In the 1980s, Manhattan was just another promising comic with a knack for wry observations, but the 90s made the co-creator and star of NBC's "Seinfeld", the most successful sitcom of all time, one of the richest men in entertainment. He nurtured a series that conventional wisdom thought sure to fail, a show celebrating the small conundrums of daily life, featuring a cast of four totally self-absorbed New York City characters that audiences should have despised but couldn't help loving. Just as inexplicably, he walked away from probably the fattest contract ever offered by a network while "Seinfeld" was still at the top of the ratings, but then he had never been in it for the bucks. Funny, not money, was what mattered to Seinfeld, so he broke countless hearts at NBC and got out before the show's inevitable slide could compromise his comedy.

Brooklyn-born and raised in Massapequa ("Indian for 'by the mall'"), Long Island, Seinfeld began working in Manhattan comedy clubs immediately following his graduation from Queens College, eventually becoming MC at the Comic Strip. Jackie Mason caught his act in the early days and told him, "It makes me sick. You're going to be such a big hit." According to Seinfeld, "His words carried me for the next four years," or to roughly 1980 when he moved westward to court a career in television. He quickly landed a part as Frankie, the governor's joke writer on "Benson" (Abc, but found himself unceremoniously dismissed after three episodes. Realizing that stand-up was what he loved, he weathered the crushing blow and took to the road. His initial appearance on "The Tonight Show" in May 1981 earned a "thumbs up" from Johnny Carson but not the coveted invitation to join the guests on the couch. He continued to hone his act, refining his wisecracking deadpan persona and observational style until he was so good at packing a house that the networks came calling, hoping to exploit his photogenic good looks to their own ends.

The firing from "Benson" had left its mark on Seinfeld, and he was not too keen on sitcoms, having chafed at his one experience of others putting words in his mouth. Convinced he could not work within the existing form, he met with Larry David, a comedian's comedian who had never hit big, and together they came up with the concept that would work for Seinfeld--glimpses of a comedian at work interspersed with the primary offstage drama that inspires his material. The pilot did not test well, and NBC hated it. The first order was for four episodes (an order for six is a slap in the face), the second for six, and finally NBC asked for 13 shows. If not for its strong demographic showing among the coveted 18-49 crowd, the unconventional sitcom would have died an early death. Spared, it steadily grew in popularity, and the creators protected its eccentricities zealously, willing to walk out rather than see their vision corrupted. Most important was their courage to allow the characters to be dark, their insistence that a sitcom need not be light and cheery.

Shows like episode 16, "The Chinese Restaurant", where all that happens is Jerry, George and Elaine wait for a table, would seem on the surface to support Seinfeld's own charmingly disingenuous statements that his show is about nothing. On the contrary, in the tradition of "Leave It to Beaver" or the works of Noel Coward and Jane Austin, "Seinfeld" is a comedy of manners exploring the foibles of the human condition and has set the tone for the next generation of sitcoms. Imitators, however, lack an important ingredient, that of Seinfeld himself. Refusing to play characters and do impressions from the very beginning of his stand-up career concentrated his energies on a strong presentation of self, and by allowing the other members of the sitcom's ensemble to shine brighter, this Everyman comic has become arguably the greatest straight man since Lou Abbott. In the absence of new episodes, "Seinfeld" junkies must content themselves with 120 existing shows that may run forever in syndication.

Since "Seinfeld" the show ended in 1998, Seinfeld the comedian has kept a low profile. He got married, had a daughter and briefly toured around the country doing stand-up. He is believed to have shadow-authored a book of bizarre letters in a collection called "Letters From a Nut" which contains such gems as a fan writing to the baseball hall of fame about his collection of Mickey Mantle toenail clippings. In 2002, the rights to the two "Nut" books were purchased for development by Abc with Seinfeld attached as executive producer.

Seinfeld made a return to the public eye with the 2002 documentary film "Comedian," which chronicled his efforts to create a brand-new stand-up comedy act after permanently retiring his sharpest material on HBO's 1998 special "I'm Telling You for the Last Time." Shot in digital video over an 18-month span from 1999 to 2001, "Comedian" provided the most intimate professional look at Seinfeld yet, as he struggles on-stage to develop new, challenging material and kibitzes off-stage with friends like Jay Leno, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Bill Cosbyand Colin Quinn. The result was a portrait of the sometimes agonizing path a comic treads to make people laugh and the lingering insecurities that plague even the most successful performers.