When The Boss Played The Boss

I was not sure how, or even if, to address the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner (although I will say that if you care at all, this and this are necessary reading). The Boss was not Jewish; and anyway, we had not one but two deaths covered yesterday. (And it’s only Tuesday! Everyone hide!) The closest Jewish link to Steinbrenner—other than the millions of Jewish Yankee fans —is that he was famously voiced, though not played, on Seinfeld by Larry David; Steinbrenner was George Costanza’s boss from Seasons 6 through 8. Still, enh.

But then, via City Room, there’s this: Steinbrenner actually appeared in a Seinfeld episode, though his scenes were deleted before broadcast. But now you can see the three scenes from “The Invitations,” the Season 7 finale (also known as the episode in which Susan dies). An important note is that the final two—in which we have Steinbrenner’s and then Elaine’s backs to us—are parodies of the typical Steinbrenner scenes. If nothing else, they are proof that Steinbrenner was aware of what everyone thought of him. Which is something.

George Steinbrenner, Who Built Yankees Into Powerhouse, Dies at 80 [NYT]