GEORGE COSTANZA: JEW OR NOT JEW???
We were having an argument if George Costanza from Seinfeld is Jewish or not. I say he was, and Rosenberg says he’s Italian. Here is what I found about this very sensitive topic.
Co… stanza.
To say that you can count on one hand the number of good sitcoms of the last 15 years is an understatement; one finger is more than enough. But we will not sing the praises of “Seinfeld”, a sitcom created by Jews and starring Jews, we will sing the praises of its most likable and, at the same time, hateable character.
Co… stanza.
George Costanza’s ethnicity wasn’t exactly covert; his last name and his father were Italian. The mother, however, couldn’t be anything but Jewish, according to the show’s creators.
And honestly, could George himself be anything but Jewish? Jason Alexander originally played his character as a take on Woody Allen. He later found out that co-creator Larry David wrote the character based on himself, so as the seasons went on, George became less Woody and more Larry… Trading one Jew for another. In fact, even with George’s last name, one would be hard pressed to find a more stereotypical fictional Jew on television; neurotic, self-obsessed, besieged by his mother…
And a big fan of pastrami sandwiches.
Co… stanza.
Verdict: Borderline Jew.
According to Jewish law, one’s status as a Jew is matrilineal, that is, if your mother’s Jewish you’re Jewish.
SH - January 6, 2009 at 1:11 pm |
One is Jewish matrilinealy ONLY if that person is not baptized or raised in another faith! Having a Jewish mother does NOT necessarily make one Jewish. One can be considered ethnically part Jewish by either parent.
alan p friedman - September 11, 2010 at 4:58 pm |
Technically he converted to Latvian Orthodox but I don’t think they ever said what he was converting from….
http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheConversion.htm
Rob - January 6, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
Ciph,
George’s father (Frank) mentions that he was born in Tuscany, Italy and moved to the US when he was 4 years old in the episode with the Maestro. In another episode, George mentions that at one time his father sold figures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
I’d say, if anything, he might be half-Jewish because we never were told the religion of his mother.
PEACE!
ib2quik2c - January 6, 2009 at 2:18 pm |
I say the parents are definitely Jewish. Why else would they have moved down to Florida in that one episode?
Ivan - January 6, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
his pops was italian & moms was jewish
ill@will - January 6, 2009 at 4:37 pm |
This is weird. I was just thinking about this yesterday.
Emilio - January 6, 2009 at 6:11 pm |
lol @ rob’s post – I totally forgot about that episode when he converted to Latvian Orthodox.
hozak - January 6, 2009 at 8:37 pm |
George celebrates Festivus, not Hanukkah.
Wenzel Dashington - January 6, 2009 at 11:06 pm |
many gems of truth are being dropped here
gullyside - January 7, 2009 at 12:54 am |
A lot of good points…+ add to the fact that George was the character based on the experiences of Larry David who is Jewish
Sindanu - January 7, 2009 at 9:26 am |
I think you’re both right. He is Larry David in Seinfeld form so he is clearly a Jew-Tang.
Marvin The Martian - January 7, 2009 at 12:30 pm |
This profile was taken from this website:
http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=19
Bob Banks - January 8, 2009 at 11:26 am |
What about the episode where his father cooks for the Single Jewish meet and greet. He made dishes that only other Jewish people would know. The real question is what was Elaine?
Kirby - March 8, 2009 at 2:43 am |
Technically, George is Italian – both parents are supposed to be from the same ethnic-culture. The character was originally based on a friend of Seinfeld by that name. However, the character becomes Larry David over time and the writers often forget. Thus you will find episodes where they appear catholic and others where they appear Jewish. Sitcoms are written by teams of writers that change over the years so consistency is rarely found in any of them.
Kathy - November 13, 2009 at 1:12 am |
My bet w/ an attorney/spinner was that many jewish actors play roles as Italians, such as Peter Falk-Columbo, Estelle Getty-Sophia Petrillo, James Caan- Sonny Corleone, Henry Winkler- Arthur Fonzarella, Phil Foster-Frank DeFazio, Abe Vigoda- Sal Tessio,Jamie lynn Sigler- Meadow Soprano, Jason Alexander-George Costanza.. Are aany of these not Italian portrayals??
Joe Lazaro - December 3, 2009 at 4:40 pm |