Who did Peter Crombie play in Seinfeld? Character explored as TV star dies aged 71

American actor Peter Crombie, who is best remembered for his role on the NBC sitcom, Seinfeld, passed away on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. The unfortunate news was confirmed by his ex-wife Nadine Kijner, who explained he died quickly due to an unknown illness. The actor was 71 at the time.

"He was the kindest most caring, giving, considerate man. He was loved by everybody, generous, and never had anything bad to say about anyone," stated Nadine.

Crombie played the role of "Crazy" Joe Davola on Seinfeld, appearing in 5 episodes in season 4. He has starred in hit films like My Dog Skip, Natural Born Killers, The Blob, Se7en, and Born on the Fourth of July. He is also credited for his guest appearances in TV shows like NYPD Blue, Diagnosis Murder, Law & Order, and LA Law.

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Peter Crombie's character on Seinfeld is based on TV producer Joe Davola, who has produced Smallville

Seinfeld was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, who also wrote the show. It is often described as "a show about nothing," focusing on the everyday life of a fictional standup comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and his three friends, George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).

Peter Crombie appeared in the fourth season of the show as the mentally unstable and aggressive Joe Davola. The character is named after Larry David's long-time friend and TV producer of the same name.

Crombie's character is known to stalk Jerry Seinfeld, whom he (Joe Davola) developed a pathological hatred towards. While the two characters know each other in the show, Jerry dislikes him for his extreme behavior. The sentiment is mirrored by Joe, who blames all his problems on Jerry, including once getting a hair on his tongue.

Davola first appears in the episode, The Pitch, where he meets Seinfeld at the NBC offices. Joe was visiting to drop off a script, which gets rejected. He blames this on Jerry and begins stalking the latter, as he and his friends attempt to dodge him.

Elaine once dated Peter Crombie's character as a means to dump her doctor boyfriend, who was treating Joe. Elaine at the time did not know it was the same "Crazy" Joe Davola terrorizing Seinfeld. She later is trapped in his apartment when she finds a wall of photos he took of her using a telephoto lens. She flees after macing him.

Davola is in excellent physical shape and he was once seen lifting weights while crying. He also practices martial arts and he once beat a group of hooligans in Central Park.

His last appearance was in the episode titled, The Pilot Part 2, where Peter Crombie's character is seen attending a screening of Seinfeld's pilot where he shouts, "Sic semper tyrannis!" before jumping off the stands to attack Jerry. The scene was a take on John Wilkes Booth's assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His character is not spoken of or seen again, likely due to being in prison for his attack.

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It remains unclear what illness Peter Crombie was suffering from and no other details surrounding his death have been released.