In the “Seinfeld” episode “The Jacket” (February 6, 1991), Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and George (Jason Alexander) arrange to have dinner with Alton Benes (Lawrence Tierney), the father of Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Because of a drama involving towed cars, Elaine is running late to the dinner, and Jerry and George spend a long, painful time trying to converse with Alton, a gruff, grumpy character. Alton is a famous author, and Jerry assumes he’ll be talkative and gregarious, but he is quite the opposite; he is annoyed by his companions’ whiny behavior and delicate sensibilities and wears a permanent, disapproving frown. When Jerry refuses to go for a walk in the snow — to save his new suede jacket from water damage — Alton insists. Like with many “Seinfeld” episodes, everyone is uncomfortable by the end.
Lawrence Tierney gave an excellent performance, and the cast was elated to be working with him. Tierney had been acting professionally since the 1940s, and had been a notorious fighter and drinker for almost as long; headlines from the time were already recording his disorderly conduct. Quentin Tarantino cast Tierney as the crime boss Joe Cabot in “Reservoir Dogs,” and the director reported that Tierney was disorderly even then, having shot at his nephew while drunk. Many of the people who worked with Tierney have stories about his brash, bizarre, sometimes fun, but sometimes bullying behavior. Tierney wrestled with alcoholism his whole life. A full list of Lawrence Tierney’s wild, unkempt behavior would take up more space than we have here.
It seems that the cast of “Seinfeld” have their own stories as well. It seems that while shooting “The Jacket,” Tierney tried to steal a prop knife from the set of Jerry’s kitchen. A DVD interview included with “The Jacket” includes Seinfeld’s very strange encounter with Tierney over the knife, leading directly to the decision not to have him back on the show.
Were it not for this incident, it’s likely Tierney would have become a semi-regular on the series.
Lawrence Tierney was banned from Seinfeld after trying to steal a knife
“Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David admitted that the character of Alton Benes was inspired by real-life author Richard Yates. David was dating Yates’ daughter Monica many years before, and he agreed to meet Richard at the Algonquin for drinks and a conversation … while wearing a suede jacket. And, yes, just like in “The Jacket,” David ended up ruining his suede jacket when Yates insisted they go for a walk in the snow.
It seems that Tierney was perfect for the role, as Louis-Dreyfus described him as “a total nut-job. […] It’s a shame that he was so cuckoo because I’m sure he would have been back, otherwise.” Alexander agreed, saying that Tierney played his part incredibly well, and there was every reason to believe he would return to play Alton Benes in future episodes. But he was too crazy. “We kept our eye on Lawrence,” Michael Richards (Kramer) said. “Because Lawrence stole one of Jerry’s knives from the set.”
Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander, and the director of “The Jacket,” Tom Cherones, all recalled seeing Tierney slipping a large butcher knife from Jerry’s knife block and slipping it into his coat. Louis-Dreyfus recalls Seinfeld actually confronting Tierney about the theft, which she felt was potentially dangerous. Alexander said that Tierney, when confronted, tried to play it off, saying that he stole the knife for comedic reasons. Indeed, he extracted the knife and lunged at Seinfeld, saying it would be funny if he were to be attacked like in the movie “Psycho.” Tierney even sang Bernard Herrmann’s famous “Psycho” score as he mock-stabbed Seinfeld. The comedian, it seems, stood his ground. “That’s when we knew we were in the land of the sick,” Alexander said.
Everyone was scared. Cherones defended Tierney, saying that he was wholly professional otherwise, and treated everyone with kindness (when knives weren’t involved). “But Larry David threatened to have him back if I wasn’t good.” Tierney never returned to “Seinfeld.”
