Whatever you think of Seinfeld, you can’t accuse it of being an overly warm show. The characters were funny, sure, but they were never the kind of people you wanted to hug. In fact, according to The Daily Dot, there was even a “no hugging, no learning rule” set out by the show’s creators so that the characters would always be hilarious caricatures who didn’t really care about others. The actors on the show, however? They’re completely different. And they proved that once again by creating videos for a superfan dying of cancer.
The Daily Dot reports that the recipient of the videos, 67-year-old Jim Calder, loved nothing more than to watch the antics of Jerry, Elaine, Newman, and Kramer. That’s why his son and his son’s wife decided that they had to find a way to cheer Calder up right before his birthday (which was to be his last). And since the internet now makes all things possible, they began reaching out to the cast on social media, seeing if anyone would be willing to send the dying fan a heartfelt message before he succumbed to his battle with lung cancer. Almost everyone did.
Some actors, like those who played Newman, J Peterman, and David Puddy, sent their messages in character. Some, like Julia Louis-Dreyfous did it as themselves. Even The Soup Nazi and Al Roker (who played himself on the show) sent in videos. Michael Richards, however, took it one step further.
Michael Richards contacted James Calder and asked if he could schedule a personal phone call with his father. “[He] wanted to actually call my dad on the day of his birthday to wish him the best and have a chat,” James writes. “I was blown away by his kindness and generosity. I did try to coax him to create a video message as well, but he shared that he wasn’t interested in the publicity and just wanted to help me wish my dad a happy birthday.”
Sadly, Calder never lived to receive the phone call, but he got to see the videos that were sent in and his son says that he definitely felt the love and support, which was so needed in his final days. Both Calder and his family were grateful for all the generosity they received and will treasure the videos—including several they were asked not to share publicly—forever.
See the rest of the videos here.
