Here's why Elaine Benes' father only appeared on one Seinfeld episode. During Seinfeld's nine-season run, a staple of the sitcom was its impressive roster of guest stars and recurring characters, some of whom became as iconic as Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine. Among the most memorable were Jerry and George's parents - Morty & Helen Seinfeld, and Frank & Estelle Costanza. Despite being featured in only a fraction of the show's total number of episodes, these four became integral parts of the series. It's hard to imagine Seinfeld without them.
The Seinfeld crew intended to have another recurring parent on the show: Alton Benes, father of Elaine. He was introduced in the season 2 episode "The Jacket," and was played by Lawrence Tierney. Even though the episode was well-received and Tierney earned praise for his performance, Alton was never brought back again. At first glance, this seems like a missed opportunity, but there's actually a very good reason why Alton was one-and-done.
Tierney is best known for his intimidating screen presence, bringing a gruff and cold demeanor to his characters. That is what made him the perfect choice for Alton, who spends "The Jacket" terrifying Jerry and George. However, this was an instance of art imitating life, as the Seinfeld cast was legitimately scared of Tierney. Even though everyone involved with "The Jacket" recognized how great Alton was, those feelings about Tierney influenced the decision to never have him return.
There was a rather disturbing incident involving Tierney behind-the-scenes, when it was discovered he stole one of the kitchen knives from Jerry's apartment set. Seinfeld confronted Tierney about the theft, leading Tierney to try to play it off as a joke and mockingly reenact the classic Psycho stabbing scene with Seinfeld. That, understandably, scared the Seinfeld cast and crew to the point where everyone just felt safer if Tierney wasn't a recurring guest star. Seinfeld director Tom Cherones joked Larry David would threaten to bring Tierney back if "I wasn't good."
Seinfeld could have recast Alton. There's actually precedent for this; Phil Burns played Morty Seinfeld before being replaced by Barney Martin, and John Randolph was Frank Costanza before Jerry Stiller. There's no reason given for why the show didn't go this route with Alton. It could be because Tierney left such an impression, it would be difficult to see anyone else in that role. While Burns and Randolph did a good job with the material they were given, they didn't earn the raves Tierney did. So, the Seinfeld crew felt it was for the best to just write Alton out of the show completely.
Seinfeld is now streaming on Netflix.
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