Genre: Information/Explanation

After Seinfeld ended, Richards performed stand-up comedy. After inciting media furor for losing his temper and repeatedly shouting " nigger " at an African American heckler in late 2006, [ 1 ] Richards announced his retirement from stand-up in 2007. Richards appeared as himself in the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2009, acting alongside his fellow cast members for the first time since Seinfeld' s finale . Richards got his big TV break in 1979, appearing in Billy Crystal 's first cable TV special. In 1980, he began as one of the cast members on ABC's Fridays television show, where Larry David was a writer. This included a famous instance in which guest Andy Kaufman refused to deliver his scripted lines, leading Richards to bring the cue cards on screen to Kaufman, causing him to throw his drink into Richards's face before a small riot ensued (Richards later claimed he was in on the joke). [ 8 ] The film Man on the Moon featured a re-enactment of the Andy Kaufman incident in which Richards was portrayed by actor Norm Macdonald (although he is never referred to by name so he could be seen as a composite character taking the place of Richards). He was also famous for a brief sketch that he did on the show, during which he simply improvised with a large pile of dirt and some army toys. In 1989, Richards had a supporting role in "Weird Al" Yankovic 's comedy film UHF as janitor Stanley Spadowski. On television, Richards also appeared in Miami Vice (as an unscrupulous bookie ), Cheers (as a character trying to collect on an old bet with Sam Malone ), and made several guest appearances with Jay Leno as an accident-prone fitness expert. Richards won more Emmys than any other cast member on Seinfeld . He took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1993, 1994 and 1997. Starting in 2004, he and his fellow Seinfeld cast members provided interviews and audio commentaries for the Seinfeld DVDs, but Richards stopped providing audio commentary after Season 5 though he continued to provide interviews. In 2000, after the end of Seinfeld , Richards began work on a new series for NBC, his first major project since Seinfeld' s finale. The Michael Richards Show , for which the actor received co-writer and co- executive producer credits, was originally conceived as a comedy/mystery starring Richards as a bumbling private investigator. However, after the first pilot failed with test audiences, NBC ordered that the show be retooled into a more conventional, office-based sitcom before its premiere. After a few weeks of poor ratings and negative reviews, it was cancelled. During a November 17, 2006 performance at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, California , Richards shouted a racially charged response to black hecklers in the audience, shouting "He's a nigger !" several times and referring to lynching . [ 1 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Kyle Doss, a member of the group Richards addressed, said that the group had arrived in the middle of the performance, going on to explain: [H]ere's what happened. As we walked in, we sat down and started ordering drinks. And, as we ordered drinks, I guess we're being a little loud, because there was 20 of us ordering drinks. And he said, "Look at the stupid Mexicans and blacks being loud up there." That's the first thing he said. And then he kept on with his bit. And, then, after a while, I told him, "My friend doesn't think you're funny." And then when I told him that, that's when he flipped me off and said, "F-you N-word." And that's how it all started. Richards made a public apology via TV on the Late Show with David Letterman , when Jerry Seinfeld was the guest, saying, "For me to be at a comedy club and to flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry. I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this." [ 15 ] The audience seemed confused and were laughing during his explanation because he appeared to be in his Kramer character. At one point, Seinfeld told the audience "Stop laughing, it's not funny." Richards said that he had been trying to defuse heckling by being even more outrageous, but that it had backfired. Richards later called civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to apologize. [ 14 ] [ 16 ] He also appeared as a guest on Jackson's syndicated radio show. [ 17 ] Richards was married for 18 years to Cathleen Lyons, a family therapist. They have one daughter, Sophia, and divorced in 1992. [ 5 ] In July 2007, Richards announced his retirement from stand-up comedy. He further announced plans to travel to Cambodia with his fiancée and visit Angkor Wat for "spiritual healing" purposes on a tour sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Nithyananda Foundation. [ 21 ]