Ranking Every Seinfeld Secondary Character From Worst To Best

Perhaps the least memorable boss portrayed by a member of the cast of "Seinfeld," Thomassoulo is George's short-lived employer in the final season of the series. The branch manager at local company Play Now, he hires George with the promise of numerous accommodations and benefits under the false pretense that George is physically handicapped.

When he discovers George has been faking the entire time, a disgusted Thomassoulo and his Play Now employees do whatever they can to get George to quit, sabotaging his office and making his life miserable. George, however, resolves to remain at the company as long as possible in the hopes of fulfilling his one-year contract and receiving his hefty salary package.

The idea of a company being stuck with George against their will is promising, with Thomassoulo having a few great scenes with George during their bitter battles at Play Now. Unfortunately, the character only appears in two episodes before Play Now is doomed to bankruptcy thanks to a costly lawsuit caused by George in "The Voice." If he was in more episodes, he might place higher on this list. Sadly, Thomassoulo doesn't measure up to the famously quirky nature of other employers like Peterman, Pitt, and Steinbrenner.

Another one of Elaine's colleagues at the J. Peterman Catalog, Dugan is the most straightforward and easy to understand of Elaine's coworkers and makes his disdain for her as plainly known as possible. Repeatedly mocking her to her face and behind her back, Dugan is a head writer at the catalog who instantly dislikes Elaine when she starts off at the company. As she climbs through the corporate ranks, his strong antagonistic feelings toward her only increase, and Elaine loses the respect and support of her employees as her tenure as acting president of the company drags on.

Like Peggy, Dugan really isn't seen enough to qualify as the greatest "Seinfeld" side character. However, it's almost always amusing to see him flat out make fun of Elaine, her inept work ethics, and nonexistent managerial skills whenever he makes an appearance.

A delightful side character, his terse reactions to some of Elaine's worst office decisions are always amusing. These include his rage-filled outburst upon hearing Elaine promote an unqualified mailroom attendant in "The Fatigues" instead of him, or his subtle digs at her shockingly poor dance movies in "The Little Kicks."

A rabbi with loose lips, Rabbi Kirschbaum is a local religious leader who lives in the same apartment building as Elaine. Known for his overenunciation of words, he's a source of guidance for many people, including those of a dissimilar faith. Always ready to offer helpful advice to those in need, Kirschbaum has noble intentions, but is frequently prone to voicing the private concerns of others aloud rather than keeping them confidential. The most extreme example of this is found in his debut episode, Season 7's "The Postponement," when he discusses at length the personal issues Elaine faces on his cable TV show.

Seldom do we see the gang actually discuss their feelings and insecurities with others, which makes it all the more humorous when such private confessions are made known to the wrong people. Rabbi Kirschbaum means well, but his straightforward nature and lack of social awareness always end up hurting those who choose to confide in him.

The Rabbi appears in a small number of episodes following this initial appearance, each time usually causing more harm than good when it comes to his spiritual or personal life advice. Most memorably, he is one of the numerous Jewish men who end up hopelessly and irrationally falling in love with Elaine for her "shiksappeal."

A pair of local street toughs who occasionally cause problems for the gang, especially Kramer, Cedric and Bob are an interesting pair. Loyal life partners, they're shown to display genuine warmth and affection for one another, as well as an air of sophistication when it comes to matters of design or fashion. The moment they perceive an outside threat, though, they immediately turn into aggressive bullies, threatening anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path with physical violence.

The main thing to love about Cedric and Bob is their complete lack of predictability. One minute, they could be admiring an armoire together, the next they'll be talking trash to a complete stranger they meet on the street. Even Cedric — the seemingly quieter, more rational of the two — is shown to react tersely when approached by someone he's unfamiliar with. 

They're a rough crowd to hang around with, yet we have a feeling that if you got on their good side, they'd be a joy to be around. If you happened to offend them or catch them on an off day, however ... well, that's an entirely different story.

Every once in a while on "Seinfeld," viewers might spot a familiar face — an actor or actress who went on to achieve success or exposure later in their career. Such is the case with Beth Lukner, played by Debra Messing of "Will & Grace" fame. In "Seinfeld," Messing's Beth is a well-off physician happily married to her salesman husband, David (played by Cary Elwes) who makes her first appearance in Season 7's "The Wait Out."

In that episode, George makes a bad joke in front of the couple about the fact that Beth is a physician and David is only a salesman, which prompts an argument between the two that leads to their separation. Perversely, both Elaine and Jerry have anticipated this breakup for years, "waiting out" the happy couple's marriage so that they can then begin dating David and Beth, respectively.

Ultimately, after her failed attempt to get back together with David and a brief marriage to a man named Arnie (which is ruined by Elaine), Jerry finally begins seeing Beth on a more romantic basis. The relationship comes to a screeching halt, however, when it's revealed that Beth harbors not-so-secret racist and anti-Semitic views.

Every so often, Jerry meets a character who's every bit as awful and annoying as he is. The most notable of these has to be Sally Weaver, the former college roommate of Susan Ross and one of Jerry's de facto archenemies. Played by the famous comedian Kathy Griffin, Sally is a regular thorn in Jerry's side, ruining his act several times in her first appearance, Season 7's "The Doll."

In her follow-up appearance in Season 9's "The Cartoon," Sally evolves from a character who only mildly inconveniences Jerry to someone who flat-out hates him. After Jerry tells Kramer that Sally should give up on her dreams of becoming an actress and Kramer repeats this sentiment to Sally seconds later — quickly clarifying, "That's what Jerry says" — Sally creates an entire standup routine called "Jerry Seinfeld is the Devil." Ironically, the show is a huge success. Newman sees it a total of six times, and opines, "It's so great to see a show that's about something." 

An infuriating woman who isn't even aware of the problems she's causing, Sally is one of the few characters that Jerry has adequate reason to dislike. Selfish and obnoxious, she is unable to pick up on social cues about just how aggravating her behavior can be. She's a character you just love to hate. Although, considering how awful Jerry can be sometimes, you can't help but feel like he deserves every little issue she causes for him.

A close friend of Kramer's, Mike Moffitt is one of the several "Bizarro Georges" that appear in the show, possessing a similar personality and physical appearance to everyone's favorite "short, stocky, bald man," as George is commonly described. A cantankerous and angry man first seen in Season 3's "The Parking Space," Mike gets into a heated argument with George over a parking space they both pull into at the same time. In that same episode, Jerry holds a grudge against Mike for calling him a "phony" behind his back; ironically, the two-faced Mike is the biggest phony of them all.

Mike's second appearance in "Seinfeld" comes with Season 9's "The Susie." Now an aspiring bookie, Mike loses a bet with Jerry and can't pay it back, leading to several incidents that invert the standard relationship between bookies and deadbeat clients.

With each of his two appearances in the show, Mike provides a few standout moments in "Seinfeld" history. There's his lengthy standoff with George in the streets, his hapless attempts to explain to Jerry that phony is actually a compliment, and his worsening luck as a bookie who believes Jerry is actually trying to kill him over his debts. It also helps that Mike just happens to be in two of the strongest episodes of "Seinfeld."

Mr. and Mrs. Ross are the wealthy socialite parents of Susan Ross, George's girlfriend and later fiancée in one of his main story arcs. Privileged, snooty, and pretentious, they're shown to be surprisingly similar to George's parents in more ways than one, despite initially coming across as the complete opposite of Estelle and Frank Costanza.

The most obvious similarity between the two couples is how little affection or love they hold for one another. In their first few appearances in the show, they regularly make snide comments about each other, targeting their partner's individual insecurities and shortcomings. But as in most cases, opposites don't always attract, with both the Costanzas and the Rosses getting off to a bad start when they first get together over dinner and immediately dislike each other. After Susan's death at the end of Season 7, the Rosses do grow somewhat closer as a result of the tragedy. Believing George to be responsible for Susan's demise, they form a long-standing grudge against him, hinting several times that they've tried to figure out ways to get revenge.

Because the Rosses are the least featured parents on "Seinfeld," they don't rank nearly as highly as the Seinfelds or the Costanzas, but that definitely doesn't mean they're not entertaining every time they're on the show. It says a lot that any couple could be more toxic than Frank and Estelle, but the Rosses definitely hold that esteemed (dis)honor.

Poor, poor Susan Ross. Love her or hate her, you have to admit she got the rough end of the stick. An NBC executive whose relationship with George costs her career, she later becomes George's fiancée after George resolves to "make some major changes in his life," believing a stable marriage is his key to achieving happiness. When he proposes to Susan without fully thinking about the major changes that will come about once he's a married man, George does everything he can to end their engagement before it's too late.

If ever you needed proof that the main characters of "Seinfeld" are horrible people, just look at Susan's treatment in the show. Her life is unequivocally ruined because of her association with George and his friends; she loses her job, her family's cabin, and even her life thanks to George's foul-ups.

Susan definitely deserved better than George, who holds literally no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and is completely ambivalent about her death. However, George's feelings for Susan (or lack thereof) do provide some original off-kilter moments for the show, segueing more into the realms of dark humor than your average, lighthearted, primetime sitcom jokes.

Jerry's maternal uncle, Leo is probably one of the most stand-up guys among the "Seinfeld" supporting character list. Wearing a permanent smile on his face and always displaying the most upbeat attitude, Leo is a kindly old soul and one of the few people consistently proud and supportive of Jerry's accomplishments as a comedian. He's occasionally shown to be concerned about Jerry's finances, a trait he shares with Jerry's parents.

To be fair, there are moments when Leo can be a little overbearing or annoying, such as when he insists on keeping a conversation going beyond acceptable limits and finds it rude whenever anyone tries to leave before he's finished speaking. His booming voice and boisterous mannerisms may make him seem a bit obnoxious to some, but you can't deny he has nothing but raw enthusiasm whenever he sees Jerry, loudly bursting out, "Jerry, helloooooo!" and embracing his nephew at every opportunity. 

No matter how many people Jerry offends and gets into an argument with, there's a 99% chance Leo will be rooting him on from the sidelines. That's a supportive uncle we'd all love to have.

The archenemy of Morty Seinfeld, Jack is to Morty what Newman is to Jerry. A greedy, conniving retiree at the Seinfelds' original Florida elderly community, The Pines of Mar Gables, Jack repeatedly butts heads with Morty during the Seinfelds' time there. Combative by nature, Jack routinely tries to find ways to humiliate Morty, likely stemming over Jack's lower position as the condo association vice president under acting president Morty. 

In the occasional instances where Jack agrees to help the Seinfelds, such as shipping a bundle of Morty's raincoats to New York, he's shown to cut corners for his own convenience. In that particular instance, he sends the coats a day late to save on delivery fees and doesn't bother to properly package them, a bold demonstration of his typical self-interested mindset.

Vain, vindictive, and petty to no end, Jack's the type to laugh at the misfortune of others for his own personal amusement. Even when he's the one on the receiving end of some terrible incident, he finds a way to land on his feet and escape any hardships. For example, when he crashes Jerry's newly purchased Cadillac into a swamp in Season 8's "The Money," he blames Jerry for the accident and refuses to pay for the damages. Fortunately, he manages to lose his silly "astronaut pen" in the wreckage, which almost makes the whole accident worthwhile in Jerry's estimation.

An executive at Doubleday who briefly hires Elaine as his assistant purely because she reminds him of Jackie Onassis, Pitt is an infinitely odd character even by "Seinfeld" standards. Possessing a very eccentric personality, he demands absolute perfection from his employees down to the most minute of assignments. Conversely, he's distracted by mundane things — 3D paintings, for example — that absorb his full attention to the point of almost missing crucial workplace responsibilities that come with his position at Doubleday.

Unlike other absent-minded bosses like Peterman or Steinbrenner, Pitt is the only boss who actually demands hard work from Elaine, forcing her to complete menial tasks like removing all the salt from his pretzel sticks to finding the perfect pair of socks for his feet. The level of time and effort Elaine puts into the job makes her miserable, prompting her to try and quit several times ... until she finds out she's a major benefactor in Pitt's will.

Humorously, a minor health crisis leads Pitt to falsely believe that Elaine is trying to kill him to secure her inheritance, and Pitt abruptly fires her and removes her from his will. A very peculiar man, the greatest thing about Pitt is his hostility towards Elaine. From screaming at her to complete a jazz trivia game over the radio to angrily flinging socks around the room when she can't find a satisfactory pair, he's a worst-case scenario when it comes to employers. 

Sue Ellen Mischke — informally referred to as "the bra-less wonder" by Elaine — is a childhood friend of Elaine's and the main heiress to the Oh Henry! candy bar fortune. During their years attending high school together, Elaine grew to passionately hate Sue Ellen for her habit of not wearing a bra. Despite her apparent dislike for Sue Ellen, Elaine still maintains an apparently close friendship with her former high school classmate.

Sue Ellen is featured a few times in "Seinfeld," usually inconveniencing Elaine by accident in some way without realizing it. When Elaine purposefully gifts Sue Ellen a bra as a birthday present, Sue Ellen wears it as a top through the streets of New York, causing Kramer to crash his car. Later, she invites Elaine and her friends to a destination wedding in India, only for the ceremony to fall apart after George accidentally reveals Elaine slept with the groom at one point.

It's unknown if Sue Ellen is aware of how much her behavior aggravates Elaine. Whether she's doing these things on purpose just to drive her friend crazy or not, her strange antics and her capacity for getting under Elaine's skin provides quite a few standout moments.

A thinly veiled caricature of famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jackie Chiles is Kramer's go-to lawyer, an effective and argumentative legal representative known for his ostentatious statements and unique speaking voice. Routinely featured in "Seinfeld" whenever a legal matter comes up, Jackie almost always loses cases that involve Kramer or his friends as his clients invariably due to their incompetence undercutting Chiles' valiant legal efforts.

With his dramatic enunciation and verbosity, Jackie seems like the type of lawyer you'd love to have on your side and hate to see opposing you. Able to smooth talk his way out of almost any situation, he's a dedicated lawyer who can expertly handle any case but prefers to handle lucrative lawsuits due to their superior financial rewards.

Hilariously, though, for all Jackie's grandstanding statements and ambitious schemes for a big payday, Kramer's quickness to accept the first settlement or business opportunity that comes his way tends to undermine Jackie's many hours of difficult legal work.

The owner and president of the J. Peterman Catalog, Jacopo Peterman is a direct parody of the similarly named John Peterman, a mogul responsible for a popular '90s mail-order catalog that advertised luxury clothing for sale with each item presented alongside an elaborate description. The "Seinfeld" version of Peterman is an airheaded, wealthy globetrotter and Elaine's boss throughout much of the show's later seasons.

One of the most eccentric characters on the series, Peterman is every bit as buffoonish as any other "Seinfeld" employer, if not more so. Always one to toot his own horn, his endless stories about his travels routinely bore anyone unlucky enough to listen to them. A man of great emotion, he's also known for his theatrical speaking voice, occasional bouts of anger, and hardheaded stubbornness. At one point, Peterman forcefully throws Kramer out of his office when he believes Kramer is selling drugs to Elaine. Granted, there are plenty of legitimate reasons why any company manager would want to throw Kramer out of their place of business, but Peterman happens to be misguided in this specific instance. 

With his baritone speaking voice, adventurous lifestyles, and complete unpredictability, Peterman resembles a soap opera version of Indiana Jones. With actor John O'Hurley handing in a deliberately campy performance, he's one of the most ludicrous figures in all of "Seinfeld," a character who feels like he just walked off the set of some bad '40s adventure movie. Yet for all his bravado, some of his funniest moments are the more mundane moments of his life, such as griping about the cable companies changing his TV channels again.

George's final employer in Season 9 of "Seinfeld," Kruger is the president and founder of Kruger Industrial Smoothing. While he appears in only four episodes, Kruger makes a distinct and lasting impression due to his complete indifference to his office responsibilities or the direction of his company. He's more interested in minor and trivial workplace matters, like coming up with nicknames for his employees or trying to figure out which of his employees is the most entertaining.

Kruger cares even less about his company than George does, which is actually sort of impressive. Whenever George halfheartedly attempts to lie to Kruger, the latter almost always shrugs it off with a nonchalant "whatever," not seeming to care one way or another about George's absurd claims. Even when his company seems on the brink of bankruptcy in Season 9's "The Burning," Kruger appears indifferent, foisting off all the potentially company-saving responsibilities on George.

The many bosses of "Seinfeld" are almost all incompetent or unfit to head a company. Unlike like those kinds of employers, though, Kruger isn't emotionally and mentally unhinged — he just doesn't care. He's the kind of executive who resolves to go home early for the day when he locks himself out of his office, and a boss we all secretly pray to work under one day.

Elaine's superior at Pendant Publishing, Lippman is also one of the most normal and straightlaced bosses in "Seinfeld," along with Wilhelm. He's also one of the more frequently seen characters in the show, acting as Elaine's boss throughout much of the first half of "Seinfeld," and later appears infrequently as a recurring character.

Compared to the unrestrained wackiness of Steinbrenner or Peterman, Lippman is perhaps the most rational authority figure Elaine ever works under. He values hard work and loyalty from his employees, trusting Elaine even after a string of massive mistakes, including the time she angers one of Pendant's most famous writers in "The Marine Biologist" or recommends George for a position in "The Red Dot." He's also quite patient when dealing with some of Elaine's more annoying habits, brusquely telling her to re-edit Jake Jarmel's book after Elaine places dozens of needless exclamation marks in the novel.

As calm and composed as Lippman usually is, he occasionally goes off the rails. After Pendant goes out of business thanks to a foul-up caused by Elaine, he fruitlessly tries to start several new businesses, including a muffin shop with Elaine and a relaunched version of Pendant. It appears the shock of losing his company also destroys Lippman's common sense, as he dramatically renounces Judaism after falling in love with Elaine in Season 9's "The Serenity Now" — her shiksappeal apparently claiming her former boss's heart.

The closest thing "Seinfeld" has to a main antagonist, Newman is the mortal enemy of Jerry, as well as one of Kramer's best friends. Making his first on-screen appearance halfway through Season 3, Newman's heated feud with Jerry is established almost right off the bat. An ardent gossip who delights at the chance at seeing in Jerry in trouble, Newman tries to annoy or inconvenience Jerry any way he can nearly every time he's on the show.

The genius of Newman's role on "Seinfeld" is his flexibility. In some episodes, he tries to launch a romantic relationship with Elaine — his secret crush who he's pined after for years. Other times, episodes might focus on his half-baked business ventures with Kramer, such as their attempts to start a rickshaw service or transport bottles and cans from New York to Michigan for a potentially lucrative refund. More often than not, though, he's a persistent nuisance to Jerry.

There are no wasted jokes when it comes to Newman, his job at the U.S. Postal Service and his avid hatred of Jerry providing some of the best running jokes in "Seinfeld." Jerry might hate a lot of people he runs into in New York, but he absolutely abhors Newman. It speaks volumes about how loathsome their feelings are for one another when Jerry literally freezes at the mere sight of Newman, exchanging his characteristic frosty greeting of "Hello, Newman" with his longtime nemesis.

If it weren't for Newman, Kenny Bania could very well lay claim to the title of Jerry's archenemy. A stand-up comic, Bania is everything Jerry hates in a comedian, and lacks respect for Bania's personally and his predominantly dry material which inexplicably always involves Ovaltine. Despite how little regard Jerry holds for Bania, Bania seems to almost idolize Jerry, regularly tries to hang out with his fellow comic, and goes to great lengths to impress him.

With each of his appearances on "Seinfeld," it's obvious that Bania respects and likes Jerry on a personal and professional level. It's also made extremely clear how one-sided the relationship is, with Jerry wanting virtually nothing to do with Bania, who he sees as a "hack" in no uncertain terms. Oblivious to Jerry's animosity against him, Bania routinely tries to get on Jerry's good side numerous times, and never notices Jerry's misery during each of their outings together.

While Bania may be a hack, he makes for a great foil for Jerry. It doesn't matter if Bania lacks the social skills needed to detect Jerry's hatred for him or whether he just chooses to ignore it — his chemistry with Jerry is nothing short of comedy gold. In any other character's mouth, Bania's raw enthusiasm for the simplest things in life — his unbridled love for pea soup, for instance — would make him sound ridiculous. But something about Bania's delivery and Jerry's reaction makes it all seem so right.

If Helen is the stereotypical mom, Morty Seinfeld is the perfect example of an out-of-touch elderly dad. Like his wife, Morty is a retiree who lives in a private community in Florida. Unlike Helen who constantly busies herself by worrying about Jerry's private life and career as a comic, Morty appears less than concerned, spending his time focusing on his own troubles rather than his son's. However, that doesn't make him any more laidback than Helen. In fact, Jerry's touchiness and sensitivity seem directly inherited from his father, who's every bit as uncouth and prone to exasperation as his son.

A former raincoat salesman, Morty is very much the cliched old man. From his casual usage of outdated, non-PC terms to using an expensive Wizard organizer to calculate 12.4% tips, he's predominantly shown to be of a surly disposition, not liking jokes at his expense and griping about the cost of nearly everything he buys.

Yet for all his grumpiness, Morty still displays genuine affection for his son and fondness for his wife, making him likable enough to avoid the same character flaws as George's parents. Morty isn't perfect, but he's lovable in his own flawed way.

As far as supporting characters on "Seinfeld," it doesn't get any better than Frank Costanza. A man whose fiery personality and high quantity are responsible for some of the most hilarious moments in "Seinfeld," Frank's popularity directly rivals the main stars of the show. His peculiar behavior, mannerisms, and tendency to fly off the handle at a moment's notice make him one of the most hotheaded characters in sitcom history, as well as one of the show's most distinct breakout stars.

As Kramer accurately describes him, Frank is a prolific man whose personality cannot be matched by anyone else in the "Seinfeld" universe. His many careers have included tenures as an Army cook, a salesman who regularly traveled to Korea, and the co-creator and main product tester of the revolutionary "Manssiere" (or "Bro," depending on who you ask). Among his numerous other accolades, he's also responsible for gifting the world the essential alternative holiday, Festivus.

For as infinitely odd Frank is on his own, it's his interactions with his family that make him iconic. Practically every scene he shares with his wife devolves into a full-blown screaming match, with the two of them seeming to share little to any romantic feelings for each other whatsoever. In his interactions with George, he regularly bullies, berates, or insults his son, sometimes making ill-fated efforts to bond with him in failed business startups like the Costanza and Son Computer Company or through poor attempts at father-son conversation. With a father like Frank, it's no wonder George ended up the nervous wreck that he is.