The Real George Costanza Who Sued Seinfeld For Ruining His Life
Seinfeld is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms of all time, ranked among television's best shows.
However, one minor slip-up almost cost its creator $100 million after they used their real friend's name.
In 1998 shortly after the series had ended, Michael Costanza filed a lawsuit against the creators of the hit TV show Seinfeld, claiming that they had used his identity without permission.
Costanza alleged that the popular character of George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander) was based on him and that the show's writers had used his likeness and name for the character without his consent.
According to Costanza, he had met Jerry Seinfeld, the co-creator of Seinfeld, in the 1970s when they attended Queen's College together.
Costanza claimed that creators Seinfeld and Larry David had been aware of his name and personality and had used these as the basis for the character of George Costanza.
Ultimately Costanza's lawsuit was dismissed by a New York judge who ruled that he had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his claims.
The judge stated that while there were some similarities between Michael Costanza and the character of George Costanza, these were not enough to establish a case of identity theft.
Although the lawsuit was unsuccessful, it attracted significant media attention, with many commentators questioning the legitimacy of Costanza's claims.
Some critics suggested that he was seeking to cash in on the success of Seinfeld, which was one of the most popular TV shows of the 90s.
Despite the dismissal of his lawsuit, Costanza has remained adamant that the character of George Costanza had been based on him.
In his book, The Real Seinfeld (as Told by the Real Costanza), he claimed that he had been the inspiration for many of the character's quirks and traits.
Including how they are both bald and stocky, both went to Queens College and earned similar nicknames, and they both have a thing about bathrooms and parking spaces.
The Seinfeld creators, for their part, denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the character of George Costanza was a purely fictional creation.
They argued that they had drawn inspiration from various sources, including head writer and showrunner Larry David himself.
In the end, the lawsuit has served as a cautionary tale for other series and sitcoms to not base too many details of their characters on specific people.
While it is undoubtedly helpful for writers to draw inspiration from real-life individuals, it may cause more hassle than it's worth in the long run.