Why Does Kramer Have a Framed Photo of Jerry in His Apartment?
We know that Jerry’s apartment is full of cereal boxes and bootleg porn tapes, and we’ve previously discussed Newman’s food and ape-themed decor, but much about Cosmo Kramer’s apartment still remains a mystery.
Throughout the course of Seinfeld, he’s lined his bachelor pad with fake wood panel wallpaper, installed a hot tub and once replaced his home furnishings with the stinky remnants of the Merv Griffin Show set.
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Even in the 21st century, fans are finding some intriguing new details about Kramer’s apartment. Recently, a fan pointed out that Kramer seemingly has a framed black and white, 8x10 headshot of Jerry in his front hallway. The photo is visible when Kramer comes to the door in “The Conversion,” after he’s doused himself in garlic and vinegar to get rid of the “Kavorka.”
This isn’t the first time that people have noticed Kramer’s photo of Jerry either. It’s also visible when Elaine visits him in “The Marine Biologist.” Some fans suggested that the snapshot is the same publicity photo that Jerry signs and gifts to a small-town diner, before awkwardly attempting to take it back, in “The Bubble Boy.” But, upon closer inspection, that seems to be an entirely different image.
Fans have offered up a number of explanations for the unusual interior design choice. Per The Irish Star, one person theorized that it was a subtle plug for the real-life Seinfeld’s book SeinLanguage. It may have come from the same photo session, but the cover of the book itself is quite different.
Incidentally, that shoot did give us some truly bizarre poses, presumably to pad out Seinfeld’s tome, which was really just repackaged write-ups of his stand-up act, yet became a New York Times bestseller in the ‘90s nonetheless.
Some guessed that Jerry put it there himself, while others speculated that it could be because Kramer “misses Jerry when he’s out of town.” The consensus seems to be that it was purely meant to reflect Kramer’s deep affection for his best buddy. In fact, it’s not the only framed picture of Jerry that resides in Kramer’s apartment; in Season Eight’s “The Millennium” we see that he keeps a framed photo of the two of them on his bedside table as well.
Kramer does seem low-key obsessed with capturing Jerry’s likeness. In addition to his own personal collection of photographs, he takes a polaroid of his neighbor (without permission) to put up in the lobby in “The Kiss Hello.” And, of course, he sculpted a miniature pasta replica of the comedian in “The Fusilli Jerry.”
So maybe the real question is: Why isn’t Kramer’s apartment wallpapered in photos of his best friend?
