(Credit: Netflix)

Jerry Seinfeld has left an irreplaceable mark on the American comedic landscape, starting out as a stand-up comedian and then going on to create and star in one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, playing a fictionalised version of himself alongside fellow creator Larry David.

The show sparked an era of ‘buddy comedies’ and shows such as Friends and How I Met Your Mother by popularising the genre of showing quirky friend groups and their misadventures in the Big Apple. However, inspiration struck Seinfeld in a very specific way, with the comedian sharing the story of one book that encouraged him to take the leap into the world of performing.

The Last Laugh was written by Phil Berger in 1975, a book entirely about the strange world of stand-up comedy, and for Seinfeld, it was this book that inspired him to pursue comedy as a serious career. Seinfeld explained, “The book that got me into comedy is a book called The Last Laugh by Phil Berger. I read it in high school, and there’s a joke in there that Jimmie Walker told at Catch a Rising Star. It’s a pouring, rainy night in Manhattan”.

He added: “He goes onstage, he’s soaking wet. He goes, ‘It is raining so hard out there, I just saw Superman getting into a cab.’ And I read that and I go, ‘How in the world can a brain come up with an idea like that?’ I still love that joke. But I go, ‘How do you think of that?’ I didn’t know how. But, when I did the ‘left’ thing, I went, ‘Oh, there’s a guy in there who knows how to do it. And he’s going to now work his ass off for the rest of my life’.”

Seinfeld first started his career performing at open-mic nights at Budd Friedman’s Improv Club while still a student, going on to then perform in the same club he describes in his story about Jimmie Walker mention, which led to an appearance in a Rodney Dangerfield special and a small part in Benson.

However, it wasn’t until a few years later, when he was making regular appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman, that the comedian rose to fame, which escalated to dizzying new heights after the creation of Seinfeld.

Released in 1988, the NBC sitcom took the world by storm and changed the landscape of television as we know it, becoming a direct influence for many of the hit television shows we know and love today. By its third season, it was America’s most-watched TV sitcom, with NBC even offering Seinfeld a staggering $110million to create another season after the final season had aired. The actor declined, and has since gone on to star in a number of other films and shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Bee Movie and more recently, Unfrosted.

We can never underestimate the importance of those early moments in our lives that spark the idea to pursue something we only dare to dream of, but in the case of Seinfeld, the decision spurred by reading a book turned out to be the best one.