10 TV Hoaxes That Fooled Everyone
7. The Original Female Lead Was Replaced For Not Being "Sexy" Enough - Seinfeld
For the pilot episode of Seinfeld, actress Lee Garlington was cast as the show's apparent female lead, a waitress by the name of Claire. But of course, from episode two onwards she was replaced with ultimate mainstay Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
In his 2012 Seinfeld Reference book, Dennis Bjorklund claimed that Garlington was dropped from the show in favour of an actress with more outward sex appeal, as was then canonised as fact among much of the Seinfeld fanbase.
But this conflicts with most other accounts of season one's production. NBC executive Warren Littlefield claims Claire was ditched because, as a waitress, her different social status to the other characters would be an awkward fit.
Jason Alexander claimed she angered Larry David by re-writing her own dialogue, while Jerry Seinfeld insists that the producers simply wanted "someone who was more involved," whatever that means exactly.
Whatever the true reason, the oft-repeated notion that Garlington wasn't attractive enough to be a Seinfeld lead has basically been rubbished by everyone not named Dennis Bjorklund.