'Seinfeld' Star Michael Richards Reveals Private Prostate Cancer Battle
A health battle inspired Seinfeld alum Michael Richards to write his upcoming memoir, Entrances and Exits.
The actor, 74, known for playing Kramer on the sitcom, details being diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in 2018 in his new book, which hits bookshelves on Tuesday, June 4. “I thought, well, this is my time. I’m ready to go,” Richards told People in an interview published on Thursday, May 23.
Richards went on to note that his and his wife Beth Skipp’s son, Antonio, inspired him to fight back against the illness. “But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later, and I heard myself saying, ‘I’ve got a 9-year-old and I’d like to be around for him,’” he shared. “’Is there any way I can get a little more life going?’” (Richards also shares daughter Sophia with his ex-wife, Cathleen Lyons.)
According to Richards, his cancer “had to be contained quickly,” resulting in him undergoing surgery to remove his entire prostate. “I had to go for the full surgery,” he explained. “If I hadn’t, I probably would have been dead in about eight months.”
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His cancer battle was one of many reasons he wanted “to do a full review of my life” in his new book, and have over 40 journals from over the years to pull stories from. “I’m turning 75, so maybe wanting to do that is something that comes with being my age,” he stated. “I wanted to connect with feelings and memory. I’m surprised at how much I was able to remember.”
Seinfeld ran for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998. Going on to appear in TV shows and films such as Walk the Light, Kirstie and Faith, Hope & Love, Richards’ career halted after making a racist outburst during a 2006 stand-up comedy gig at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood.
During the infamous incident, Richards called an audience member the N-word during a tense exchange. Footage of the interaction was later leaked and he publicly apologized on an episode of the Late Show With David Letterman.
Richards called the moment a “reality check” in an October 2015 interview with Us Weekly, adding, “I’d only been doing stand-up at the time that situation happened about seven or eight months and I just lost my patience that night because people were heckling me and not letting me work on my material and I lost my cool. And it is what it is! I’ve moved on.”
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He told People on Thursday that he was “immediately sorry” for his actions, which he discussed further in his book. “The damage was inside of me. So, I completely stepped away from show business. It was time to disappear and finally pay attention to where all of my anger was coming from. The most I could do for everybody was go home and get my s—t together.”
Since then, Richards has put his focus into “learning and healing” with the help of his family and by studying philosophy and religion. He has also maintained a good friendship with his former costar Jerry Seinfeld, who penned the forward of Richards’ memoir. “Life is always an up and a down,” Richards concluded.
