Seinfeld fan Jim Calder was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, so for his birthday, his son James did what any good son would do: he contacted the cast of his dad’s favorite show and got them to wish him a happy birthday in character. An overwhelming number of cast members responded—everyone from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Danny Woodburn (who played Kramer’s friend Mickey) to Lisa Mende (Carol, Elaine and Jerry’s friend with the house in the Hamptons). Michael Richards even gave the younger Calder a call to try and schedule a phone conversation with his father. “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,” Calder writes on The Huffington Post.
Sadly, the elder Calder passed away on November 7, but not before watching the videos from the extended Seinfeld universe. “He was shocked and mystified about how we were able to reach the Seinfeld cast members,” Calder writes. “He really felt the love and support.”
Louis-Dreyfus sent in her video mere hours before Calder’s passing. “You have a wonderful son who clearly adores you,” she says. “So congratulations on that—you did that very well.”
You can see several of the in-character videos below, including a clip John O’Hurley’s J. Peterman proclaiming the glories of Papua New Guinea, and Patrick Warburton as David Puddy explaining why he ate a one-pound bag of M&Ms. Even Al Roker, who briefly appeared in one episode of the show, sent in a video.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus:
J. Peterman:
David Puddy:
Newman:
The Soup Nazi:
Mickey:
Carol:
Kenny Bania:
Al Roker:
(via Vulture)
