‘Seinfeld’ Star Michael Richards Reveals He Was Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer And Was Close To Death

Michael Richards, best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the classic sitcom Seinfeld, is stepping back into the spotlight after basically going in hiding following his infamous racist tirade back in 2006.

For those who don’t remember, he was performing standup when the crowd started heckling him hardcore, and he started firing back by saying the n-word. It was super strange, almost like he was having a psychotic break. He apologized following the incident, admitting he was just trying to hurt the heckler because he was hurt.

“He went low and I went even lower,” he was quoted as saying.

Anyway, he is slowly coming back out into the world, in part to promote his upcoming memoir, Entrances and Exits, which is set to be released on June 4.

During a recent interview with PEOPLE, the now 74-year-old actor revealed he nearly died from prostate cancer back in 2018…

I thought, well, this is my time. I’m ready to go. 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?’

His doctor told him he’d need to remove his entire prostate because the biopsy didn’t look good. “It had to be contained quickly,” Richards admitted. He also said the doctor told him if he hadn’t caught it, he might have been dead in less than a year.

After coming so close to death, Richards decided he wanted to look back at his life, which sparked the idea of a memoir.

I had over 40 journals I’d kept over the years and wanted to do a full review of my life. 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.