Jerry Seinfeld Reveals George Costanza’s Classic Golf Ball Story Almost Didn’t Happen

One of the most memorable scenes from “Seinfeld” almost didn’t happen.

In a recent interview, Jerry Seinfeld shared interesting facts about a season five episode, “The Marine Biologist.”

The episode concludes with a long, funny speech given by George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander.

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The speech he gives tells the story of how he saved a dying beached whale after Diane, a woman he was dating who was under the impression he was a marine biologist and qualified to help, sent him into the ocean.

The speech, which includes many memorable lines from “Seinfeld” such as “I was a marine biologist at the time,” “The sea was angry that day, my friends” and “I said easy, big fella,” was a last-minute addition. , Seinfeld revealed in a recent interview.

“I don’t know the schedule that week, but let’s say we’re filming it on Wednesday. It’s Tuesday,” Seinfeld said during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “We don’t have the golf ball that goes into the whale’s blowhole. We don’t have it, it was never in the script.”

Jerry Seinfeld revealed in a recent interview that Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza, only had half an hour to memorize the long speech. (George Lange/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Different plot points in that specific episode of the show include Jerry telling Diane that George was a marine biologist, Kramer throwing golf balls into the ocean on the beach, and George and Diane taking a walk on the beach and encountering a crowd. observing a dying whale. in water.

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“It was the night before we filmed the scene with Jason in the diner,” Seinfeld recalled. “I told Larry [co-writer], ‘Hey, what if what endangers the whale is Kramer’s golf ball?’ He is playing golf balls on the beach. George is walking on the beach with the girl. We have not connected them. We didn’t see any connection the night before. We wrote that speech the night before. Two o’clock in the morning.

“We show up the next day. We give Jason, who’s a fucking genius, we give Jason that speech. How long is that speech? It’s a page, two pages.”

He recalled telling Alexander he had half an hour to memorize the speech, which Alexander said was “no problem.”

The speech, which almost didn’t happen, ended up being the most memorable of the episode and an all-time favorite among “Seinfeld” fans. Alexander was able to deliver the long speech in one take, eliciting laughter from the live audience watching the story unfold.

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“When Jason is giving the speech, in this shot, there is a cut in my eyes. My eyebrows, I’m looking at him. You think I’m reacting to the story. I’m reacting. ‘I can’t.’ I think he’s understanding this word perfectly. speech. That’s what I’m thinking,” Seinfeld said.

The memorable scene occurs in the cafe that serves as a frequent meeting place for the “Seinfeld” friends. (James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images)

“I’m not even in the scene. I’m not acting. I’m just watching Jason give the speech in front of a live audience. Okay, it’s not a movie. In the movies, in movies, you screw it up and we’ll do it again.” “On TV, this live audience will hear this speech for the first time. So, you want those juicy laughs. They’re hearing these jokes for the first time, and that’s perfect why I have that look on my face in that scene.”

The comedy of the scene does not end with George’s speech. At the end, when he shares that he pulled a golf ball out of the whale’s blowhole, Jerry instantly looks at Kramer (Michael Richards), knowing that it was his golf ball that was stuck in the whale’s blowhole.

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Richards utters the hilarious line, “What is that, a Titleist?” when he sees the golf ball.

Seinfeld said during the recent interview that they had to wait the morning of filming to get the company’s approval to use the golf brand’s name in the episode.