*Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. He’d do something in a scene with her, and it would fall flat. Even for a show as zany as Seinfeld, it was a little bit out there when the show abruptly killed off George’s fiancé Susan. Few episodes in television history have been as divisive as the series finale of Seinfeld. She’d do her scenes, then retreat to a corner to read a book until she was needed again. Transcribed by: Derek Smith. You burned her father’s shack down. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. We’ve excerpted it below — for more behind-the-scenes stories from Seinfeld, listen to the latest edition of the Vulture TV Podcast with Armstrong. SEINFELD -- 'The Engagement' Episode 1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Heidi Swedberg as Susan Biddle Ross, Jason Alexander as George Costanza (Photo by Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) Remember Susan Ross? The episode ends with George trying to set up a date with Marisa Tomei the day after the funeral, but is hung up on immediately. His partner, Roy Horn, died just eight months ago due to COVID-19. Someone fill me in please She played the ill-fated Susan Ross, girlfriend of George Costanza, in Season Four and Season Seven of Seinfeld. It’s Theater-Festival Season, in a Year When Everything’s Avant-Garde Anyway, Joshua Bassett Releases Video for ‘Lie Lie Lie,’ Further Stirs the, Sarah Lancashire Will Master the Art of Julia Child. Susan's parents meet and have dinner with the Costanzas for the first time. Susan, played by Heidi Swedberg, died at the end of Season 7 of the iconic Nighties show after the glue used on the cheap wedding envelopes her fiance George had bought turned out to be toxic. Then, he has them sleeping in drawers. Who’s playing George?”, After every episode, we would all go out, the four of us and Larry, get a bite to eat and we would just bitch about everyone. George doesn't think he can go through with the wedding. Poor Susan died from licking too many envelopes at the end of Seinfeld’s seventh season. “It would have been dishonest to make him upset, and that’s why it’s funny,” David said afterward. Flash forward 19 years and we finally have a legit explanation as to why the show killed off Susan, and in such a strange manner no less. You don't even have to be a diehard Seinfeld fan to know how George's fiancee Susan died in season seven: Licking the toxic glue on the cheap wedding envelopes George had … True enough, her character had been through even more than that thanks to George and his friends. The character of Susan Ross, who was played by Heidi Swedberg, died after licking too many poor quality envelopes seals which George Costanza bought for their upcoming wedding. The big reveal comes to us straight from Jason Alexander himself who recently explained the impetus behind Susan’s untimely death to Howard Stern. Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images “I don’t want to hear your bullshit.”, Louis-Dreyfus added, “I just want to kill her.”. "The Finale," which originally aired on May 14, 1998, was an hour-long episode that brought back just about every character Jerry, George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) or Kramer (Michael Richards) wronged throughout the show's nine-year run. It was the final bit of cruelty (funny as it may have been) inflicted on the character. Cardi B Lands Her First Lead Movie Role in Comedy, Ariel Pink Accused of Physical and Sexual Abuse in Court Filings. The preamble to this is that the actress is wonderful girl, Ms. Swedberg, and I love her. If you recall, the character of Susan, played by Heidi Swedberg, died after licking wedding envelopes that turned out to be partially poisonous on account of George buying envelopes with low-quality glue. Full Seinfeld scripts and episodes. Cable news and late-night TV have their work cut out for them. And I kept saying, ‘I’m going out of mind, you guys. © 2021 Vox Media, LLC. What Will TV’s Next Four Years Look Like? Home; Scripts; Episodes; Characters; Gifts; Share; Click Here to join our new Seinfeld's fans community! Susan was the stiffest of the stiff, unlike Swedberg herself, who rebelled against her uptight upbringing by threatening to join the circus when she was a kid in Albuquerque. Susan, an executive at NBC, first appeared in the season 4 episode \"The Pitch\", in which Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza pitched the idea for their sitcom to Susan and her fellow executives. Seinfeld mocked the backlash in the first scenes of "The Foundation", the following season's opener, in which Jerry and George visit Susan's grave. Then in the next take, Swedberg would do something totally different. Jason Alexander spoke about why George Costanza’s fiancée, Susan. “Don’t even talk to me,” Alexander snapped. With Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander. It just, the way I came at stuff and the way she came at stuff [didn’t match]. The episode's ending received a very mixed public reaction, and generated many letters to publications such as TV Guide regarding the tastelessness of Susan's demise, and the characters' indifference. “Somebody showed me something in some magazine where they wrote that this was a ‘fuck you’ to the network. DON’T MISS: Microsoft reveals the first killer Windows 10 hardware. Im watching a Seinfeld episode and I could've sworn Susan, George's fiance died on the show? She is a terrific girl. Susan dies from the illness, and George feels that he's finally free. Ending off a massive arc following George Costanza's dating, engagement, and wedding preparations through season 7, the episode entitled "The Invitations" saw Susan licking poorly-made envelopes (purchased by George) and passing out due to their toxic glue. Alexander’s frustration with Swedberg was so great that when Larry David called him up at the beginning of season 7 to tell him that his character would be marrying Susan, his first response was to fire back, “Great! Including T-Shirts, DVDs, and more! His attempt for a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend and former bandmate was denied the same day Pink attended the January 6 Trump rally. But now shes back and shes a lesbian, did I miss something? And so there you have it; a mystery nearly two decades in the making finally solved. Last year, Jason Alexander spoke about why George Costanza’s fiancée, Susan, was killed off on Seinfeld. You’ve practically shit on her, and nobody feels bad for her. "The Foundation" is the 135th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. He found her comic instincts to be “the complete opposite” of his own. Kramer takes over a friend's horse-drawn carriage for a week and feeds the horse Beef-a-Reeno. So finally they do an episode where Elaine and Jerry have a lot of material with her. “Who’s playing George?” Alexander cracked. This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Conan Asks Ronna. Tune in to the Vulture TV Podcast, produced by the Slate Group’s Panoply, every Tuesday, on iTunes or SoundCloud. “We’ve got a great arc for George,” he said. May 16th's season finale to Seinfeld was undeniably a "weird" episode. After Susan dies, George decides to live the high life by going the bachelor pad route. Swedberg saw her role on the show as being the straight woman to the insanity. Instead, she became an actress, took up the ukulele, and bought an Airstream trailer for her and her husband to hang out in—and keep in the yard at their Los Angeles home. About halfway through the next season, an episode required Jerry and Elaine to hang out with Susan, the first time either Seinfeld or Louis-Dreyfus had to work extensively with Swedberg. Why would I do something like that? By Megan Friedman. Read the full scritpt of The Foundation. Stephen Colbert Supports Your Right to ‘F- -k in the Middle of the Street’, Siegfried Fischbacher, Magician of Siegfried & Roy, Dies at 81. Was she going to leave him? And she would do something, and I would go, ‘Okay, I see what she’s going to do, I’m going to adjust to her’, and then I’d adjust and it would change. Already a subscriber? He did return, however, to write the series finale in 1998. Meanwhile, Jerry gets engaged to a girl who saved his life, but immediately regrets it, and Kramer comes across a … “I always felt like I was punching into Jell-O,” he later said. “Don’t you understand how perfect she is for you?” David continued. This was the first episode of the eighth season, and as such was the first episode in which Jerry Seinfeld assumed command of the show following the departure of its co-creator, Larry David.It was originally broadcast on the NBC network on September 19, 1996. Now we gotta kill her!’. Was George going to marry her? Every time I tell this story I cringe because Heidi is the sweetest. Here's the Real Reason Susan Got Killed Off on Seinfeld. Both families obsess over a loaf of rye bread that wasn't served with the meal, which Frank takes back home. “You’ve driven her to lesbianism. Jerry’s Storyline – Jerry is starting to worry about growing old with just Kramer now that George is getting married. While not many people wanted George and Susan to get married, this is not the way most people wanted him to get out of the wedding. From Seinfeldia by Jennifer Armstrong. Alexander couldn’t win. Of course you do: she was George Costanza's fiancée who died from licking envelopes on "Seinfeld." “The Checks” is a prime example of a Seinfeld episode where the central quartet do a bunch of terrible things and face zero consequences, while the innocent bystanders instead face the brunt of their actions. Looking for a great gift idea for the holidays? Rounding up our favorite comedy podcast episodes of the week. "The Foundation" For instance, while rumors have floated around for years about why Heidi Swedberg’s Seinfeld character Susan Ross got killed off the show at the … "The Invitations" is the 24th and final episode of the seventh season of Seinfeld and the 134th overall episode. David had no idea where the plotline would end, but he was committed to seeing it through. When George is tasked with purchasing his wedding invitations, he opts for the cheapest set, resulting in Susan passing away from consuming the contaminated glue on the envelopes. It's finally time for George and Susan's wedding. Her instincts for doing a scene, where the comedy was, and mine, were always misfiring. Susan, of course, died from licking the cheap envelopes George picked for their wedding invitations. she dies: Susan has died, it turns out, from licking the toxic glue on the cheap envelopes George ordered. But his fun quickly ends when Jerry quotes Star Trek II and the Ross's decide to … Joshua Bassett’s new single “Lie Lie Lie” has arrived. This episode was directed by Andy Ackerman. Swedberg’s first role happened in 1989 with her 8-episode stint on Seinfeld in the middle of a two-decade-long acting career. Eventually, those all-American looks also got her what was originally a bit part on Seinfeld as one of a group of fictional NBC executives who take George and Jerry’s pitch for a sitcom. In the season’s final episode, “The Invitations,” Susan dies after licking poisonous, inexpensive envelopes for their upcoming wedding, a nod to Costanza’s stinginess, and symbolizing the relationship’s toxic impact on Susan’s life. But when Susan puts George in charge of the wedding invitations, George gets the cheapest ones in the lot, knowing that the glue for the envelopes is cheap. A life long Mac user and Apple enthusiast, Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large for over 6 years. George’s throwaway line that she had seemed to like him inspired producers to bring her back several times as George’s on-again, off-again love interest. After Geo… Directed by Andy Ackerman. “You know, it’s hard to figure out where to go with what she gives you,” Seinfeld said. She’s the greatest foil for you.”. As a coworker on the set, Swedberg was an unassuming professional who caused neither trouble nor spectacle. Why a fuck you, when all they did was let me do whatever I wanted for seven years?”. Alexander and Heidi Swedberg, who played George’s ex, never worked on the same wavelength. You can listen to an audio clip of Alexander’s interview with Stern below. After the taping, the four lead actors gathered with David at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City, as usual. Updates on all of the celebrities, politicians, and more who have been vaccinated for the coronavirus. She lost her job at NBC when George kissed her mid-meeting. One hopes this was as distant as George Costanza could get from his real-life inspiration, Larry David. All rights reserved. Last year, Jason Alexander spoke about why George Costanza’s fiancée, Susan, was killed off on Seinfeld. At the hospital, he learns that Susan has died from toxic glue on the wedding invitation envelopes. Her new dark comedy co-stars Dianne Wiest, Chris Messina, and more. “He’s going to get engaged.”. And then finally, and they didn’t know how the season was going to end. It can’t be.’, And they’re going, ‘it works great, you don’t know what you’re talking about.’, I was the only actor doing scenes with her. Heidi Swedberg (born March 3, 1966, in Honolulu, HI) is an American actress. Why Are the Backstreet Boys Tweeting About QAnon? It originally aired on May 16, 1996, and was the last episode written by co-creator Larry David before he left the series at the end of this season. I love her. I’m sure that this stuff isn’t working. Sorry to the Aunties Who Weren’t Invited to Riz Ahmed’s Secret Wedding, All the Celebrities Who Have Received the COVID-19 Vaccine. If … Jun … And they do the week, and then we get to the restaurant afterwards and they go ” You know what, it’s f****** impossible.” And Julia actually said, ‘I know, don’t you want to just kill her?’, And Larry went, ‘Kabang! I couldn’t figure out how to play off of her. Here’s just how racist improv theaters can be, according to Amber Ruffin. Jason Alexander revealed the fate of George's fiancée to Howard Stern. I can’t understand how to play off of this girl. Kramer doesn’t understand how exchange rates work, so he gets his Japanese tourist friends to blow all their money. Her girl-next-door looks had gotten her onetime guest spots on shows such as Matlock, Grace Under Fire, and Murder, She Wrote. His writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and most recently, TUAW. In it, Susan, George's fiance, dies from cheap envelope glue after George buys cheap wedding invitations. In the summer of 1995, Larry David called Jason Alexander. Now, Susan and George were the closest Seinfeld had ever gotten to a stable couple. So in the next take, he’d do something else, and then David would tell him to go back to the original choice. “Who’s playing Susan?” Alexander asked, though surely he knew. Here’s what Swedberg’s been up to since Susan’s death. The actor reveals that it was an offhand comment from Julia Louis-Dreyfus about sharing scenes with Heidi Swedberg that led to the character's demise. While Alexander found it easy to play off of his regular costars, he always felt like he was fighting Swedberg in their shared scenes, even though he liked her as a person offscreen. Also, Heidi briefly reprised her role in Season Nine's episode “The Betrayal”. The last project the star appeared in was a 2010 episode of the TV series Hawthorne. It’s an “epic odyssey of romance, war, drug addiction, and crime” directed by the Russo brothers and starring Spidey. Grade: Akiva – A+, Rob – A+. The Foundation. Even for a show as zany as Seinfeld, it was a little bit out there when the show abruptly killed off George’s fiancé Susan. Log in or link your magazine subscription, Ray Fisher Confirms That He’s Been Removed From the Cast of, It Makes Total Sense We’re All Into Sea Shanties Now. In her book, Seinfeldia, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong gives the full story behind the character’s death by envelopes. Jerry meets a woman who appears to be exactly like him, falls in love and promptly … This common drug might save people with COVID-19, iOS 14.4 includes a surprising new warning for iPhone owners, If you haven’t seen this Netflix original series yet, you need to correct that immediately, Today is your last chance to get a new $600 stimulus check, 8 coronavirus essentials you should stock up on, according to the CDC, 10 deals you don’t want to miss on Saturday: Honeywell masks, $9 wireless charger, $68 robot vacuum, Purell, more, Save $200 on the Deebot T8 robot vacuum with an awesome feature you won’t believe, $200 Sony noise cancelling headphones are down to $98 at Amazon, Today’s best deals: KN95 masks, $9 Anker wireless charger, $68 robot vacuum, 40% off immune boosters, $98 Sony headphones, more, Microsoft reveals the first killer Windows 10 hardware, So many people don’t realize that the coronavirus spreads this way, Doing these 3 things might prevent nearly all coronavirus cases, study says. The conversation led to what Alexander called “the single coldest moment in the history of television”: when Susan’s death is met with what could generously be called an apathetic shrug … from her own fiancé. They’re all on your side. Season 7, Episode 24 is one of the most classic episodes of the series, as it features the death of George's fiancé Susan. Over the course of the fourth season, as the development of the sitcom continued, Susan began dating George - an endeavor that was not helped by Cosmo Kramer, who first vomited on Susan, and then burned down her father's cabin. Update: Alexander has since apologized for his remarks, noting that he feels “officially awful” while of course emphasizing that the entire cast adored her as a person. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.  All rights reserved. Warren Littlefield saw it as “the boldest comedy move I had ever seen,” even though his kids’ pediatrician wouldn’t talk to him afterward. Kramer threw up on her. 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