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Real-life Kramer slaps comedian with lawsuit

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January 2, 2014

Kenny Kramer, whom “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David modeled “Seinfeld” character “Cosmo” Kramer after, has slapped writer-actor Fred Stoller with a lawsuit in connection to Stoller’s depiction of him as a gay bashing professional in his recently published memoir.

“The real-life inspiration for … Cosmo Kramer slapped a fellow comedian with a $1 million defamation lawsuit for portraying him as a gay-bashing hack,” the New York Post said, in a Dec. 30 article.

Stoller’s memoir, “Maybe We'll Have You Back: The Life of a Perennial TV Guest Star,” was published last April.

A stand-up comedian and character actor, Stoller was a writer on two episodes of “Seinfeld,” including “The Face Painter” and “Soup.” His successful e-book, “My Seinfeld Year,” was released in 2012.

Meanwhile, just like Jerry’s next-door neighbor, Kramer, the real version, is a jack of all trades. He runs Kramer’s Reality Tour,” a multi-media tour of New York City and is a fully licensed minister who officiates at weddings, according to his website, kennykramer.com.

It is Kramer's reality tour that is the point of contention in the lawsuit. In his memoir, Stoller “accuses Kramer’s tour guides of taunting gay people in Greenwich Village,” the Post reported the lawsuit as saying.

The article states that the suit was filed around the holidays.

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