Newman (Seinfeld)

Newman
File:Newmanseinfeld.JPG
First appearance	The Revenge (off-screen)
Last appearance	The Finale, Part II
Created by	Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David
Portrayed by	Wayne Knight
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Mailman

Newman is a recurring character on the television show Seinfeld, played by Wayne Knight.

Background

In the show, Newman is an overweight mail carrier who lives at 129 West 81st Street, New York City, the same apartment building as Jerry and Kramer. Newman lives in Apartment 5E. Originally conceived to be "the son of the landlord [who] 'tells' on everyone", Newman evolved as the series progressed into a scheming mailman who was friends with Kramer but nursed a grudge against Jerry. His name is first mentioned during the original version of the episode "The Revenge". Newman was not actually seen on camera, but rather voiced by the show's co-creator Larry David (although Knight later dubbed a new version for syndication with his own voice). Much like Kramer, Newman is addressed by last name. His first name is never mentioned. In the episode "The Bottle Deposit, Part 2" a character (the farmer's daughter) shouts "Goodbye, Norman," but this was a mistake on the part of the actress (Karen Lynn Scott). It was left in because it was considered funny (and it could be taken as a joke about her having slept with him without even knowing his name). Newman was caught in a compromising position with Kramer's mother after Cosmo, Elaine and George walked into his apartment.

File:Seinfeld s7e21.jpg

Newman in the episode "The Bottle Deposit, Part 1."

The character

Newman plays a villain in the series. Described as Jerry's "sworn enemy" ("The Andrea Doria") as well as his friend ("The Old Man"), his character is cunning and occasionally acts like a weasel. A running gag is Jerry's greeting, a sarcastic "Hello, Newman" (which Newman usually responds to with a falsely cheerful "Hello, Jerry"). Jerry's mother also greets Newman the same way. The origin of the Seinfeld/Newman feud is never revealed.

Newman's character is a frequent source of annoyance to Jerry, such as in attracting fleas to the apartment ("The Doodle"), and generally making Jerry's life more difficult. The depth of their enmity seems to vary between episodes, however, and Jerry sometimes seems to consider him merely an annoying neighbor, much like Kramer, rather than an outright enemy. At times they even work together on some scheme, though with some reluctance on Jerry's part (and usually with mutual friend Kramer as a buffer). In the final scene of "The Soup Nazi" their interaction is such that they could be taken for friends. Mr.P is stupid Newman is good friends with Kramer, and the pair are forever participating in various get-rich-quick schemes. In "The Soul Mate," Newman and Kramer parody Cyrano de Bergerac, with Newman voicing poetry for Kramer so he may woo Jerry's girlfriend. Newman exploits the situation to inflict a wound on Jerry, but makes a deal not to help Kramer further in turn for Jerry's advice on wooing Elaine. For some reason, Newman is very poetic in his speaking, and was described as an "unknown poet" by Kramer ("The Library"). Newman also takes his job as a mailman very seriously (as long as it is not raining), forgetting once he was supposed to give Kramer the words he was supposed to say to protest the idea of mail being considered junk mail. However, he is known to use his job for corrupt purposes, such as purposely withholding mail for blackmail revenge, or using the Union to get himself out of jail. Despite his girth, Newman is an expert climber (which he learned in the Pacific North West) and tennis player. Jerry also once agreed with George that, "...he is merry."

File:Soup nazi.jpg

Newman in the episode "The Soup Nazi."

Appearances

Season 2

• E07 - The Revenge (18 April 1991) (Voice by Larry David in original broadcast. Overdubbed by Wayne Knight in later re-runs).

Season 3

• E15 - The Suicide (29 January 1992)
• E17 - The Boyfriend: Part 1 (12 February 1992)
• E18 - The Boyfriend: Part 2 (12 February 1992)
• E22 - The Parking Space (22 April 1992)
• E23 - The Keys (6 May 1992)

Season 4

• E03 - The Pitch (9 September 1992)
• E04 - The Ticket (16 September 1992)
• E13 - The Pick (16 December 1992)
• E18 - The Old Man (18 February 1993)
• E23/24 - The Pilot (20 May 1993)

Season 5

• E04 - The Sniffing Accountant (7 October 1993)
• E06 - The Lip Reader (28 October 1993)
• E07 - The Non-Fat Yogurt (4 November 1993)
• E08 - The Barber (11 November 1993)
• E14 - The Marine Biologist (10 February 1994)
• E18/19 - The Raincoats (28 April 1994)

Season 6

• E02 - The Big Salad (29 September 1994)
• E11 - The Switch (5 January 1995)
• E12 - The Label Maker (19 January 1995)
• E13 - The Scofflaw (26 January 1995)
• E20 - The Doodle (6 April 1995)
• E22 - The Diplomat's Club (4 May 1995)

Season 7

• E01 - The Engagement (21 September 1995)
• E06 - The Soup Nazi (2 November 1995)
• E08 - The Pool Guy (16 November 1995)
• E13 - The Seven (1 February 1996)
• E16 - The Shower Head (15 February 1996)
• E20 - The Calzone (25 April 1996)
• E21/22 - The Bottle Deposit (2 May 1996)

Season 8

• E02 - The Soul Mate (26 September 1996)
• E05 - The Package (17 October 1996)
• E08 - The Chicken Roaster (14 November 1996)
• E10 - The Andrea Doria (28 November 1996)
• E16 - The Pothole (20 February 1997)
• E20 - The Millennium (1 May 1997)
• E21 - The Muffin Tops (8 May 1997)

Season 9

• E01 - The Butter Shave (25 September 1997)
• E04 - The Blood (16 October 1997)
• E05 - The Junk Mail (30 October 1997)
• E06 - The Merv Griffin Show (6 November 1997)
• E08 - The Betrayal (20 November 1997)
• E12 - The Reverse Peephole (15 January 1998)
• E13 - The Cartoon (29 January 1998)
• E17 - The Bookstore (9 April 1998)
• E23 - The Finale: Part 1 (14 May 1998)
• E24 - The Finale: Part 2 (14 May 1998)

United States Postal Service

Newman is an employee of the United States Postal Service, which is portrayed in the series as a powerful, nefarious organization. Upon being arrested in "The Engagement," Newman assures Kramer and Elaine that they will not be prosecuted: "Don't worry about a thing. In twenty minutes, that place'll be swarming with mailmen. We'll be out by lunch." Newman once sneered to Jerry, "When you control the mail, you control information." ("The Lip Reader").

In "The Junk Mail," Kramer is abducted by Post Office security men for running an anti-mail campaign after he realizes the Postal Service has become obsolete; Newman attempted earlier to dissaude Kramer by pleading, "You don't know the half of what goes on here!" At the end of the episode, for his efforts to save Kramer, Newman is seen escorted by Postal Service employees with a bucket on his head, pleading of Kramer to "tell the world my story."

In "The Package," Newman's business card is shown. It says only "US POSTAL SERVICE - NEWMAN".

Newman claimed that he once worked the same postal route as murderer David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam"). When asked what it was like, Newman commented the route had "a lot of dogs" but joked that they only spoke to him to tell him "to lay off the snacks." Newman retains Berkowitz's mailbag as a valuable collector's item.

Trivia

• Jerry Seinfeld has been quoted as saying that he almost feels sorry for Wayne Knight, as his portrayal of Newman has typecast him to the point that "everywhere he goes, he must be greeted with, Hello, Newman." In fact, during the Seinfeld DVD's special features, Knight recounts an occasion when he was having a particularly bad day, where after a series of unfortunate events a fan happened to yell "Hello, Newman". This resulted in Knight releasing his long day's built-up anger on the unsuspecting fan.
• At one point the show's creators considered that Newman's first name is Paul, as a humorous reference to the popular actor Paul Newman. Many fans also named Newman's character as Paul.
• Newman never goes to work when it is raining, claiming "I don't work in the rain". This is significant for the character George in the episode "The Calzone".
• Despite his size, Newman is also revealed to be a fantastic tennis player ("The Switch") and tree climber, the latter skill learned during his time "in the Pacific Northwest" (according to Kramer, "That boy climbs like a ring-tailed lemur!"). ("The Reverse Peephole")
• In the Xbox 360 videogame Saint's Row, the name of the mail truck is the "NEWMAN".
• In various episodes that feature Newman's apartment, you can see a poster with a T-rex and a DNA strand on it, recalling Wayne Knight's role on Jurassic Park as Dennis Nedry.
• In the episode "The Muffin Tops", Elaine hires Newman as a "cleaner" to get rid of a large amount of muffin stumps. This scene is a parody of both Pulp Fiction and La Femme Nikita. It is also a parody of the movie Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda, which also costars Harvey Keitel as the "cleaner."
• In a scene in the episode "The Package", Newman grills Jerry about mail fraud. This scene is a parody of the famous interrogation scene from the movie Basic Instinct. Wayne Knight played John Correli in Basic Instinct, who was part of the interrogation scene.