Michael Richards | Seinfeld

Who can forget Cosmo Kramer from the popular sitcom Seinfeld? Actor Michael Richards is most associated with this role and with good reason, he certainly delivered great performances each time. He was first cast back in 1989 by his former co-worker Larry David, alongside show creator Jerry Seinfeld. As you might have guessed, competition was stiff at the time and the program had a fairly slow start. It wasn’t until the mid-90s that it began picking up pace. Among the cast members, Richards collected the most number of Emmys before the show’s finale in 1998.

It might surprise you to learn that during the early seasons of Seinfeld, the cast was receiving around $150,000 per episode. This isn’t a bad number at all, but the degree of increase they all received by the finale is nothing short of astounding. During the final season of the show, he was earning $600,000 for every episode on top of the syndication earnings he also receives!