"Costanza Confusion"

What's in a name? Curious about "Costanza"--is it Italian--which sounds logical to me--or Jewish? Anybody out there know for sure? Jude

Don Hedgelon wrote:

I think it is pretty clear it is Italian. Frank Costanza says he came from Tuscany and his cousin(?) still lived there. But that in itself does not mean it also can't be a Jewish name. Ever see the movie: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis? It is about the Jewish family in Italy just when the fascists take over before WWII. So 'Italian names' can also be 'Jewish names'. However most of us agree Frank is Catholic not Jewish. Estelle might be Jewish.

I can say for a fact that the name Costanza is Italian...my aunt's family (by marriage, though she and my uncle never were married...) has the last name of Costanza...finny story, the guy who was Jerry's best friend (who's name was Costanza...he sued Jerry not to long ago for using his last name) is my aunt's cousin...weird I know...

why would his best friend sue him?

<<Re: "Costanza Confusion" finny story, the guy who was Jerry's best friend (who's name was Costanza...he sued Jerry not to long ago for using his last name) is my aunt's cousin...weird I know...

why would his best friend sue him? >>

I think I've heard about this before. I believe the key phrase is "guy who WAS Jerry's best friend". I think he felt he should've gotten compensation from Jerry using him to base a character on. All he could really do was sue over the use of his name without permission. Jeremy

http://152.52.15.131/1998-10-27/News_and_Views/Scandal_Sheet/a-9179.asp This article from the NY Daily News includes a paragraph at the end:

"He's a flagrant opportunist," [Larry] David said of Mike Costanza when the book was published. "He knew Jerry for less than one year. His only semblance of a connection to the show is that Jerry happened to remember his last name from college."

This is a flat out lie on Larry David's part, as evidenced by the numerous photos in Mike Costanza's book. They may not have been the best friends in the world, but they definitely were close, and for much longer than the 'less than one year' that David mentioned.

http://mich.live.advance.net/seinfeld/stories/19980505seinfeld.html A "Michigan Live" article on the lawsuit. Of note are the following quotes:

MIke Costanza, about his book: "It reveals in detail what it was like to hang out at my house during our college days, to double-date, to go to Yankee games, to the laundromat, Chinese restaurants, and the beginning of Jerry's career in stand-up."

Elizabeth Clark, Larry David's publicist: "The only semblance of a connection he has to the show is that Jerry happened to remember his name from college." Sounds familiar, right? It's a party line. And it's not true.

http://www.eonline.net/News/Items/0,1,3809,00.html An EOnline article that includes some similarities between Mike and George:

Both attended Queens College with Jerry Both are bald and stocky. Both have hangups about bathrooms and parking spaces. Both had high school gym teachers that called them "Can't-Stand-Ya."

The article also includes this quote:

Says Castle Rock President Glenn Padnick: "George is modeled 100 percent on Larry. I believe Larry has never met Michael Costanza. This is incredible."

I found it interesting how the spin doctors wanted to distance Mike Costanza from anything to do with the show, but this doesn't explain why Jerry actually invited Mike out to LA to see a taping in 1992, and he even found "the real George" a part in the episode. He played the truck driver who made George and Mike move their cars in "The Parking Spot". Does this sound like someone Jerry knew, or did he really just "happen to remember his name"?

http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/todays_stories/981027/costanza102798.html This article goes into the reasons for the suit. Namely, how Mike has suffered because they portayed his namesake character in such a "negative light".

Ok, having made my position clear, I have no idea how the lawsuit turned out. It may have been dropped, it may be pending, I don't know. While I feel $100 million is extremely excessive, I don't see why a small settlement, maybe a million, would hurt a few guys who, combined, are nearly billionaires.

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Okay...Now I'm glad I mentioned my aunt's cousin, Mike Costanza...

Can you believe this though, fans of Seinfeld actually called my aunt's parents house (I've met them, no they're not my grandparents because this aunt is my mother's sister's husbands wife, even though they never got married, but they had three kids together...okay, I'm done sharing my family history...) and yelled at them because they knew that they were related to the man who was suing Jerry...

I remember when the subject first came up in this newsgroup. Everybody defended Jerry and Larry from "that asshole who's only trying to cash in on his last name". very few of us actually did some research and, as a result, I was about the only one who defended Mike. Hey I love Seinfeld as much as, if not more than, most other fans, but I'm not blind and I'm not stupid either.

I've even 'spoken' to Mike through his publisher, WordWise, and he
seemed like a very likeable guy.  If you find yourself in communication
with him, please tell him 'Ratboy/Dave from the Internet' says Hi.
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Okay it's settled, George is a dago-jew.

B.H.

Joemovie wrote in message ...

(by

of

aunt's

Actually, you've settled one thing, and it's not George's ethnic or religious background.

You've settled nicely in my killfile.
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[email] (Joemovie) wrote:

Maybe Jerry carried insurance to cover this type of liability, but the carrier is reluctant to pay unless legal responsibility is established in court.

The Costanza's are Italian Jews. It has been made clear in episodes that George is both Jewish and of Italian decent. Why does it have to be one or the other?

Alan Maier wrote:

I agree it does not have to be one or the other. Some Italian Jews did escape the holocaust. But what episodes, do you think, made it clear George was Jewish?

In the Bris there's a lot of talk about circumcision, and George, when asked if he's ever seen one that wasn't, says he once saw one back in college - on his roomate, and I figure his own would count if it wasn't. So his probably is, right?

/supersalad

Hey, I'm not Jewish....and last time I checked I was circumcised...I think they just do it in the hospital to other people...Jewish people make a whole event out of it (what a thing to celebrate)...

It's no longer a "Jewish" thing, it's grown into a cleanliness and hygeine thing.

"Bris Milah", ritual circumcision, is one of the most fundamental precepts of the Jewish religion. It is referred to in the Torah as The Covenant of our forefather Abraham, since he was the first to receive the commandment concerning circumcision from God. "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations." (Genesis 17:12)

More than any other Jewish ritual, Bris Milah is an expression of Jewish identity.

And it's certainly no more strange, and no less significant, than a
Baptismal.
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Dave wrote:

It is also losing popularity, as more and more people are coming around to the belief that it is unnecessary.

Hmm, this must be an "American" thing then, cause I'm from Sweden and I've never seen one that was, not saying I've seen a lot, not that there's anything wrong with that.

So I guess that means that ones that are would be the alien ones to you, unlike us to whom ones that are not seem weird...didn't Elaine said they have no personality or something...

It just seems right to me....it's healthy, painful I'm sure, but it's safer never the less...

Okay...are we done talking about...you know...

unlike

• one of us live in the bizarro world, can't really tell which one...

I think

In which episodes has it been made clear that George is Jewish?
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Alan Maier wrote in message news:[email]...

It has been made clear that at least Frank is of Italian descent in episodes such as "The Doll" but the Jewish connection is less certain because it has never been officially established in the series. We know that Kramer and Elaine are not jewish because it has been clearly established in "The Fatigues" . That episode also supports the theory that Frank may be catholic because of his afiliation with The Knights of Columbus a well known catholic organization. That really is the only problem with the question is the lack of solid evidence within the 9 years of shows . We do not have anywhere in the show a quote that has George or Frank & Estelle saying "I'm Jewish!!" Only some vague and sometimes conflicting implications.

Mo

I must say, I did think that Jerry and George were together, on the same side of the booth in the restaurant, when they were talking to Elaine about the ways of Jews vs. gentiles. i can't remember what episode...