Michael Richards Bio: Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth

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Profile Summary

Name: Michael Richards
Occupation: Actor
Citizenship: American
Ethnicity: White

Michael Richards is an American actor, writer, comedian, and producer, best known for his appearance in the sitcom “Seinfeld.”

How old is Michael Richards? Michael Richards age

Michael Anthony Richards was born in Culver City, California, to a Catholic family on July 24, 1949, William Richards, of Scottish and English Descent, and Phyllis (née Nardozzi), a medical records librarian of Italian descent.

His father, Williams, died in a car crash when Michael was two, and his mother has never remarried since then.

Michael enrolled in Thousand Oaks High School, which he later graduated from.

Later on, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1970, where he trained as a doctor and was stationed in West Germany, where he was a member of the “Training Road Show,” a theatrical troupe.

He used his G.I. Bill benefits after being honorably discharged to attend the California Institute of the Arts, where he received a BA in drama from The Evergreen State College in 1975.

Michael did a short-lived improv act with Ed Begley Jr. and participated in student plays while attending Los Angeles Valley College.

Michael Richards show

In 1979, Michael Richards rose to fame following his debut in Billy Crystal’s cable television show.

Alongside Larry David, he was a cast member and writer of ABC’s television show titled “Friday.”

In 1989, he played Janitor Stanley Spadowski in “Weird AI,” a comedy film directed by Weird Al Yankovic.

Michael also appeared in “Miami Vice,” “St. Elsewhere,” “Cheers,” and several other guest appearances.

In 1989 he was cast as Cosmo Kramer in “Seinfeld,” an NBC TV series, which Larry David and comedian Jerry Seinfeld created.

Despite a rocky start, by the mid-1990s, the show soon established itself as one of the most successful sitcoms of the era.

The series ran for nine years and ended in 1998 at No.1 in the Nielsen ratings.

Michael took home more awards than any other cast member on Seinfeld, and he was awarded for Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series in 1993, 1995, and 1997.

Starting in 2004, he and his fellow Seinfeld cast members provided interviews and audio commentaries for the Seinfeld DVDs, but he stopped providing audio commentary after Season 5, though he continued to give interviews.

After the end of Seinfeld, in 2000, he began working on a series for NBC, “The Michael Richards Show,” which consisted of comedy/mystery starring Michael as a private investigator. He received credits for co-writing and co-executive production.

The first plot failed with test audiences; NBC ordered the show to be retooled into a more conventional sitcom before its premiere. Instead, the show was canceled after a few more weeks of low viewership and scathing reviews.

Michael Richards Today

Then, on November 17, 2006, at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, California, during a performance, In reaction to interruptions and side conversations from a small group of black audience members, Michael went on a racist rant.

He was overheard referring to them as “nigger” and making analogies to lynching and the Jim Crow era several times.

The whole incident didn’t go well with the black audience who videoed the entire incident. But, after a while, the public got wind of it, and it soon became a trending topic.

Several TV shows mocked the incident, including Mad TV, Family Guy, South Park, Extras, and Monday Night Raw.

Michael Richards Apology

Three days after the outburst, the actor made a public apology on the “Late Show” with David Letterman. According to Michael, he isn’t a racist and was sorry for the “crap,” he said.

Michael also had a cameo appearance in the comedic horror film “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” He voiced Chair Bud Ditchwater in the animated feature “Bee Movie.”

He also portrayed Frank in the sitcom “Kirstie,” which costarred Kirstie Alley and Rhea Perlman and was canceled after one season.

Michael Richards wife

In 1974, Richards got married to Cathleen Lyons, a family therapist. The marriage lasted 18 years before they separated in 1992; together, they have a child, Sophie, born in 1975.

He started dating Beth Skipp in 2002 and got married to her in 2010, and they have been together since then. They both have one son.