Seinfeld: Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) Goes Home Again

The Daily News is doing a special series on historic landmarks around New York. As part of that, they took Jerry Stiller, the comic actor who played George’s father on Seinfeld, to the real home in Queens that stood in for Frank and Estelle Costanza’s house.

While standing in front of the 37th Street home for a picture, Stiller got the idea to knock on the house’s front door. “What the hell, let’s give it a shot,” he said.

The older couple, who have lived there for many years, were delighted and shocked to see him. “Hey, Costanza’s father!” said Jack Lopipero. His flabbergasted wife, Bessie, exclaimed, “I can’t believe this!”

The 84-year-old couple invited the actor inside and before long, they were reminiscing like old friends. Stiller suggested they do their own TV show called The Real Costanzas.

Bessie noted that they never missed an episode of Seinfeld and tuned in each week in hopes of catching a glimpse of their home.

Stiller stayed for more than an hour, posing for pictures and looking at family photos. When it was time to go, Jack told him that they’d never had a celebrity in their home before. Bessie added, “This is the happiest day of my life. You really made my day.”

On the way back to Manhattan, Stiller was on a high too and said, “This is probably the best thing I ever did in my life.”