Talk:George Costanza

His original job when the series started was as a real estate agent; he ended up getting fired after he slipped his boss a mickey. Didn't George get fired for yelling at his boss and then as revenge try to slip him a mickey? [User:TimSPC|Tim] 20:53, 7 December 2005

yes, but his boss rehired him at the party, but it was too late to get the mickey away from him, so he wound up fired after all.

This should be removed, there is NEVER ONE SINGLE LINE OF DIALOG that states anything about Estelle being Jewish. 173.165.104.27 (talk) 09:28, 23 January 2018 (UTC)BeaMyra

The links that supposedly verify George is Jewish are not accurate or verifable. I removed this. There is nothing in the sereis that ever says George's mother is Jewish. If someone can put a verifiable link in please do it. Or you must come up with a part in the show where George's mother is Jewish. 99.149.195.153 (talk) 14:46, 17 July 2010 (UTC)Angie

Agreed. George's mother, Estelle once stated that she will not ride in a German car ("The Money") which may imply that she's Jewish, but that is not enough.--74.108.156.67 (talk) 21:57, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

The whole Festivus back story starts with Frank's disillusionment while preparing for Christmas. So Christmas was celebrated in the Constanza home, heavily implying at least one Christian parent. I never had the feeling watching this series that George was supposed to be Jewish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.252.4.21 (talk) 02:21, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

At least one could say that George is circumcised: in "the bris", Jerry and Elaine talk about guys who didn't have a circumcision. Jerry has "never seen one". But one could expect he has seen George naked. Later George states he has "seen one"; his roommate in college, "you get used to it". (also Kramer claims that a circumcision makes sex more enjoyable and George answers: "Right, but how does that help me?"; obviously a reference to him being circumcised but not having sex) Isn't that a strong clue towards Jewishness?Yoshee (talk) 17:04, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

Circumcision is NOT a sign of Jewishness in the USA because until insurance companies stopped paying for it, almost all males in the US were circumcised.

"Alexander related in an interview that, early in the creation of the show, he once expressed having problems acting out a scene in the script, because he felt no one would ever behave in "such a way". David replied to him that the exact situation had actually happened to him, and he had reacted in exactly "that way". Alexander said that this was a breakthrough for him in portraying the character, giving him valuable insight into both David and George."

It would be good to have a citation for this. --Mattucd 22:55, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

it's in the first episode of "Curb your Enthusiasm" (The Mocumentary one where Larry is preparing for an HBO stand up special that doesn't happen

It's in the extras to the seinfeld box. The 'extra' is called: 'larry + jason = george'

We should try to make the articles on Cosmo Kramer, George Costanza, and Elaine Benes parallel.

Shouldn't the list of relatives on the right include "Leo (Uncle)"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.39.74.58 (talk) 20:16, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

No. Leo is Jerry's Uncle. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:59, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

We need to hack down this section -- there is just way too much material. We don't need to list every plotline that George was involved in. Perhaps it would be best to isolate particular characteristics that George exhibits -- dishonesty, extravagant plots, overreaction to small things, etc. -- and give one or two examples for each one. This would not only make the section more managable, but easier to gain an understanding of who George is. Dylan 20:35, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Support - the list is meaningless as is, as it seems to be a synopsis of just about every episode he was in. A list of attributes with some examples would be far more useful.

I've gone ahead and redone the list - some of the stuff I've deleted but can be added in - I would suggest that not just a laundry list of "stuff George did" be added, but it should be something that George has done that exemplifies a particular trait, followed by the way in which his character trait made things backfire on him.

Stuff like the answering machine message is more like "trivia" and should go under a separate section. Michael Dorosh 16:22, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

This section still has major style problems. Particularly tense confusion. Plot summaries of this kind should, as a rule, be written consistently in the present tense. Calaf 08:36, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Has George Costanza ever attended college? He called his bathroom at Play Now "Xanadu" so he had some exposure to Coleridge, worked in the publishing industry and seems to be smart enough to be gifted with some degree of cunning/lying. --Blue387 21:38, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes. When Estelle is encouraging him to take a civil service test, he replies, "I'm a college graduate; you want me to be a mailman?" ("The Puffy Shirt") Dylan 03:40, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

He also mentions in one episode that his college roommate was uncircumcised. Kakashi-sensei 22:49, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure "alter ego" is the correct term for Costanza ("The character of George is based on the alter ego of the show's co-creator, Larry David."). I forget the exact phrase Larry David uses, but alter ego implies a second personality, and Costanza is essentially a fairly close representation of Larry David. Interestingly enough, Art Vandalay is listed as an alter ego of George Costanza in the entry for alter ego!

I removed the phrase "alter ego" because it isn't the correct term at all. I can't think of the proper term either, but it would just be easier to say he is based on Larry David, which is completely true. Kakashi-sensei 22:48, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

This article's starting to get on the verge of being too long and unwieldy. Please don't summarize every detail that happened in an episode - that's what the episode articles are for. Let's stick to concise small bullet points or small paragraphs Mezaco 12:40, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

-Yeah It's kind of ironic that the length of this article is longer than Jason Alexanders

hey all! George Costanza is italian, right?!?! please let me know.

I believe so. I think Frank went to Italy to see a relative in one episode. Bean 01:57, Dec 27, 2004 (UTC)

Yes, his heritage is Italian. The show also hints at him sharing a Jewish heritage as well --Will2k 06:26, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)

I always thought he was Italian because of his name. I suppose there's no reason he can't be Jewish and Italian. There are a number of Italian Jews.\

While trying to chum up to an employee of an Italian calzone shop, George states that his last name is Italian. Dylan 03:42, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

George clearly states the Italian origin of his last name in the Calzone episode, and in another episide, Frank Costanza (George's father) visits a relative in Tuscany. I always thought that the show implied George being of Jewish descent, thus Frank (George's father) could be descended from Italian Jews. In practice, the Constanzas seem agnostic. They celebrate no religious holidays, thus prompting Frank to invent his own early-winter holiday -Festivus ("A Festivus for the rest of us")- to coincide with Christmas and Hanukah seasons. Skyduster 04:29, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

George explicitly states that his father created Festivus as a reaction to the commercialization of Christmas. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.159.206.127 (talk) 00:49, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

 Shouldnt his religion be put jewish till season 5 becuase he converted to lathvian orthodox in "the conversion"

George is not jewish. Several interviews show that his texts was written showing his family with some new york jewish stereoptypes, but george has never been labeled as jewish by the authors. It's pure speculation, + Frank used to sell christian items 128.135.190.84 09:38, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Just beause his father sold christian items, doesn't mean Estelle isn't Jewish. Also, did he ever convert from Latvian Orthadox?

George has Italian heritage, and is most likely Catholic in practice. He is written into some "Jewish jokes" throughout the series, but whether of not is Jewish, in whole or part, is left open. His conversion to or from Latvian Orthodox was not genuine, so this has little bearing on this beliefs/hertiage/ethnicity. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.214.146.145 (talk) 19:00, 5 March 2007 (UTC).

As someone else above pointed out, there are Jews from Italy, in fact Italy (after Greece) has the oldest Jewish community in Europe! Most of them have Italianate names , although "Costanza" is not a typical Jewish name amongst the Italian Jews. See: History of the Jews in Italy and Italian Jews for more on this subject. However, there is also the city of Constanţa in Romania, which also had a large Jewish population, prior to the second world war, some Jews in Israel take their name from this city and are called "Kostantza". That said, I don't think the writers of the show ever meant to suggest that Frank Costanza was an Italian Jew--very few of the Italian Jews migrated to Newa York City. In one episode, I recall George mentioning the guilt Jewish mothers cause. While it was never stated so explicitly, I believe the writers suggested that Frank was an Italian (not Jewish) and Estelle, eorge's mother was Jewish, most likely of Eastern European and not Italian heritage.Mixed Eastern European Jewish and Italian Catholic marriages are not at all rare in New York City and its environs, so it is quite reasonable to assume that George could be a product of such a union.

Also, again, while I don't believe George's father was meant to be Jewish, the fact that he sold Christian religious items (in Korea) shouldn't be evidence that he is not a Jew--plenty of Jews have made a living selling Christian religious trinkets to Christians. Just business.

I do recall George lamenting the lack of kosher food somewhere. Of course, Ned Flanders eats kosher food too. 80.138.211.244 23:46, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

I remember an episode where his therapist asks him, "I thought you didn't believe in god?" to which he replies, "only for the bad things" 67.40.172.80 01:36, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

The article refers to "episode 'Festivus'" - there IS no episode called festivus —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.3.90.17 (talk) 17:50, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

George's mother, Estelle, once stated that she will not ride in a German car ("The Money") which may imply that she's Jewish, but that is not enough.--74.108.156.67 (talk) 22:00, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

It is also implied when George uses Yiddish words like "feh" and "bupkis". I've never heard a non-Jewish person say "feh". "Bupkis" maybe, and other Yiddish words have entered the lexicon. But "feh" is a specific one. I also read Larry David refer to George as "half-Jewish" in an article. But only George's Italian heritage is specifically stated on the show. MrBlondNYC (talk) 19:45, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

In the Episode "The Fatigues" Season 8, Ep 6, It is mentioned that Frank Costanza belongs to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:401:4380:230:9837:5678:9ECB:6810 (talk) 13:46, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

In the bloopers for "The Serenity Now", Jason Alexander (as George) says that he's half-Jewish. While this line is likely improvised rather than part of the script, it does follow Larry David's statement that George is half-Italian and half-Jewish. Frank is unambiguously portrayed as having Italian heritage throughout the show, going as far as going to Tuscany to visit some potential members of his family. Estelle is never confirmed to be Jewish in the show, however. At most, as said earlier, Estelle said that she "won't ride in a German car" in "The Money", which is a decent indication that she may be Jewish. As far as religion goes, it is somewhat insinuated that Frank is Roman Catholic in "The Understudy" when he says he sold Jesus statues in Korea and in "The Fatigues" when he is revealed to belong to the Knights of Columbus. As both Frank and Estelle are incensed when George converts to Latvian Orthodox in "The Conversion", it is likely that George had some religious background, but it isn't entirely clear if he was raised Catholic or Jewish. Considering that the Costanzas celebrated Christmas before they celebrated Festivus in "The Strike", I would assume he was raised in Catholicism if he was only raised under one religion, but it's possible that his parents imprinted each of their religious beliefs on their son. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2607:EA00:107:3407:B577:7404:1974:6C75 (talk) 03:06, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

No one has mentioned the episode where George crossed himself. Only someone raised as a Christian would do that. So George is not Jewish. Case closed. 67.86.172.2 (talk) 12:23, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

the article says that Art Vandelay is george's patsy, which the linked article defines as someone you trick. This is not the correct word to describe Art Vandelay is it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.173.242.14 (talk) 01:12, 9 December 2006 (UTC).

Why is Ricky Gervais listed at the top of the page as calling George the greatest sitcom character of all time? Hes just another comedian/television personality, and should'nt be said to have a say in the Wikipedia article (maybe in a George Costanza trivia section), unless Time or some official magazine or news source has listed him, that shouldn't be up there. I'm deleting it, put it back if you have a good reason for it.--74.135.48.18 00:07, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Why is this article longer than the entire Seinfeld article? The quote provides a verifiable assessment of the character's significance, and adds context. The alternative would be some mealy-mouthed and unsourced wibble about him being "widely regarded as one of the most memorable characters in sitcom history".

That said, I have no problem with it being moved to a "Critical Reaction" section if one's ever started.

At any rate, the quote is more of an introduction than any of the following six paragraphs, which belong in the body of the article:

The lead should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, establishing context, explaining why the subject is interesting or notable

chocolateboy 02:58, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Then why put any "been considered the greatest character of all time" in the introduction? Ricky Gervais is just another actor, it'd be the same if you put Jim Carrey or whoever as saying that. Cut that part out and wait for a critical reaction section, or make it yourself. Plus, Ricky Gervais has no significance to Seinfeld, and that article you linked to was just a small paragraph of mention. --74.134.12.230 01:31, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Then why put any "been considered the greatest character of all time" in the introduction?

It said "described by Ricky Gervais as" rather than "been considered", but: for the reason mentioned above: context as per Wikipedia:Lead section.

I've reinstated it as an anonymous quote with two references. I agree that namechecking Gervais is distracting. However, summarizing the character's status in the cultural landscape ("[explain] why the subject is interesting or notable") is standard practice.

chocolateboy 22:47, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you, I like that a lot better, but if a critical reaction section ever shows up we should move it there, agreed? --74.134.12.230 01:57, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

It says that George was a bra salseman, but he lost it within seconds of getting it, does it really count?

He was hired, so it counts —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.122.127.162 (talk) 02:58, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Listed on the right-hand side of the page, under "information", it states that George was an importer/exporter for Vandaley Industries. This is incorrect. The importer/exporter was Elaine's fake (made up) boyfriend named Art Vandaley, and this was during a lying scheme with Elaine to fake Susan out so George can meet Marisa Tomei. Vandaley Industries is, in fact, George's fake (made up) latex business that he runs out of Jerry's apartment. He does this to lie to the unemployment office.