Here's the inspiration behind Kramer on Seinfeld and why his name initially changed. One of the four main characters on the classic sitcom, Kramer was Jerry's eccentric neighbor for the show's entire run. Kramer quickly became a fan-favorite, and Michael Richards earned much acclaim for his portrayal. During his time on Seinfeld, Richards took home three Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, among many other accolades.
It's no secret that when making Seinfeld, co-creator Larry David and the team drew from their own experiences to serve as inspiration for episodes and characters. For instance, David based George Costanza on himself. Kramer also had real-world influences, which actually caused a bit of commotion behind-the-scenes and (briefly) caused Kramer to go by a different name on the show.
When Seinfeld launched, David based Kramer on his one-time neighbor Kenny Kramer. However, at first, David wasn't allowed to use the name Kramer, because Kenny wouldn't let him. He only wanted a Kramer to be on the sitcom if he could play Kramer (which obviously did not happen). As a result, Kramer's name was changed to Kessler for Seinfeld's pilot episode, "The Seinfeld Chronicles." It wasn't until Kenny was paid $1,000 for the use of his name that Kessler became Kramer. The Kessler inconsistency was addressed in the season 9 episode "The Betrayal," which showed Jerry and Kramer's first meeting.
David actually worked this conflict into Seinfeld season 4, as part of the show-within-a-show arc that saw Jerry and George create a sitcom for NBC. On Seinfeld, Jerry wanted to base a character on his neighbor, but Kramer would only allow it if he got to play Kramer. He even auditioned for the role. The bit is an amusing illustration of Seinfeld's brand of humor and how the creative team constantly looked to their reality to fuel fiction on TV. In the wrong hands, the Jerry storyline could have become too meta for its own good, but it all works regardless if viewers are familiar with Seinfeld's origins or not. Those who know the behind-the-scenes trivia get a little more out of it.
Interestingly enough, Richards made a point to not base his performance on the real Kramer. The two didn't even meet, perhaps out of Richards' desire to not subconsciously bring any of Kenny into the show. It's hard to argue with the results, since Richards' Kramer went on to become one of the most beloved comedy characters of all-time. Kenny used Seinfeld's popularity to his advantage and launched the "Kramer Reality Tour" in New York that took people to locations seen in Seinfeld. In an amusing meta twist, the "Kramer Reality Tour" spawned Seinfeld's "Peterman Reality Tour" for the season 8 episode "The Muffin Tops," where Kramer's memoirs were used in the J. Peterman catalog.
Seinfeld is now streaming on Netflix.
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