Yadda! Yadda! Yadda! Krammer Runs for Mayor

June 26, 2001 — -- The guy who inspired Seinfeld's Kramer character wants to be a whole lot more than the master of his own domain. He's running for mayor of New York.

Before you completely laugh off Kenny Kramer, I have two words for you: Jesse Ventura.

"I've been inspired," Kramer told The Wolf Files Monday at Yankee Stadium, where he was spreading the word about his run for office as the Libertarian candidate. "If a wrestler can become governor of Minnesota, why can't I become mayor of New York?"

Indeed, New Yorkers will most certainly have the "Kramer option" when they step into the voting booth. At a statewide convention in April, Kramer won the Libertarian nod by a 20-to-5 margin, running against "None of the Above."

"I'm glad I pulled it out," says Kramer. "Imagine if I lost and had to call up 'None of the Above' to make a concession speech?"

Living Off Electric Disco Jewelry

Up to now, Kenny Kramer's celebrity was largely based on living next door to Seinfeld co-creator Larry David in New York's Hell's Kitchen. It was there that David and Jerry Seinfeld conceived of the blockbuster sitcom.

Kramer bears more than a slight resemblance to his TV alter ego — the bumbling slacker who glides through life without a job, free to chase his various obsessions — whether it be building a Jacuzzi in his bedroom or writing a coffee table book about coffee tables.

The real Kramer is a 58-year-old Bronx native who has supported himself at points as a purveyor of glow-in-the-dark disco jewelry, a voice-over artist for X-rated CD-ROMs, and a standup comic.

"That electric jewelry lasted years after disco died. I built a little nest egg there," Kramer says. "Unlike the TV Kramer, my harebrained schemes work."

With great presence of mind, Kramer trademarked his name. While he didn't make a dime off the show, he makes a living marketing himself. He's got books, T-shirts — and a "reality" bus tour through Seinfeld's New York. If you must see the cranky chef better known to TV viewers as "The Soup Nazi," Kramer is your man.