Editing Jerry Seinfeld (section)

===1976–1987: Rise to prominence ===
Seinfeld developed an interest in [[stand-up comedy]] after brief stints in college productions. He appeared on [[Open mic|open-mic]] nights at Budd Friedman's Improv Club while attending [[Queens College, City University of New York|Queens College]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://israeliculture.about.com/culture/israeliculture/library/weekly/aa042098.htm |title= Seinfeld's Kibbutz Days |publisher= Israeli Culture |access-date=May 10, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20010223215641/http://israeliculture.about.com/culture/israeliculture/library/weekly/aa042098.htm |archive-date= February 23, 2001}}</ref> After graduation in 1976, he tried out at an open-mic night at New York City's [[Catch a Rising Star (comedy clubs)|Catch a Rising Star]], which led to an appearance in a [[Rodney Dangerfield]] [[HBO]] special.<ref name="bio">{{Cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/64376/Jerry-Seinfeld/biography |title= Jerry Seinfeld |access-date= July 18, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110523211249/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/64376/Jerry-Seinfeld/biography |archive-date= May 23, 2011 |department= Movies & TV Dept. |work= [[The New York Times]] |date=2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1980, he had a small recurring role on the sitcom [[Benson (TV series)|''Benson'']], playing Frankie, a mail-delivery boy who had comedy routines that no one wanted to hear. Seinfeld was abruptly fired from the show due to creative differences.<ref name="bio" /> Seinfeld said that he was not told he had been fired until he arrived for a read-through session and found that there was no script for him.<ref>Interview in "How It Began", a special feature in the Seinfeld Season 1 & 2 DVD</ref> In January 1981, he performed stand-up on ''An Evening at the Improv''.<ref name= improv>{{cite episode |series= An Evening at the Improv |title= An Evening at the Improv |series-number= 1 |number= 3 |date= January 16, 1981 }}</ref> In May, Seinfeld made an appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'', impressing [[Johnny Carson|Carson]] and the audience, leading to frequent appearances on that show and others, including ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''.<ref name="bio" /> On September 5, 1987, his first one-hour special ''[[Stand-Up Confidential]]'' aired live on [[HBO]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/467392/jerry-seinfeld-stand-up-confidential#overview |title=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105020159/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/467392/jerry-seinfeld-stand-up-confidential#overview |url-status=live }}</ref>