Michael Richards from Seinfeld Discloses Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Michael Richards is speaking out about a private health battle.
The comedian, best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the ’90s sitcom Seinfeld, opened up about being diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer in 2018.
“I thought. well, this is my time. I’m ready to go,” Richards told People in an interview published May 23. “But then my son came to mind just a few seconds later and I heard myself saying, ‘I’ve got a 9-year-old and I’d like to be around for him. Is there any way I can get a little more life going?'”
The dad of two—son Antonio, who he shares with wife Beth Skipp, and daughter Sophia from his previous marriage to Cathleen Lyons—said he had his prostate removed to treat the cancer by recommendation of his doctor.
“I had to go for the full surgery,” he told People. “If I hadn’t, I probably would have been dead in about eight months.”