10 Best Minor Seinfeld Characters

Lawrence Tierney was one of the surliest actors of all time, not known for his comedic chops as much as his gruff and intimidating performances, as well as his countless arrests for everything ranging from public intoxication to assault. He was the perfect person then to play Alton Benes, Elaine's father.

His performance was brilliant as he intimidated the hell out of both George and Jerry just by sitting next to them and making vague homophobic accusations. Definitely something that was of its time, the episode is made by Tierney's performance as Elaine's successful author father and his treatment of both Jerry and George.

Unfortunately, for reasons that are not clear, Tierney tried to steal a knife from the set and when he was spotted by Jerry carrying something under his jacket, he tried to play it off as a joke. This happened in front of numerous members of the cast and crew and resulted in the plan to make him a recurring character in the show to be scrapped.

The ultimate shame is that clearly, the creators of Seinfeld had plans for him that weren't realised. Whilst we saw both George and Jerry's parents many times throughout the run fo the show, Elaine ended up not having such a luxury due to Tierney's actions.