20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Seinfeld
13. Many Stories Are Based On Real Events
One of the golden rules for new writers is "Write about what you know". It seems Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld turned this concept into an art form since they incorporated as many of their own experiences into the show as possible. Classic episodes like The Jacket, The Nose Job, The Chinese Restaurant, The Café, and The Robbery are based on real events.
Remember that episode where George quits his job and then returns several days later, pretending it never happened? Larry David actually did that while working for SNL. (However, David got away with it. George on the other hand, not so much.)
When Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David started running out of ideas, they hired stand-up comics and incorporated their best real-life anecdotes into the show.
Frank Costanza's made up holiday, Festivus, which has each family member explain how they let everybody down that year, was created by a Reader's Digest editor called Dan O' Keefe. When the producers learned one of Seinfeld writers was his son, they begged him to implement the holiday into the show. He reluctantly agreed.