Michael Richards, a two-time Emmy winner (Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series) for his performance as off-the-wall Kramer on "Seinfeld," grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and earned a degree in theater from the California Institute of the Arts. Upon graduating, he appeared in several productions with the San Diego Repertory Company.
With a lifelong interest in comedy, Richards decided in 1979 to perform stand-up routines, and he appeared nightly for nine months at such Hollywood venues as The Comedy Store and The Improvisation until Billy Crystal gave him his first "paying job," on "The Billy Crystal Special." He spent the next two-and-a-half years on the late-night comedy series "Fridays."
Richards has begun to parlay his popularity into a string of feature-film roles. He recently starred in "Trial and Error" opposite Jeff Daniels. He has also appeared in "Unstrung Heroes" with Andie MacDowell and John Turturro.
His additional feature-film credits include "Airheads," "So I Married an Axe Murderer," "Coneheads," "Problem Child" and "Young Doctors in Love." Last season, he also starred in the NBC television movie "London Suite."
Richards lives in Los Angeles. His birthday is August 24.
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