R.I.P. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who died early this morning in Florida. As a Seinfeld fan, I can’t help but think about the show’s running spoof/homage to Steinbrenner, who was played by series co-creator Larry David:

The real-life “Big Stein,” as the Larry David version referred to the character, even filmed a cameo for the Seinfeld season seven finale, but the scenes were edited out because of time, and because the Yankees honcho reportedly didn’t like the storyline in which George Costanza’s bride-to-be, Susan, was killed off. The scenes appeared on the season seven DVDs, though, and have popped up on YouTube:

And, they’re not embeddable, but check out compilation clips of Seinfeld Steinbrenner scenes here and here … a true character, in real-life and on the small screen.

• No Comments
• Filed in R.I.P., Seinfeld
• Tags: George Steinbrenner Seinfeld, Larry David George Steinbrenner

UPDATE: Just got a press release from the WE network. Tomorrow, June 4, from 5PM ET to1AM, the cable channel will air a “WE Remember Rue” Golden Girls marathon, featuring Blanche-centric episodes. Sounds like must-TiVo-TV to me.

The last week hasn’t been kind to classic TV stars, between Gary Coleman’s death leaving Todd Bridges as the only surviving Diff’rent Strokes kid star and today’s death of Rue McClanahan leaving Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girls star.

White’s statement on the passing of her friend and co-star: “Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship,” White, 88, said in a statement. “It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that’s even possible.”

• No Comments
• Filed in R.I.P.
• Tags: Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan