George Costanza's Seinfeld Glasses Were Plucked Right From A Spike Lee Movie
Do you ever wonder what happens to movie props? Sometimes, filmmakers and actors will take them home as a souvenir (they're not really supposed to do this, but who is going to stop them?). But more often than not, props end up back in a pile, destined to be re-used again. For instance: Egon's P.K.E. Meter from the original "Ghostbusters" pops up again in John Carpenter's "They Live," with no real explanation.
And then there's the curious case of George Costanza's glasses.
George is, of course, the famous character played by Jason Alexander on "Seinfeld," and the part is partially inspired by the show's co-creator, Larry David. Like David, George wears glasses, and when it came time to find his specs for the pilot episode of the show — originally titled "The Seinfeld Chronicles" — costume designer Ruth E. Carter pulled the frames from a surprising source: Spike Lee's "Malcolm X."
Ruth E. Carter is a two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer. She's worked with Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, and Steven Spielberg, among others, and her credits include "Do the Right Thing," "Amistad," and "Black Panther." She's also set to work on Marvel's troubled upcoming remake of "Blade." Two of her credits include both Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" and the pilot episode of "Seinfeld." While appearing on the Nessa OFF Air podcast (via Business Insider), Carter revealed that "Seinfeld" and "Malcolm X" share a prop — a pair of glasses.
'Bingo, done!'
Released in 1992, Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" is a masterpiece (I personally think it's his best film, although "Do The Right Thing" is a close second) about the titular activist, played brilliantly in the movie by Denzel Washington. Early in the film, Washington's Malcolm Little ends up in prison, and while serving time, he begins wearing a pair of wired-rimmed glasses. These very glasses ended up on the set of "Seinfeld."
According to Carter, actor Jason Alexander suggested that his character George Constanza should wear glasses. The only glasses Carter had with her were the glasses worn by Denzel Washington in "Malcolm X." "[Jason Alexander] put them on and was like, 'Yeah, I like this shape,'" Carter said. "I was like, 'Bingo, done!' We got him fit for glasses, and that's where it started."
It's worth noting that Alexander didn't wear the same pair of glasses throughout the rest of the show, just the pilot. And Carter added that Washington also donned a different pair of glasses for the rest of the "Malcolm X." "He has a scene in prison where he puts these wired-rimmed glasses on, and those were the ones I had," said Carter. And that's how showbiz works, folks — sometimes, props get recycled in unexpected places.