Remember the “Seinfeld” episode in which Jerry and George try to convince a reporter that they aren’t a gay couple, but try to come across as politically correct by spouting the phrase, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that?” It’s that mockingly PC catch phrase that immediately came to mind when I read that Jerry Seinfeld is crediting Scientology with helping create his stand-up style and early success.
The famed funnyman told Parade Magazine that he was introduced to Scientology by a High School auto mechanics teacher. “I last really studied, oh, it’s almost 30 years ago. But what I did do, I really liked, in terms of it’s very…it was interesting. Believe it or not…it’s extremely intellectual and clinical in its approach to problem-solving, which really appealed to me. In my early years of stand-up, it was very helpful. I took a couple of courses. One of them was in communication, and I learned some things about communication that really got my act going.”
“It was just things about understanding the communications cycle… Even the volume at which I’m speaking now is the right volume for where you’re sitting. I’m almost performing, in a way….Just a little thing like that, understanding that really helped me on stage to understand how you have to invade the space of the audience a little bit.”
So it turns out that the world’s favorite neurotic, New York City Jew — other than Woody Allen — studied the controversial Scientology technology to help hone his craft. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.