The Lip Reader (season 5, episode 6)

written by Carol Leifer, directed by Tom Cherones
original airdate: October 28, 1993

George tries to get Jerry’s deaf girlfriend to read lips at a party. Kramer becomes a ball boy at the U.S. Open.

FEATURED LOCATIONS

The Improv

Jerry’s Apartment
Jerry tells the gang about his dating a deaf woman, and the gang ridicules George for being shown on national television with ice cream all over his face.

Monk’s Café
George’s latest girlfriend Gwen dumps him by giving you the “it’s not you, it’s me” routine, much to George’s dismay: “Nobody tells me it’s them not me, if it’s anybody it’s me!”

USTA National Tennis Center (now USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center)
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, Queens, NEW YORK (map)
nearest subway: Mets – Willets Point (7)
Jerry and George watch the 1993 US Open (watching Mary Pierce of France vs. Natalia Baudone of Italy in the Women’s 1st Round Final, where Pierce won 6-0, 6-7, 7-6). George gets busted on TV with his face full of ice cream; Jerry asks out Laura, the “BL.” Kramer becomes the first “ball-man,” and knocks out Monica Seles (Kramer says he’s working the finals with Monica Seles, but real finals had Steffi Graf of Germany beating Helena Sukova of Czechia 6-3, 6-3).

CROATIA (map)
Jerry points out the stunning woman on the court, who George mistakes for “the Croat.” The match they are watching was between Mary Pierce of France and Natalia Baudone of Italy, but their section did include a Croatian competitor, Nadin Ercegović.

Pendant Publishing
Renee convinces Elaine to take a car service, where she is forced to act like she is deaf to avoid conversation with the driver.

Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
245 E. 47th St., New York, NEW YORK (map)
nearest subway: Grand Central – 42nd Street (4,5,6,7)
Elaine takes the car service from her work to an important meeting (since the Lexington subway line is out), pretending she is deaf to avoid small-talk with the driver.

749 Bleecker St., New York, NEW YORK (map)
nearest subway: 14th Street (1,2,3)
Elaine’s car service driver is instructed over the radio to pick up Tom Hanks from this address after dropping off Elaine, outing Elaine as a faux-deaf woman when she begins to gab about how much she loves Tom Hanks. Not a real address, as Bleecker St. only runs to roughly the numbers 425-450.

Hunan 5th Ave. (NOW CLOSED)
323 Fifth Ave., New York, NEW YORK (map)
nearest subway: 34th Street – Herald Square (B,D,F,M,N,Q,R)
Jerry and George go for dinner with Laura, the “beautiful lineswoman,” and discover that she can read lips.

Laura’s apartment
New York, NEW YORK
Jerry is parked outside Laura’s, where he asks her to a party, and asks “how about six?” as a pick-up time, which she lip reads as “how about sex?”

Madison Square Garden
4 Pennsylvania Pl., New York, NEW YORK (map)
nearest subway: 34th Street – Penn Station (1,2,3)
The car service driver can’t hear anything the gang is saying, because Elaine got him tickets to see “Metalli-something” at the Garden after pretending to be deaf to avoid small-talk.

Todd’s apartment
New York, NEW YORK
The gang attends the party with Laura the lip reader, but Kramer cannot read Laura’s signing proerly, and their miscommunications end up wrecking both Jerry and George’s night.