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Larry Thomas (actor)

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Larry Thomas
Thomas at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan on October 1, 2010
Born
Laurence Tomashoff

1956 or 1957 (age 67–68)
OccupationActor
Years active1980–present
Children1[1]
Websitewww.realsoupnazi.com

Laurence Tomashoff (born 1956 or 1957 (age 67–68)),[2] known professionally as Larry Thomas, is an American actor, best known for his guest role as Yev Kassem/the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award.[3] In addition to making personal appearances as the Soup Nazi, Thomas has appeared in a number of films, TV shows, and commercials, and appears at autograph-signing shows across the country.

Early life

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Thomas was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to an observant Jewish family of Russian and Romanian background.[4] His parents divorced and he moved to California alongside his mother and sister when he was 11. He attended Hebrew school after school hours.[5]

Career

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Acting

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Prior to acting, Thomas had jobs as a bail bondsman, bartender, and janitor.

He is best known for his role as Yev Kassem in the "Soup Nazi" episode of the television sitcom Seinfeld. Thomas took an acting workshop taught by Jeffrey Tambor. Tambor was fascinated by Thomas’ acting in a workshop and his classmates convinced Tambor to write a letter to Marc Hirschfield, casting director of The Larry Sanders Show (which starred Tambor) as well as Seinfeld. Thomas, who was a huge fan of the series, got a call from Hirschfield for the character and attended his audition in character in a military uniform, and won the role by improvising his now-famous line, "No soup for you!"[6] His widely acclaimed performance earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1996,[7] which he lost to Tim Conway for Coach. He reprised the role in the series' final episode.

In 1997, he made a cameo appearance as the blackjack dealer in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, sharing the scene with Mike Myers and Robert Wagner. In 2004, he guest-starred as himself in the Scrubs episode "My Self-Examination", where the main character tried to trick him into saying the Soup Nazi's catchphrase, "No Soup for You!" He also played a Soup Nazi-like "food cop" in a commercial for the Center for Consumer Freedom.[8] That same year he guest-starred in the television series Drake & Josh as Bob Galloway in the episode "2 Idiots and a Baby."

In 2006, Thomas made an appearance in Scott Grenke's independent comedy feature Spaced Out (which includes a variation of the catchphrase). This was the start of a working relationship with Boomstick Films[9] which includes co-starring roles in Not Another B Movie, Dr. Spine, and the award-winning Paranormal Activity spoof Paranormal Calamity.

In other later roles of note, Larry has portrayed each of the two most iconic Middle Eastern villains of American history. In 2006, he guest-starred in Arrested Development as a Saddam Hussein lookalike. An earlier joke had one character having a photo taken with the real Saddam, after mistaking him for Thomas. Thomas also played the role of Osama bin Laden in Uwe Boll's 2008 shock comedy film Postal.

In 2009, Thomas appeared in the independent feature Untitled Horror Comedy playing the role of "Dwayne."

In February 2012, Thomas again appeared as the Soup Nazi in an Acura NSX commercial featuring comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno.

In February 2013, he began filming for Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure, a video game using live-action cut-scenes.[10]

In 2016, he appeared in a short comedy film The Love Suckers, playing a marriage therapist giving bad advice to a couple along with Eddie Deezen and Caryn Richman.

His latest project is Dads!, a television sitcom pilot that is written, directed, and produced by Thomas and David Everhart Castro. It is currently in post-production.

Public appearances as the Soup Nazi

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In 2006, Thomas began selling autographed photographs of himself through catalogs such as Wall Street Creations Inc., glaring at the camera in chef's garb, with the handwritten notation "No soup for you!"

In 2011, Thomas appeared dressed as the Soup Nazi at a New York Mets game. He gave DVDs to fans who correctly answered trivia questions.[11]

In 2012, he again appeared as the Soup Nazi while touring the United States with a Seinfeld food truck, allowing fans to pose with him and signing autographs.

On July 5, 2014, he appeared at Brooklyn Cyclones as the Soup Nazi to celebrate Salute to Seinfeld Night, and threw out the first pitch.

In 2015, he reprised his role as the Soup Nazi when Hulu opened "Seinfeld: The Apartment" in New York City, creating a real-world version of Jerry Seinfeld's Upper West Side apartment, complete with a show memorabilia gallery and interactive Seinfeld fan experience to mark the streaming debut of all episodes of the series on Hulu.

Music

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Larry has written and recorded songs: "Nico's Song (With Out You)" written for Dads!,[12] "It's Angela (The Wife I Choose)",[13] "Running, Running, Running (Ben's Song),[14] and "Ma! (Ode to Dorine)".

Gun control advocacy

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In 2013, Serbu Firearms refused to sell their model BFG-50A semi-automatic .50 rifles to the New York City Police Department after the passage of the NY SAFE Act that classified their weapon as an assault rifle. Accompanying this, Serbu then had T-shirts printed with an image of Thomas as The Soup Nazi and the words "No Serbu For You". Thomas, a gun control advocate, contacted Facebook and the T-shirt printers to have the shirts removed.[15] Serbu later removed the image of Thomas and replaced it with one of their founder Mark Serbu.[16][17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1980 Terror on Tour Tim
1988 Streets of Death Artie Benson Direct-to-video
1991 F.A.R.T. the Movie Guest
1997 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Casino Dealer
1998 Surface to Air Colonel Mustafa Kahlid
1998 Hyacinth Mideastern Man
1999 When Actors Attack Angry Actor
2003 BachelorMan Doctor
2005 Knight to F4 Chess Reporter
2006 Spaced Out Senator Hardly Direct-to-video
2007 Postal Osama bin Laden
2007 Frankie D Happy
2009 Untitled Horror Comedy Dwayne
2010 Paranormal Calamity Dr. Dick Asskis
2010 Not Another B Movie Larry
2010 Changing Hands Barry
2011 We Will Rock You Hamid Bin Al-Sheib
2011 Redemption: For Robbing the Dead Josiah
2012 3 of a Kind Mr. Cook
2013 You Don't Say! Mr. Melendez
2014 108 Stitches Coach Kassem Bosco
2014 Hacks Larry
2015 Doctor Spine Doctor Chiller
2015 Spades The Professor
2016 Mind Over Mindy Dr. Ivan Fischer
2016 Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel Al Yagen, Food Cart Vendor
2018 Red Team Go The Boss
2022 Honest to God Dr. Haija

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1981 Ladies' Man Singing Messenger Episode: "Andrea's Crush"
1995, 1998 Seinfeld Yev Kassem Episode: "The Soup Nazi"; "The Finale"
1996 Kirk Maynard Episode: "Hey, Hey We're the Hartmans"
1996 Grace Under Fire Ticket agent Episode: "Fire Music"
1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Mr. Rolfe Episode: "The Impossible Mission Episode"
1996, 1997 Arliss Arabic Man / Sheik Caspia 2 episodes
1997 Caroline in the City Maitre'd Episode: "Caroline and the Kept Man"
1997 USA High Girard Episode: "The Headmaster's Daughter"
1998 Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Grant 2 episodes
1998 The Tony Danza Show Man #1 Episode: "Thanks... But No Thanksgiving"
1998 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Zampano Episode: "And the Sabrina Goes to..."
1999 L.A. Heat Nelson Episode: "Vengeance"
1999 Martial Law Achmed Sabib Episode: "My Man Sammo"
2001 The Geena Davis Show Giancarlo Episode: "Hot Potato"
2002 One on One Akhmad the Taxi Driver Episode: "Give Me Some Credit"
2002 Sympathy Cop Sympathy Cop 3 episodes
2003 General Hospital Barry Episode #1.10184
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Convenience Store Clerk Episode: "Last Laugh"
2003 Knee High P.I. Sheik Television film
2004 Drake & Josh Mr. Galloway Episode: "Two Idiots and a Baby"
2004 Scrubs Larry Episode: "My Self-Examination"
2005 Studio House Nathan Television film
2005 Threshold Norm Episode: "The Order"
2005 Hot Properties DMV Worker Episode: "Whatever Lola Wants"
2006 Arrested Development Saddam Hussein #3 Episode: "Exit Strategy"
2017 Mommy, I Didn't Do It Mr. Allen Television film

Video games

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Year Title Role
2014 Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure Lt. Danwicz

References

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  1. ^ "On a personal note, Father's day. My best day of the year. A pic speaks a thousand words. Two speak, well...you do the math. @the_real_thrash_boat". instagram.com.
  2. ^ Reinherz, Adam (June 11, 2021). "'Soup Nazi' credits success to Jerry Seinfeld — and his Jewish mother". The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved February 11, 2023. ...said Thomas, 64...
  3. ^ "Con-tamination 2010". Riverfront Times. 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2011. Larry Thomas, best known as Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi,' talked to fans, signed ladles, and told tales of celebrity encounters of his own.
  4. ^ https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/soup-nazi-credits-success-to-jerry-seinfeld-and-his-jewish-mother/
  5. ^ Biro, Liz (February 19, 2015). "Liz Biro talks to the 'Seinfeld' Soup Nazi". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  6. ^ "'Seinfeld': How a Bail Bondsman Became the Soup Nazi". The Hollywood Reporter. June 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Walker, Dave (September 6, 1996). "'Soup Nazi' role gives struggling actor taste of fame, shot at Emmy". The Arizona Republic.
  8. ^ Press Release | Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” Stars as Food Cop in New Ad Archived December 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Boomstick Films - Films Archived March 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (November 9, 2013). "Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure gets an eight minute trailer". Eurogamer.
  11. ^ "Actor Larry Thomas appears at Mets game in character as Soup Nazi from 'Seinfeld'". The Washington Post. New York. Associated Press. May 8, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011. Actor Larry Thomas, who played the ornery soup genius on the TV show 'Seinfeld' appeared — in character — to give DVD prizes to fans at Citi Field who correctly answered trivia questions about the show.[dead link]
  12. ^ "Nico's Song (With Out You) – Larry Thomas". CD Baby. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "It's Angela (The Wife I Choose) – Larry Thomas". CD Baby. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "Running, Running, Running (Ben's Song) – Larry Thomas", CD Baby, archived from the original on April 2, 2019, retrieved April 2, 2019
  15. ^ Berman, Jillian (April 3, 2013). "Larry Thomas, 'Soup Nazi' Actor, Pushes Serbu Firearms To Pull Pro-Gun T-Shirt Featuring His Face". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  16. ^ Higginbotham, David (April 9, 2013). "No Serbu For You, Soup Nazi Wants His Image Back". guns.com. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  17. ^ Blum, Sam (April 2, 2013). "No catchphrase for you! Seinfeld's Soup Nazi in a stew over gunmaker Serbu". The Guardian. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
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