‘Seinfeld’ actor Michael Richards reveals prostate cancer battle: I would’ve ‘been dead’ in 8 months

Michael Richards, 74, best known for playing Cosmo Kramer in “Seinfeld,” has revealed a health scare. 

In his memoir “Entrances and Exits,” coming out June 4, he details how he was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer in 2018, after a routine checkup showed high PSA levels. 

“I thought, well, this is my time. I’m ready to go,” he told People.

“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?”

Richards, who played Kramer for nearly a decade on the hit show, and won three Emmys for the role, said that his doctors recommended surgery to remove his prostate.

“It had to be contained quickly,” he says. “I had to go for the full surgery. If I hadn’t, I probably would have been dead in about eight months.”

This near-miss pushed him to write a memoir, he told the outlet. 

“I had over 40 journals I’d kept over the years and wanted to do a full review of my life,” he said. “I’m turning 75, so maybe wanting to do that is something that comes with being my age. I wanted to connect with feelings and memory. I’m surprised at how much I was able to remember.”

In his memoir, he also addresses the infamous controversy in 2006 where he used the N-word during a racist tantrum to berate a heckler at a comedy club.

He apologized publicly on “David Letterman” at the time, but also left the spotlight after that, effectively ending his career. 

“I’m not racist,” he told People in an interview published on Wednesday. “I have nothing against Black people. The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down.”

Richards added that he took a step back to figure out why he had “anger” inside of him. 

“I said no to the offer of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I didn’t feel deserving,” he said.

“I said no to hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ twice because I didn’t feel good enough. I was never really satisfied with my ‘Seinfeld’ performance. Fame magnified my insecurities.” 

The actor is still friends with Jerry Seinfeld, but lives a low-key lifestyle with his wife, actress Beth Skipp, with whom he shares a son. 

He steps into the spotlight rarely, like when he attended the premiere for Seinfeld’s directorial debut “Unfrosted” (now streaming on Netflix). 

“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,” Richards told the outlet, before adding: “I’m not looking for a comeback.”

“The damage was inside of me,” he said.

“So I completely stepped away from show business. It was time to disappear and finally pay attention to where all of my anger was coming from. The most I could do for everybody was go home and get my s–t together.”