin or the 2010 interview.
2010’s appearance may have been strategic, of course, as Jerry made the circuits on various talk shows while working on TV comedy specials and promoting the Seinfeld reunion.
Either way, he didn’t have such a terrible experience that he turned down a chance to sit on CNN with Larry again, though maybe someone pulled him aside before those appearances to make sure he didn’t railroad over Larry.
