On-air reunion between Jerry Seinfeld and WFAN's Steve Somers appears to be near
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld waves to fans before throwing a ceremonial first pitch before a game between the Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Friday, July 5, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The airing of grievances is over, and it appears an on-air reunion between Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Somers is near, awaiting only the start of the baseball season.
On his WFAN program early Saturday, Somers took note of Seinfeld’s promise in Newsday of an upcoming "schmooze near you" and said the actor/comedian is welcome on his show anytime.
"He is about to come back to WFAN, and once baseball season gets underway, he’ll have plenty to say about the Metropolitans from 41 Seaver Way," Somers said.
The two had had what Somers described as a "terrific email and radio relationship" for years before a falling out of sorts years ago over a matter that upset Somers but that Seinfeld seemed to consider a misunderstanding. "He may not even remember the incident," Somers conceded on the air.
But Somers spoke in disappointed terms both on the air in December and again in an interview with Newsday this past week about Seinfeld declining to help him with contact information for Larry David.
When Seinfeld, who grew up in Massapequa, was asked about Somers’ comments, he told Newsday through a spokesman, "Ridiculous. I love Mr. Somers. Never had a cross word.
"I prefer to call in during Mets baseball season. My main sports interest. Our friendship is for life. What a knucklehead. Watch for ‘Jerry from Queens’ coming very soon to a schmooze near you . . . !"
Seinfeld had been a longtime listener when he ran into Somers at a bodega in Manhattan late one night years ago, which led to Seinfeld making periodic calls to Somers as "Jerry from Queens." (He attended Queens College.)
Somers one day requested contact information to set up an interview with David, star of HBO’s "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Seinfeld’s old partner on his eponymous sitcom.
Seinfeld provided it, which led to a successful interview with David. A year or more later, David changed his address, and Somers asked Seinfeld for the new one so he could set up another chat with David, an avid Yankees, Jets and Knicks fan.
According to Somers, Seinfeld suggested he had overstepped his bounds. "I’m not going to give it to you," Somers quoted Seinfeld saying. "That’s not what friends do."
"That took me aback," Somers said. "I didn’t know what to say. I was breathless. I said something along the lines of ‘That’s not what friends do?’ He wouldn’t give it to me, and yet he had given it to me the first time . . . That upset me. I couldn’t believe that. That is what friends do."
Somers never brought up the matter on the air for fear of embarrassing Seinfeld, but in December, after morning show producer Al Dukes told the story on the air, a caller asked Somers about it, at which point he told all.
Somers said he would have had Seinfeld on anytime if he wanted to call in because his listeners enjoy it, but he had not reached out to him in recent years. Then Somers read Seinfeld’s comments in Newsday – "He was throwing nothing but roses over my way."
Said Somers on Saturday morning, "It’s not earth-shaking. It’s not breaking news. It’s not the end of the world, but it was something that I remembered, even if he doesn’t. But I’m glad that he made the comments that he made in the paper on Thursday, and let’s face it, I don’t hold grudges to begin with.
"The bottom line is we’ll have him on once the baseball season gets underway. He’s more comfortable talking about the Mets; that’s his team. So once baseball season gets started, I’m sure he’ll come on every now and then and it should be and could be and will be, I’m hoping, a very fun couple of minutes with ‘Jerry from Queens.’ "
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
