'Seinfeld' actor Hiram Kasten dead at 71
New York comedian Hiram Kasten has died at 71, Fox News Digital confirmed.
Kasten's wife, Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum, first announced the passing of her husband on Facebook on Sunday. In the post, Diana wrote that her husband's health took a turn in 2017 while battling prostate cancer and his lifelong Crohn's disease.
"He is survived by his beloved wife, Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum of Batavia, New York, who loved and tenderly cared for him until the end," the post read.
Diana wrote that they married in June 1986, and "he died in her arms on June 16, 2024, only hours after their 38th wedding anniversary."
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A funeral service will be held in Forest Hills, New York.
Kastenbaum shared with Fox News Digital that a public memorial service will be held in Los Angeles this summer, but dates have not yet been set.
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The social media post shared that Kasten only made the seriousness of his illness known to his friends in the last six months.
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Hiram's "great comedy and artistic community rallied to his side," and "some made trips to Batavia to visit him, late night Zoom meetings with friends on both coasts ensued and went into the wee hours of the morning."
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Diana noted that it "prolonged his life for at least another two months to be able to laugh with his peers."
Kasten appeared as Michael on "Seinfeld" from 1993 to 1994. Kasten rose to fame after being a frequent performer at Comic Strip in New York, a place his friend Jerry Seinfeld once performed at. He also performed stand-up at Improv, the Comedy Cellar, Carolines on Broadway and Dangerfield’s during his career.
According to Diana's post, Seinfeld "passed Hiram on his first audition, and he became a regular." Jerry and Hiram had a "friendship that has lasted for 45 years."
Hiram is survived by his wife and daughter, Millicent Jade.