Seinfeld Stars Send Happy Birthday Videos to a Terminally Ill Fan

Cast members send heartwarming well wishes to James Calder

By Francesca Bacardi Nov 30, 2015 8:15 PMTags
Seinfeld CastNBC

Grab the tissues. This one's a doozy.

James Anthony Calder was diagnosed with a rare form of nonsmoking lung cancer a couple of years ago, and the cast of Seinfeld gave him the gift of a lifetime for what turned out to be his last birthday. In an essay for the Huffington Post, Calder's son, also James Calder, wrote that he reached out to some of the hit series' stars to see if they would wish his dying father a happy birthday via video in addition to his close friends and family who had done the same.

Not before long, the "Seinfeld Birthday Project" was born. "As any Seinfeld fan knows, the TV show had a star studded cast. We never dreamed we would be able to get in touch with any of the top four lead actors on the show, let alone some of the actors who played supporting yet legendary characters," Calder explained.

"Some of the cast members not only made videos with great birthday messages but they were creative, thoughtful and sincere."

Actor John O'Hurley, who played J Peterman, was the first star to answer the request. In his video he channeled his famous character and wished the 66-year-old father a happy birthday. And while the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas) was mean on the show, he was incredibly kind in real life and made Calder a very special video. Instead of telling him he couldn't have any soup, Thomas went in a different direction. "No cake for you!" he joked.

Wayne Knight, who portrayed Jerry Seinfeld's arch nemesis, Newman, put his rivalry aside and also made a heartwarming video. Shocked by the amount of answers he received, Calder decided to publish the piece. Much to his delight, even more stars from the long running show reached out to make videos. Michael Richards AKA Kramer reached out to Calder via email to say he wanted to reach out to his father personally on his birthday to wish him the very best. Sadly, he passed away just a few days before his big day would come.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus also sent the family a video, wishing the birthday man the very best and congratulating him on having such a wonderful family. Because Calder's son knew the end was closer than he anticipated, he decided to show his dad the videos.

"He was shocked and mystified about how we were able to reach the Seinfeld cast members," Calder wrote. "He really felt the love and support."

To read Calder's essay in full and see the rest of the videos, click here, and to donate to the American Cancer Society, click here.

Will there ever be a Seinfeld reunion? Watch to find out!