In what is truly one of the greatest stories readily available to restore your faith in humanity, a man penned a moving essay about how the cast of Seinfeld came together to wish his dying father a happy birthday. And not just one or two of them, either. More than 15 individual videos and a handful of phone calls were made (even Kramer phoned one in) to the family leading up to and on the man's 67th birthday.
The man's son James Calder (with whom he shares his name) outlined the lengthy process over at the Huffington Post where he wrote that his father had been battling "a rare form of non-smoking lung cancer." "Approximating one month before what would have been my father's last birthday, my wife and I were discussing what to get him for a birthday present," Calder writes. "It is a challenging question; what do you get a great man who is so ill?"
The family settled on a "virtual birthday party" through a Facebook page on which friends and family could share their well wishes, pictures, and video messages. As the posts started rolling in, Calder says, "We thought about who we could reach out to for a birthday message that would really impress my dad. We immediately thought of his favorite TV show, Seinfeld." But surely they couldn't have imagined the snowball effect of its star-studded cast tuning in to pass on their best regards.
Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) threw in an earnest, heartwarming clip of her own up above. But it was John O'Hurley, says Calder, who was the first to respond with "a parody of his famous character J Peterman wishing my dad a happy birthday."
Larry Thomas a.k.a. the "Soup Nazi" also pitched in a video.
And what would a Seinfeld birthday party be without Newman (Wayne Knight)?
Calder writes that the Seinfeld-filled birthday was an unexpected surprise for his father, adding that the man could really feel the "love and support."
"My father's condition worsened as the Seinfeld birthday project continued to develop. He received detrimental news which resulted in more Chemo treatments and then being admitted into the hospital. The day before he passed, my mom and I decided to start showing him the videos to lift his spirits. He was shocked and mystified about how we were able to reach the Seinfeld cast members. He really felt the love and support."
