Larry David's Most Intimidating Date Inspired This Seinfeld Episode

In the "Seinfeld" episode "The Jacket," Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) purchases an expensive new suede jacket with a pink-and-white striped lining. It's stylish, although Jerry is a little self-conscious about the stripes; they may be too whimsical for him. Shortly thereafter, Jerry is invited to a nice hotel to meet Alton Benes (Lawrence Tierney), Elaine's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) ultra-gruff, opinionated, and distressingly masculine father. So, wanting to look nice, Jerry naturally wears his new jacket to the meeting.

Because this is "Seinfeld," though, everything gets awkward quickly. Elaine is running behind, which forces Jerry and George (Jason Alexander) to spend a full 30 minutes with Alton by themselves. Alton, as it turns out, is intimidating and judgmental, but Jerry is too timid to defend himself against the man's barbs. Then, when Elaine finally does show up, they decide to walk to a nearby restaurant. Seeing that it's snowing outside and not wanting to ruin his expensive new jacket, Jerry elects to turn it inside out, exposing the pink and white stripes. Alton, however, is disgusted with the pattern and insists Jerry turn his jacket back. Rather than stand up to Alton, Jerry fixes the jacket, walking out in the snow and effectively ruining it.

And that's kind of the conclusion. Jerry, in being so cowardly and neurotic, wrecked his jacket. The characters on "Seinfeld" often face minor cosmic punishments of this sort, although they're not self-aware enough to learn any lessons. They're just as neurotic in the next episode.

It seems that "The Jacket," which was written by Seinfeld and the show's co-creator Larry David (who, unlike Seinfeld, elected not to star in the series), was based on a true story. As David discussed in the "Seinfeld" DVD special features, he once went on an intimidating date with his girlfriend's father, only to end up ruining a nice jacket by feeling obligated to wear it in the snow.

It seems that David, for a short period, dated a woman named Monica Yates. Monica was the daughter of Richard Yates, the famed author behind the novels "Revolutionary Road," "A Special Providence," and "Disturbing the Peace." He was known for his stark realistic style and was deeply beloved by many readers, earning pretty universal acclaim. (I recall seeing Yates novels around the house as a child.) He was also, as David recalled, a hugely intimidating man.

It seems that David, just like on "Seinfeld," agreed to meet his girlfriend's father at a fancy hotel (in his case, the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan). David also wore a nice, expensive suede jacket to the meeting. It seems that Richard Yates then proceeded to grill David in a way that made him uncomfortable and was just as dismissive and stone-faced as the Alton Benes character. David and Yates also walked outside in the snow, on their way to a restaurant, effectively ruining David's jacket. That story was clearly still very sharp in David's mind when he wrote "The Jacket." The only twist was that the on-screen version of Jerry was meeting his friend's father, not a girlfriend's. (David, it should be noted, extrapolated the "Seinfeld" characters from his real-life personality and acquaintances.)

There was also an additional piece of drama. As many "Seinfeld" fans know, Tierney acted strangely on the "Seinfeld" set and was even busted trying to steal a prop kitchen knife (!) from Jerry's apartment. The actor was unruly and scary and unprofessional ... but in a way that Seinfeld himself found amusing. When confronted about his theft, Tierney claimed that he was setting up a prank, although it didn't seem like a very funny one. 

In the end, Tierney was banned from the show after his lone appearance. David may have achieved a small catharsis from the ban. He was, in a roundabout way, finally able to gain control over Richard Yates.