Kenny Kramer, Larry David's former neighbor and the inspiration for the quirky “Seinfeld” character of the same surname, is now a fully licensed reverend.
“This is a new identity -- it’s Rev. Kramer,” the non-denominational minister told the New York Daily News. “When I got my certificate, it gave me options: Reverend, minister, father. I thought, ‘Reverend. Why not?’ ... I figured, you know, if people will go to Vegas to be married by a fake Elvis, c'mon -- the real Kramer? How could you miss?"
The now-69-year-old New Yorker has been giving Kramer Reality Tours -- a.k.a. "Seinfeld" themed tours throughout the city -- for the past 17 years, but now he'll also officiate weddings. "You see, I have a domestic partner and we're not even gay actually," he told the Daily News with a laugh in the video above. "And she's a piano player/singer who performs at a lot of weddings. I've been going to some of these weddings because I schlep equipment, which is quite humbling. And I'm watching these ministers perform these ceremonies and I'm thinking to myself, 'I could do better than that.'"
Now that he's ordained, Kramer already has a new idea. "I think I'm a fairly romantic person and I'm just excited that people in love would want to have me consummate their relationship with a marriage that will last a lifetime," he told the Daily News, hopefully meaning officiate instead of consummate. "But I'm also thinking, you know, there's so much divorce today that maybe I'll issue a warranty -- like a two-year warranty on the marriage that if it doesn't work out, they have a raincheck for another marriage."
Kramer has done many things in his career from being a stand-up comedian to managing a British reggae band, creating electronic jewelry, being a local news correspondent and running for office.
In 1997, Kramer attempted to gain the Democratic Party nomination for New York mayor, but he didn't get it. In 2001, the Libertarian Party contacted him to run on its ticket, and he accepted. Kramer finished seventh in the election, with 1,408 votes. "I’m Libertarian lite. They have some really wacky views -– like everyone should be armed. I draw the right to bear arms at sleeveless shirts. But they’re Libertarians, so they never made me espouse anything I didn’t believe in," Kramer told AM New York in 2012. "I won’t be running any time soon. If I got elected, I’d have to buy a suit, and I’ve spent my entire life trying to avoid that."
No word on what he'll wear when he officiates wedding, but you can reach Kramer on his website for more information.