"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. Elaine's father Alton, a war veteran and writer, makes Jerry and his friend George Costanza very uncomfortable. Elaine is delayed and Jerry and George are stuck with Alton waiting for her at the hotel.
The episode was written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Tom Cherones. Most of the episode's storyline was based on one of David's personal experiences. Elaine's father, a published author, was inspired by Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, whom Larry David had met while dating his daughter. Lawrence Tierney's performance as Alton Benes was praised by the cast and crew. However, they were taken aback by his eccentric behavior. The majority of the episode was filmed on December 4, 1990. "The Jacket" premiered on American television on February 6, 1991, on NBC, it gained a Nielsen rating of 10.4/16 and was praised by critics.
Plot
When Jerry is shopping for clothes with Elaine, he finds a suede jacket that he loves. He has doubts about buying the jacket because it is highly expensive and has a pink and white candy-stripe lining. He ultimately decides to buy it. Kramer persuades Jerry to give him his old leather jacket as he will no longer be needing it.
The following night, Jerry, Elaine and George have dinner with Elaine's father, writer Alton Benes. While preparing for the dinner, George arrives at Jerry's apartment with the song "Master of the House" stuck in his head. Both George and Jerry are anxious about meeting Alton because they are in awe of his writings. Kramer enters the apartment and asks them to guard his illegally parked car for two minutes as he carries down some doves that he is looking after for a magician friend. However, they refuse to help because he often underestimates how long things take to do.
As they enter Alton Benes' hotel, Elaine has not arrived yet, forcing them to wait with her father for 30 minutes. Jerry and George are made increasingly uncomfortable by Alton's socially awkward and intimidating manner. When Elaine finally arrives, she explains that Kramer promised her a lift if she would wait in his car for two minutes. He returned over 20 minutes later, and the car had been towed for being illegally parked. On their way out, they notice it is snowing. Jerry knows snow would ruin his suede jacket and asks Alton if they can take a cab, but Alton replies that the restaurant is only a few blocks away. George suggests Jerry turn the jacket inside out, but because of the candy-stripe lining, Alton insists he turn it back. He also silences George when he starts singing "Master of the House".
The next day Kramer notices Jerry's jacket hanging in the bathroom, badly damaged by the snow, and asks if he can have it. Elaine tells Jerry that her father had a good time, even though he usually hates everyone. As Alton drives home, he finds himself singing "Master of the House".
Cultural references
Throughout the episode, George sings the song "Master of the House" from the musical Les Misérables. Les Misérables ran on Broadway for sixteen years, making it one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway's history. In response to George constantly singing "Master of the House", Jerry tells him about German composer Robert Schumann, who went insane from hearing the same note over and over in his head. George mentions Bud Abbott, an actor and comedian during the 1940s and 1950s, who was part of the Abbott and Costello duo. When Jerry and George discuss their options in the hotel bathroom, George suggests that they leave, to which Jerry replies "He'll clunk our heads together like Moe." This a reference to Moe Howard, one of The Three Stooges, who frequently clunked the heads of the other Stooges together.