Upstate New York native Hiram Kasten, an actor and comedian best known for his role on “Seinfeld,” is dead at age 71.
Kasten, who was born Hiram Z. Kastenbaum in Batavia, died Sunday at the Crossroads House in his hometown, according to an obituary published in The Batavian. Kasten had battled several illnesses, including prostate cancer over the past seven years, and Crohn’s disease his entire life.
Kasten appeared on three episodes of “Seinfeld” as Michael, a co-worker of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), but was a friend of sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld for more than 40 years. According to his obit, they first met at The Comic Strip in the late 1970s when Seinfeld was acting as emcee at the New York comedy club and passed Kasten on his first audition.
“To Hiram, it was all about the performance and the desire to entertain. He channeled the greats in his demeanor onstage, always dressing for the occasion. With his open-collared shirts and natty sports jackets, always with a pocket hanky billowing forth, he stood out amongst his peers,” his obit said. “He emulated Alan King, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Lewis. He loved nothing better than donning one of his tailored suits or tuxedos and walking onstage for a show or a benefit and being entertaining. His comedy and demeanor were not some contrived gimmick to ‘put on’ a character. He was the real deal.”
Kasten built a reputation as a stand-up comedian who never performed the same show twice, sometimes breaking out into song on stage. He performed throughout New York City in the ‘80s and ‘90s before joining the wave of comics moving to Los Angeles.
Besides “Seinfeld,” he also appeared on “Mad About You,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Saved By the Bell,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Without a Trace,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “7th Heaven.” He also played a Joey Bishop-like character in a Rat Pack-inspired Las Vegas show produced by David Cassidy.
Hiram and his wife, Diana Kastenbaum, moved back to Batavia in 2012, according to the Lockport Journal. She ran for a seat on the Batavia city council in 2013 and unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Democratic ticket in 2016 in the NY-27 race.
Survivors include Diana, Hiram’s wife of 38 years, and their daughter, Millicent. Funeral services will be held in Forest Hills, N.Y., with a memorial service to follow in L.A.