Philip Baker Hall's Life Changed After He Played Lt. Bookman On Seinfeld

During his career, the late Philip Baker Hall was one of the most underrated character actors in Hollywood. Hall's earliest on-screen role came back in 1970, but he gained praise for several "breakout" roles later in life, including an outstanding late-'90s streak that included "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." By the time of his passing in 2022, everyone seemed to know Hall's great work, even if he wasn't a household name. But according to Hall himself, the world first got to know him by another name that stuck with him for decades: Lieutenant Bookman from "Seinfeld."

Lieutenant Bookman was one of many idiosyncratic characters who stepped through the comedic revolving door that was "Seinfeld." The character, played by Hall, appeared in just two episodes of the hyper-popular sitcom — season 3's "The Library" and the show's polarizing series finale – but he made a strong impression. "It's been over 20 years since we shot that episode, and I still can't go out in public for very long before someone says 'My god, it's Bookman!' Or: 'Are you Bookman? I returned that library book, I swear!'" Hall told Rolling Stone in 2014. According to USA Today, 16.4 million people watched the episode live, while countless new viewers have found it in syndication and on streaming in the years since.

Hall's Bookman is memorable in part for his great performance, and in part for the novelty of the role. He plays a library investigator whose job — which he, of course, takes very seriously — is to investigate where long-overdue books end up. When Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) goes to the library, he ends up in Bookman's crosshairs when the man discovers that he's had a copy of "Tropic of Cancer" checked out since his high school days.

"The Library" is classic "Seinfeld," as ridiculous as it is hilarious. Hall told Rolling Stone that he knew during the audition that he got the part because Seinfeld, who also co-created the show, couldn't stop himself from laughing during his reading. "Usually, when you read for things, no one lets on too much, even if they like you," Hall explained. "But people were fighting to control their laughter, so when I called my wife afterward, I told her 'There's no such thing as a sure thing ... but I'm pretty sure I got this part.'" The role changed the actor's life in a real way by giving him name recognition thanks to the large "Seinfeld" audience. "It's funny, Lt. Bookman was one of the last roles I ever auditioned for, simply because so many doors opened up after I did the show," Hall once said.

The actor was far from the only "Seinfeld" guest star whose life was impacted by a brief appearance on Seinfeld and Larry David's comedic masterpiece. In the same Rolling Stone retrospective, Wayne Knight said he gets plenty of "Hello, Newman" greetings on the street, Brenda Strong (who played Elaine's nemesis Sue Ann) described signing bras for firefighters' wives, and Teri Hatcher joked that "They're real and they're spectacular," the phrase her character signs off with after much debate about her possible breast implants, will be written on her tombstone. For Hall, the impact of "Seinfeld" reached him wherever he went, and he seemed happy about it. "It's not just in New York or L.A.," he told Rolling Stone. "It's happened in a mall in the Midwest or even other countries where they air the show. The guy made an impression."