'Seinfeld' ended 25 years ago: Do you remember the show's Long Island references?
The "Seinfeld" cast in a 1997 photo. Credit: NBC via Getty Images
The final episode of "Seinfeld" aired 25 years ago — on May 14, 1998. Approximately 76 million viewers tuned in to watch the Larry David-penned episode that featured cameos from dozens of guest characters (from Keith Hernandez to the Soup Nazi) and a final scene in which our favorite foursome ended up in a small town's jail convicted of criminal indifference for violating its "good Samaritan" law.
Although 98% of the action on "Seinfeld" was set in Manhattan, once in a while Jerry and the gang ventured off and head east. Here are several episodes set in/or references to Long Island that showed up over the years:
"The Nose Job" (Nov. 20, 1991): George is trying to persuade his girlfriend to get her nose fixed. He later confides to Jerry that he knows a lot about such surgeries, because "I grew up on Long Island."
"The Stranded" (Nov. 27, 1991): Jerry and Elaine are stranded at a party on Long Island (on Riviera Drive in Bellmore; a wink to Seinfeld's childhood home on Riviera Drive South in Massapequa) when George leaves with a co-worker. Driving out to retrieve them, Kramer arrives very late, after losing directions and getting off at the wrong Long Island Expressway exit.
"The Handicap Spot" (May 13, 1993): The four drive out to a shopping mall in Lynbrook (say what?) to buy a big-screen TV as an engagement present for their friend The Drake, who lives in Mineola. They park in a space reserved for handicapped drivers, setting off a chain of hilarious events.
"The Race" (Dec. 15, 1994): Jerry's ninth-grade gym teacher, "Mr. Bevilacqua," officiates a rematch of a disputed race that Jerry had with a classmate. The character was based on Albert Bevilacqua, Jerry Seinfeld's gym and driver's ed teacher at Massapequa High School.
The East End was the setting for two episodes. In "The Hamptons" (May 12, 1994), the gang visits their friends' beach house for the weekend. After swimming, George experiences the dreaded "shrinkage" problem, and later he secretly puts lobster in the omelet he cooks for Jerry's kosher girlfriend. In "The Wizard" (Feb. 26, 1998), George tries bluffing his fiancee Susan's parents that he has a mansion in the Hamptons.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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