Who did Hiram Kasten play in Seinfeld? Actor and comedian passes away at 71

Stand-up comedian and TV actor Hiram Kasten passed away on Sunday, June 16, at his home in Batavia, New York, at the age of 71 after battling a series of health issues over several years.

While he was a well-known personality across the New York comedy club circuit, Kasten also appeared in several episodes of Seinfeld, playing the recurring role of Michael, the co-worker of Julia Louis-Dreyfus's character Elaine Benes.

Kasten had a long-standing friendship with the star and comedian of the hit NBC TV sitcom since the two had initially met at The Comic Strip, where Seinfeld was the MC at the time and Kasten was on his way to his first audition.

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Hiram Kasten had a lengthy health battle before his passing

In the obituary shared on the actor's official Facebook page, he was called "A Truly Charming Guy." The obituary was shared on Sunday afternoon, which provided a glimpse of the actor's health battles over the years.

According to the post, Hiram Kasten had started his years-long battle with various illnesses in 2017, which left him no choice but to leave the show business. He was no longer performing at the time, whether on stage or TV, and kept his health problems hushed from his friends and the media.

For the past seven years, the actor and comic had been fighting his Chron's disease diagnosis as well as prostate cancer, among other health issues.

It wasn't until six months before his tragic passing that Hiram Kasten decided to open up to his friends about his health and the terminality of his ailments.

Much to the late actor's delight, his friends in the comedy and artistic community had rallied to share their support for the actor during those short few months. Some of them made personal visits to the actor's home in Batavia, while others had intimate talks with him until "wee hours in the morning."

Talking about the last couple of months of the actor's life, his wife, Diana Kisiel Kasntenbaum, said that talking with his peers and laughing with them had "prolonged his life for at least two months."

Hiram Kasten passed away a few short hours after he and his wife celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. The family will have his funeral service in Forest Hills in New York at a still-undetermined time and date, which will be followed by the burial shortly after.

For the actor's friends, colleagues, and fans, a memorial service for the late actor will be held in Los Angeles in the summer, with more details about the time and place for the event to be announced.