Brady's Bits

When starting a network series, Jason Alexander knows how important timing is: “Bob Patterson [his follow-up to Seinfeld] went on right after 9/11,” said Jason. “The characters were smug and sarcastic, and no one was up for that kind of humor just then.” Wasn’t there some sort of curse that followed the cast after Seinfeld ended? “I would acknowledge it if none of us ever worked again,” replied Jason. “But we all do. We just couldn’t launch a successor series like Seinfeld. We tried. They just didn’t work.” Today, Jason and his wife, Daena—a very successful painter—live in L.A. with their two sons and dog Sandy. “I miss New York,” he said. “But I’m afraid California is permanent for us. In the second season of Seinfeld, we got pregnant and thought, ‘So, we’re putting down roots.’ The problem is, if I went back East, I’d be working on Broadway, with kids growing up. That’s no life. You’d never see them. But sitcoms have one of the best ‘daddy’ schedules: I’m home every night for dinner.”

Long considered the best pure comedian of Seinfeld’s extraordinary ensemble cast, Tony Award-winner Jason Alexander will soon be wrapping up the first season of his new Monday-night sitcom, Listen Up. The show centers around a sportswriter named Tony Kleinman and his family. Had Jason followed the writing of Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post, the real-life model for his character? “I didn’t know Tony at all,” said Jason. “I’m really a sports idiot. I don’t have a sport or a team. Eventually we met, and now I’m a fan of his writing.”How did Listen Up come about? “They contacted me about it,” said Jason, “but I was onstage in The Producers with Martin Short in L.A. I was wishy-washy, but my wife and my friends urged me to take it. Listen, doing a new show is always chancy. There are no guarantees.” The versatile actor seems to stay busy. Scholastic will be publishing his children’s book Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy? this June. And last year he traveled to Hungary to shoot NBC’s A Christmas Carol with Kelsey Grammer. “Because Frasier and Seinfeld were competing hits, I didn’t really know Kelsey,” said Jason. “He’s a great guy.” I asked how he landed the role of George Costanza, which earned him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. “Rob Reiner had seen me in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” said Jason about the musical that won him a Tony for Best Actor. “He suggested my name. So they asked me to put a reading on tape. The script struck me as being very ‘Woody Allen,’ so I bought a pair of glasses and put on a strong New York accent. Jerry’s best friend was also up for the role, so I was sure I wouldn’t get it—but they called me.” Was it true that George was based on Seinfeld creator Larry David, now starring in his own hit show, Curb Your Enthusiasm? “Not at first,” Jason said. “But once they gave me a scene that was preposterous, and I went to Larry. I said, ‘Look, I can’t play this. This could never happen.’ And he said, ‘But it did. That’s me. That happened to me.’”

Personal
Born Sept. 23, 1959, in Newark, N.J. Married to Daena Title since 1981; two sons, Gabriel, 13, and Noah, 9.

Television
Includes Seinfeld, 1989-98; Bob Patterson, 2001; A Christmas Carol, 2004; Listen Up, 2004–.

Films
Include The Burning, 1981; Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1986; Pretty Woman, 1990; For Better or for Worse, 1995; The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, 2000; Shallow Hal, 2001; How To Go Out on a Date in Queens, 2003.

Theater
Includes Merrily We Roll Along, 1981; The Rink, 1984; Broadway Bound, 1986; Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, 1989; Love! Valour! Compassion!, 1997; The Producers, 2003.