Martin Van Nostrand - Background and Family

Background and Family

In "The Trip," Kramer says that a man in a park exposed himself to him when he was a young boy. In "The Big Salad" Kramer reveals to Jerry that he grew up in a strict household where he had to be in bed every night by 9:00PM. In "The Letter", Kramer tells two art patrons that he ran away from home at age 17 and stowed away aboard a steamer bound for Sweden.

Kramer never completed high school; however, it is made clear in "The Barber" that Kramer has a GED.

Kramer was estranged for a long period from his mother, Barbra "Babs" Kramer, who works as a restroom matron at an upscale restaurant. Unlike George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld, Kramer's character does not have a well-developed network of family members shown in the sitcom. He is the only main character on the show whose father never makes an appearance; however, in "The Chinese Woman," Kramer mentions that he is the last male member of his family, implying that his father died. He also mentions in "The Lip Reader" that he has or had a deaf cousin, from whom he learned fluent American Sign Language (but when Kramer attempts to communicate in ASL, he speaks complete gibberish and he cannot correctly translate the ASL he sees others using).

During an opening discussion, Kramer reveals to Jerry that in 1979 he was struck on the head by a falling air conditioner while walking on the sidewalk. Jerry asks if that was when Kramer lived in Greenwich Village, to which Kramer replies that he cannot remember. This is discussed in the beginning of "The Little Kicks".

In "The Strong Box", it is revealed that Kramer spent a brief time in the Army, although information about this time is "classified". In episode three of season one he says he lived in LA for three months.