Newman/Numa

This may be an old question, but here goes. I know that during the JFK parody in the Keith Hernandez episode, they deliberately had Wayne Knight (Newman) playing the same part that he had played in the final courtroom scene in JFK. What I'm wondering, though, is whether the similarity between his two characters' names was also deliberate. In JFK, his character's name is Numa, very similar to Newman. Now, assuming it can't be a coincidence, which came first? Did he play in JFK first, and then start playing Newman on Seinfeld? Or was he already playing Newman when he was cast in JFK? If the latter is true, did Oliver Stone actually name the character Numa as a reference to a small recurring role that Wayne Knight had on a sitcom, which wasn't even very successful at the time (1991)?

If this is already covered in an FAQ, please refer me to it. I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks.

Emile

Wayne Knight played in JFK first, which was released in 1991.

The character of "Newman" was created about the same time, first featured in the twelfth Seinfeld episode, "The Revenge", originally airing on April 18, 1991. However, it was an offscreen role voiced by co-creator, Larry David. Wayne Knight didn't take over the role until episode 32, "The Suicide", which originaly aired on January 29, 1992. He later redubbed David's lines in "The Revenge" for syndication.

Sounds to me like it's just a coincidence.

I'm quite certain that Numa was the original name of that guy...since it's all based on a true story meaning the majority of facts are there just the emphasis might be altered and so forth. So newman and numa was just a HUGE coincidence.

On Thu, 26 Dec 2002 07:17:27 GMT, 13erla wrote:

Or maybe just a medium coincidence..