‘Seinfeld’ Star Michael Richards Breaks Social Media Absence to Pay Tribute to Jerry Stiller

Seinfeld star Michael Richards finally joined Instagram Wednesday to pay tribute to Jerry Stiller, the beloved comedian who died on Monday at age 92. Stiller and Richards, who played Kramer, had dozens of memorable scenes together on Seinfeld, which featured Stiller as George Costanza’s father Frank. Stiller’s death was announced by his son, actor Ben Stiller.

“Until today, I have avoided social media completely, but I’ve created this account in order to say something, belatedly, about a person I loved,” Richards wrote. “Jerry Stiller was an absolute treasure. I adored him and loved working with him on Seinfeld. Watch the pool table scene — that says it all – we could really shoot the ball back and forth and that’s what happened between us throughout the series. He was hilarious and a great friend. He’s a legendary showman and he was always an inspiration to me.”

Richards included a link to the scene he referenced in his bio. The scene was in “The Doll,” and features the two trying to play pool in a very tiny room. As of this writing, Richards only has 127 followers. He is only following three famous people, his Seinfeld co-stars Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Richards has been out of the public eye for more than a decade, following his racist rant at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood in 2006. Since then, he has retired from stand-up comedy and has only made a handful of acting appearances on television. In 2012, he appeared in Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee with Seinfeld, in which he said he was still haunted by the 2006 rant.

Stiller starred as Frank Costanza in 26 episodes of Seinfeld and starred as Arthur Spooner in The King of Queens. Stiller formed one-half of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, who died in 2015. He also collaborated with his son, Ben Stiller, appearing in Zoolander, Zoolander 2, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit and The Heartbreak Kid. After news of Stiller’s death broke, his Seinfeld co-stars paid tribute on social media.

“Jerry Stiller forever shattered that foolish caution about working with those you admire,” Alexander, who played George Costanza, wrote in a heartbreaking op-ed for the New York Times. “He became so much more than the person I had known as a fan. He became a beloved colleague and a dearly admired friend. I was honored that he asked me to be his roastmaster during his Friar’s Club roast. I was thrilled that he asked me to speak as he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Every backstage visit, every holiday and birthday correspondence and every occasional chance to catch up on the phone was a warm, delicious treat. I know I can say on behalf of all who worked with him over his long career that we adored him.”