Seinfeld legend Michael Richards made a rare outing on Sunday, photographed publicly for the first time in two years.
It’s been almost three decades since the funnyman played Cosmo Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld’s eccentric neighbor whose baffling antics and dramatic entrances made him beloved by fans.
But in 2006, Richards suffered a spectacular fall for grace after going on an explosive racist tirade at hecklers during his stand-up routine.
The once beloved actor turned into a pariah, and largely receded from the spotlight.
However he has attempted a comeback in the last two years with a memoir and comedy tour, and was spotted shopping on Melrose Place in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Reclusive Seinfeld icon Michael Richards was seen during a rare public sighting in West Hollywood on Sunday
The actor portrayed Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld alongside costars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Jason Alexander as George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld
Richards, clad in a button down jacket and jeans, was spotted making his way down a the trendy block during the Mother’s Day outing.
Although in his mid-seventies, the star still sports the thick curly hair that became his trademark while playing Kramer.
It appeared Richards was alone for the outing, without his wife Beth Skipp, to whom he has been married since 2010.
The couple has one son, aged 15. Richards also has a 51-year-old daughter from his first marriage, which ended in the early 1990s.
It’s been nearly 20 years since Richards became a Hollywood outcast following his infamous racist meltdown at the Laugh Factor.
In a 2024 interview with People to promote his memoir Entrances and Exits, he recalled feeling ‘immediately sorry the moment’ he used the N-word on stage.
‘My anger was all over the place and it came through hard and fast,’ he explained. ‘Anger is quite a force. But it happened. Rather than run from it, I dove into the deep end and tried to learn from it. It hasn’t been easy.’
The three-time Emmy winner continued: ‘Crisis managers wanted me to do damage control. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was inside of me.’
He noted that he’s spent the past 17 years in ‘deep analysis’ to ‘figure out where all the anger was coming from.’
People noted that Richards has struggled with feeling not wanted after growing up with a single mom, ‘who had initially wanted an abortion, but they were illegal and dangerous at the time.’
Richards was spotted shopping on Melrose Place on Mother’s Day
He wore a button down jacket, jeans, and boots
Richards said that he believes his rage stemmed from his own insecurities and fears of not being accepted.
While speaking of the incident in 2006, Richards insisted he is ‘not racist’ and has ‘nothing against Black people.’
‘The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down,’ he explained.
In November 2006, shocking footage of Richards emerged of him repeatedly calling an audience member, who interrupted his act, a racial slur.
‘Throw his ass out…He’s a n*****! Look there’s a n*****!’ Richards can be heard saying in the video.
During his meltdown, Richards repeatedly branded black members of the audience ‘n******’ while yelling: ‘Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your a***.’
Following the shocking incident, he went on David Letterman to express his regret as he stated: ‘I’m really busted up over this and I’m very, very sorry. I am not a racist, that’s what’s so insane about this. I said some pretty nasty things to some African-Americans, a lot of trash talk.’
The father-of-two continued: ‘You know, I’m a performer… I push the envelope; I work in a very uncontrolled manner on stage. I do a lot of free association, it’s spontaneous, I go into character.’
According to The Guardian, at the time, his two-minute tirade left the audience ‘confused’ and ‘uncertain whether the extreme language was part of Richards’ act.’
Richards appeared solo as he stopped by the trendy LA block
The wildly-popular sitcom about a group of New Yorkers aired from 1989 to 1998
Kramer was a beloved character who drew applause merely by making his entrance
Richards, pictured 2024, has largely stayed out of the spotlight
The publication noted that, at one point, ‘the target of Richards’ comments shouted back at Richards several times, telling him that the insults were uncalled for.’
Even while starring as Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, Richards said he ‘couldn’t connect to the joy of being an artist.’
‘I was a good character actor, but I was comfortable being the character, not in being me,’ he reflected.
His insecurities even had him turn down ‘the offer of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame’ because he ‘didn’t feel deserving.’
‘I said no to hosting Saturday Night Live twice because I didn’t feel good enough. I was never really satisfied with my Seinfeld performance. Fame magnified my insecurities,’ the actor admitted.
Richards also revealed in his book that he had been diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer in 2018.
‘I thought, ‘Well, this is my time. I’m ready to go,'” he shared with People. “But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later and I heard myself saying, “I’ve got a 9-year-old and I’d like to be around for him. Is there any way I can get a little more life going?”‘
