My Julia Louis-Dreyfus Page 2

After coming into national prominence as a Saturday Night Live cast member in the early 80s, Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus has now established herself as the quintessential gal of the 90s, the only female who can single-handedly put up with the antics of Jerry, George and Kramer. As Elaine, she's perpetually single and, as with the other characters on NBC's hit sitcom, always finding herself in the worst possible romantic entanglements. In real life, Julia is married to her former SNL colleague Brad Hall. The spunky comedienne fielded questions in the glib, tongue-in-cheek manner reminiscent of the character she has popularized.

Q: First, we have to clear up some confusion regarding your last name, since we hear it mispronounced all the time.

A: It's LOO-ee DRY-fus. This is the deal: it's French and it's hyphenated and it's weird. It's a drag when you're making reservations. I've actually considered going with my married name, Julia Hall, but all the paperwork...

Q: Men have wild crushes on Elaine, and women identify with her. What's the weirdest fan mail you've gotten?

A: I've gotten a couple of proposals. In fact, I'm considering leaving my husband for these people. Once a kid invited me to go to his prom with him. It was very sweet.

Q: You probably declined the offer and broke his heart.

A: I did, but I'm a working actress, you understand. I considered it, but the corsage, and I'd have to get a dress...

Q: Had you gone to your own proms?

A: Oh, yeah. I never had fun at my proms. That's why I decided not to go, based on past prom experience.

Q: But this could have been a change of pace for you.

A: It could have been. I screwed up. I should have gone.

Q: Is Elaine someone who could be a friend of yours?

A: In a very kind of distant way. Elaine is kind of nuts. She looks like a stable character because she's up there with psychopaths like George and Kramer. In fact, she's cuckoo. She has a tendency to move in all these directions, and spin out of control. So I would be friends with her, but only from a distance.

Q: When you were on Saturday Night Live, you were one of the few women in the cast, and now you're again ``one of the guys.'' What are the advantages and disadvantages of being the only female in the Seinfeld cast?

A: The disadvantage is that you are the only female. And, of course, the advantage is that you are the only female. So that clears it up.

Q: Can you elaborate?

A: No, I can't.

Q: Were there any instances on Seinfeld when you thought, ``Gee, it would be nice to have another gal around here''?

A: Very briefly, and there would be another girl, and I would not be the only girl, and I would re-think that fantasy and chuck it.

Q: Seinfeld is a dream sitcom -- talented cast, funny scripts. But everybody complains about their job. What's your biggest gripe about working on Seinfeld?

A: The food has too much salt in it. It's just a little too salty. We all get very bloated after a week of rehearsal. It's a terrible problem. I'm considering leaving the show over that. I'm not kidding.

Q: You and your husband have been together forever. How did you meet?

A: We had mutual friends. It wasn't one of those love-at-first-sight moments, but we fell in love and moved in together. It was a long time ago: 1981.

Q: You were but a teenager.

A: Actually, I met him as a teenager, but I didn't start dating him until I was 20. Much older.

Q: How do two ambitious entertainers sustain a relationship throughout their twenties?

A: I don't know, to tell you the truth. It was a difficult time, because we were working on Saturday Night Live and doing all sorts of stuff. I guess we just liked each other a lot, and somehow we weathered it.

Q: He's developing a number of film projects. Any chance you'll be collaborating?

A: No, he really doesn't like my work.

Q: You've described your Saturday Night Live stint as a traumatic period. With cast mates like Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal what was the problem?

A: I was naive. I had no professional experience outside of Chicago theater, so coming into the huge machine of that show was tough. The schedule of doing a live TV show every week is very difficult. On Monday, there is no script, and on Saturday you're going to be on live. The pressure is on. And for a woman at that time -- I hope it's different now -- it was difficult. The show was very male oriented, and women were in the minority. All of those things combined made it tough, but I'm totally grateful to have had the experience. It taught me about everything. It was like graduate school.

Q: Are you still in touch with the cast members?

A: Mary Gross and I are still friends.

Q: Do you watch the current Saturday Night Live?

A: Only on occasion. And I'm glad to be watching it and not in it.

Q: Having worked in films [Soul Man, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Jack the Bear] and TV, which do you like better?

A: Making a movie is a long, dull process. There's a lot of waiting around. Doing a half-hour TV show is a dream. I really enjoy performing in front of a [studio] audience; they let you know what's happening. With a movie, you don't get that. And Seinfeld is so quick: we crank out one show a week, and the hours are very reasonable.

Q: You were born in Washington, D.C., you went to school in Chicago, you live and work in L.A., and Seinfeld is set in New York. In which of those cities do you most feel at home?

A: Nowhere. Actually, it's a good question. I like Chicago a lot. I miss the cold. L.A. I could live without. New York is nice, but I don't like it as much as I used to. Washington is too humid. I have to find somewhere to live! I'm not kidding.

Q: What do you hate about L.A.?

A: Let's put it this way: what's to like?

Q: Your mom is a writer and your dad is a businessman; your stepfather's a doctor and your stepmother's a teacher. Did you ever want to follow in any of their footsteps?

A: Never. I always wanted to perform. I'm just glad it's not an extracurricular activity anymore. I don't know what steered me in this direction. I guess I'm screwed up. I dropped out of college my junior year to do Saturday Night Live, and I didn't even consult my parents. They were very supportive because they had no choice. By the way, I'm not advocating [dropping out]. All of the youngsters [reading this]: Stay in school, goddam it!

Q: On Seinfeld, we've watched Jerry and George develop a sitcom about ``nothing.'' Imagine a spinoff called Louis-Dreyfus. How would you pitch that to a network executive?

A: I would discourage the network from buying the show. It's not going to be funny, and not particularly entertaining.

Q: Who would some of the supporting characters be?

A: There would be none. Just me on a stool, dressed in black, with a spotlight for a half-hour. I'd open with a song, and I'd do poetry in the middle, and I'd close with a song. There would be no jokes. It would be very serious.

This is a good "Seinfeld" episode for Elaine fans because of the "missing button" and the "hose" sequences. Someone has posted perhaps 7 cleavage pictures from this episode onto the Internet and this is one I managed to get. You will see the collage of cleavage pictures on Julia page 3.

Seinfeld may not last much longer but Julia Louis-Dreyfus may spin off into her own show.

Next season may be the last for the highly rated NBC sitcom, but Entertainment Weekly reports that Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine character may get her own series.

A spokeswoman for Seinfeld denies such a project is in the works.

Louis-Dreyfus' publicist says there have been discussions.

Toronto Star March 26, 1996

Unlike the deliberate confusion that exists between the real Jerry Seinfeld and the TV Jerry Seinfeld, there is no mistaking actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus for her TV character, Elaine Marie Benes - even if they do have the same big hair. For one thing, Elaine is hopelessly single, while Julia is married - to producer/writer Brad Hall, and has an 18-month-old son, Henry. Workwise, Elaine toils at Pendant Publishing, while Julia has actually been on other television shows like Saturday Night Live and Day By Day. Still, some folks manage to get the two women mixed up anyway.

TV Guide Dec. 18, 1993

April 1983

This is a picture of Playboy photographer David Chan and the Saturday Night Live girls Mary Gross, Robin Duke and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a false Playboy article.