‘Seinfeld’ Star Michael Richards Reveals Past Battle With Prostate Cancer

Daniel Kreps
·2 min read
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Michael Richards - Credit: John McCoy/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
Michael Richards - Credit: John McCoy/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Seinfeld actor Michael Richards reveals in a new interview that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago and that he underwent surgery to remove it before it inevitably turned deadly.

Speaking to People ahead of the publication of his memoir Entrances and Exits, Richards said he was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in 2018 following a routine checkup.

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“I thought. well, this is my time. I’m ready to go,” the actor who famously portrayed Kramer on Seinfeld said of the diagnosis. “But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later, and I heard myself saying, ‘I’ve got a 9-year-old, and I’d like to be around for him. Is there any way I can get a little more life going?’”

While most cases of prostate cancer are manageable with increased monitoring and treatment, a biopsy revealed a more aggressive form that required surgery, which his doctor also recommended, People reports.

“It had to be contained quickly,” Richards added. “I had to go for the full surgery. If I hadn’t, I probably would have been dead in about eight months.”

Outside of a role on a season of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2009 — where he both played himself and reprised Kramer — and a few sporadic TV appearances, Richards has kept largely kept out of the spotlight since his infamous 2006 incident at a comedy club where he was filmed hurling racial slurs.

“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,” Richards told People of the incident while adding, at the age of 74, “I’m not looking for a comeback.”

Instead, Richards focused on his memoirs, which are comprised of over 40 journals he kept over the past few decades. Entrances and Exits, out June 4, also includes a foreword by his former co-star Jerry Seinfeld.

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