Best Known As: Television Actor

Gist:  Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld.

Richards began his career as a stand up comedian, first stepping into a national spotlight when he was featured on Billy Crystal's first cable TV special. He went on to become a series regular on ABC's Fridays. Prior to Seinfeld, he made numerous guest appearances on a variety of television shows including Cheers, Mad About You, Night Court, Miami Vice and St. Elsewhere. His film credits include So I Married an Axe Murderer, Airheads, Problem Child, and UHF. After Seinfeld, Richards starred in his own sitcom, The Michael Richards Show, which lasted less than one season. After his series was canceled, he returned to his roots in stand up comedy.





Life Facts:  Richards was born in Culver City, California, the son of Phyllis (née Nardozzi), a medical records librarian, and William Richards, an electrical engineer. Richards was brought up with no specific religious tradition. He attended the California Institute of the Arts but received a BA degree in drama from The Evergreen State College in 1975. He also had a short-lived improv act with Ed Begley, Jr. during this period. Enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College, he continued to dominate student productions. He later said: "I am grateful that the public schools introduced me to the performing arts." He was drafted during the Vietnam War, was in the U.S. Army for two years, and stationed in Germany as one of the co-directors of the V Corps Training Road Show. "This was a successful, educational operation, boosting the morale of our men and incorporating the arts into the service." He then spent two years in the Army developing educational skits, and a couple more years "finding himself" at a commune in the Santa Clara Mountains. In 1979, he drove a bus and developed his own nightclub act.

During the 1970s Richards attended, and graduated from, The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Richards married former casting director Cathleen Lyons and had a daughter, Sophia. The two were divorced in 1992. He resides in Glendale, California, specifically the Rossmoyne/Mountain area in the Northwest part of the city.

In 2007, Richards became engaged to actress Beth Skipp

In July 2007, Richards announced that he has retired from stand-up comedy for "spiritual healing" purposes and would be traveling with his fiancée to Cambodia, where they would visit Angkor Wat, as well as more remote temples, on a tour sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Nithyananda Foundation.

Richards is a Freemason and also a 33° member of the Scottish Rite. He has been very active in preservation of Masonic research.

Career Facts:  Richards got his big TV break in 1979, appearing in Billy Crystal's first cable TV special. In 1980, he began as one of the cast members on ABC's Fridays television show, including a famous instance in which guest Andy Kaufman refused to deliver his scripted lines, leading Richards to bring the cue cards on screen to Kaufman causing him to throw his drink into Richard's face, before a small riot ensued (Richards later claimed he was in on the joke). The film Man on the Moon featured a re-enactment of the Andy Kaufman incident in which Richards was portrayed by actor Norm Macdonald (although he is never referred to by name so he could be seen as a composite character taking the place of Richards).

He was also famous for a brief sketch that he did on the show, during which he simply improvised with a large pile of dirt and some army toys. In 1989, Richards had a strong supporting role in "Weird Al" Yankovic's comedy film UHF. On television, Richards also appeared in Miami Vice (as an unscrupulous bookie), Cheers (as a character trying to collect on an old bet with Sam Malone), and made several guest appearances with Jay Leno as an accident-prone fitness expert