Jerry Seinfeld on Monday thanked Rob Reiner for preventing the quick cancellation of “Seinfeld” (1989-98), the sitcom that skyrocketed the comedian to fame.
In an Instagram tribute to the iconic director and actor after he and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their home, Seinfeld shared a photo with Reiner and his father, Carl Reiner.
“Next to [“Seinfeld” co-creator] Larry David and [talent manager] George Shapiro, Rob Reiner had the biggest influence on my career,” Seinfeld wrote. “Our show would have never happened without him. He saw something no one else could. When nobody at the network liked the early episodes, he saved us from cancellation.”
“That I was working with Carl Reiner’s son, who happened to be one of the kindest people in show business, seemed unreal,” the comic continued. “I was naive at the time to how much his passion for us meant.”
In a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, Reiner, who cofounded the Castle Rock production company behind “Seinfeld,” recalled begging NBC honcho Brandon Tartikoff not to relegate the show to the dustbin of TV history.
