Jerry Seinfeld and other TV characters with tax problems
The "Seinfeld" gang in 1997. Credit: Getty Images
The deadline for filing 2017 income taxes this year is Tuesday, April 17. Make sure you do or else you may be in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service — just like these five memorable TV characters:
RALPH KRAMDEN (“The Honeymooners,” April 7, 1956) Ralph (Jackie Gleason) panics when he receives a letter from the IRS asking him to report to their office. He thinks he’s being nabbed for tax evasion. Turns out, he just forgot to sign his income-tax form.
ARCHIE BUNKER (“All in the Family,” Sept. 23, 1972) Archie (Carroll O’Connor) fails to report the extra income he made by driving a cab and is audited by the IRS.
AL BUNDY (“Married . . . With Children,” Jan. 14,1990) Al (Ed O’Neill) faces an IRS audit because his wife Peg (Katey Sagal) engaged in some creative accounting while filling out their taxes. His scheme to raise the money: sell Peg’s hair.
JERRY SEINFELD (“Seinfeld,” Sept. 25, 1991) Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) faces an IRS audit stemming from a 1985 donation (at Kramer’s urging, of course) to a fake relief fund for the victims of the Krakatoa eruption (which took place in 1883).
HOMER SIMPSON (“The Simpsons,” April 5, 1998) After Homer is audited by the IRS, he agrees to a deal with the government to go undercover to locate a trillon-dollar bill that his boss, Mr. Burns, may illegally possess.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
