R.I.P. Hiram Kasten: ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘7th Heaven’ Actor Dead At 71

Hiram Kasten, a comedian and television actor, died on Sunday (June 16). He was 71.

According to TMZ, an obituary shared to Kasten’s Facebook page revealed that the late comedian and actor’s “health had taken a downturn” in 2017 — news he kept private from friends — and “he no longer performed or actively pursued his career.”

However, the obit continued, “after seven years of fighting through a multitude of illnesses including prostate cancer and his lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease, he only began to share the terminality of it all with his friends in the last six months.”

While Kasten began his post-grad career in theatre, he opted to try stand-up comedy, as his obituary reads that he “rode the wave that was the Comedy Boom of the 1980s.” At the Comic Strip, the New York City comedy club that became his “home base,” he met Jerry Seinfeld, whom he fostered a 45-year-long friendship with. Other venues he performed at included Catch A Rising Star, The Improv, The Comedy Cellar, and Caroline’s.

Following his 1987 move to Los Angeles, Kasten appeared in three Season 5 episodes of Seinfeld as Michael, a co-worker of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Among his slew of sitcom cameos were Saved by the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cybill, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and My Wife and Kids.

He also appeared in five episodes of the TV drama 7th Heaven across Seasons 1, 7 and 9. Despite his numerous credits, Kasten’s “most satisfying and greatest role though was as a family man,” per his obituary.

Born Hiram Z. Kastenbaum on Oct. 30, 1952 in the Bronx, Kasten would go on to major in Theatre at CUNY’s Lehman College ahead of his illustrious career.

Kasten is survived by his wife, Diana, whose arms he was in when he passed “only hours after their 38th wedding anniversary,” as well as his daughter, Millicent, brother-in-law, Kevin, nieces, nephews, and cousins, per his obit.