We were misled by last week’s heart-quickening “Meet the Soup Nazi” ad, which led to this post. Al Yeganeh, the man who inspired the Seinfeld character (and who detests the “Soup Nazi” tag, preferring to call himself the “Soup Man”), was not actually present. Actor Larry Thomas, who played the character, was the one promoting the show’s new DVD. (Apparently, they didn’t want Michael Richards.) Also, contrary to what we wrote, Yeganeh doesn’t hate being called “the Soup Nazi” because he’s Jewish. He is not a member of the tribe. Evidently, he simply resents his television image. “Al truly feels like Seinfeld ruined his life,” his rep tells us. “He was doing very well before the show came along.”
