Hiram Kasten dies at 71 following prostate cancer battle: Comic-actor appeared on Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Saved By the Bell
Comedian actor Hiram Kasten, who appeared on shows including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Saved By the Bell, has died at the age of 71 after a battle with prostate cancer.
An obituary for Kasten was posted at his post on Sunday afternoon Facebook page, noting that he died in the arms of his wife Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum “just hours after their 38th wedding anniversary.”
According to the obituary, Kasten battled multiple conditions over the past seven years, including prostate cancer and Crohn’s disease, and died at his home in Batavia, New York.
Kasten had appeared in a trio of Seinfeld episodes in 1993-1994, playing Michael, a colleague of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
Kasten was a staple of the New York City comedy circuit, appearing regularly at The Comic Strip, where Jerry Seinfeld once served as master of ceremonies.
Comedian actor Hiram Kasten, who appeared on shows including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Saved By the Bell, has died at the age of 71 after a battle with prostate cancer. Pictured in New York in 2013
An obituary for Kasten was posted on his Facebook page Sunday afternoon, noting that he died in the arms of his wife Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum “just hours after their 38th wedding anniversary.”
The obituary noted that while Kasten “loved show business and lived his dream of working in show business … his most satisfying and greatest role, however, was as a family man” to his wife and daughter, Millicent Jade Kastenbaum.
“He loved being a father to his beautiful and brilliant daughter,” the obituary read, “because her many accomplishments in her young life and in her career as an assistant district attorney left him bursting with pride and love .’
Kasten’s other TV appearances were in ’90s sitcoms including Saved By the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Cybill, Mad About You and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Kasten had appeared in a trio of Seinfeld episodes in 1993–1994, playing Michael, a colleague of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
Kasten’s other TV appearances came in sitcoms, including Saved By the Bell in 1991, in which he appeared opposite Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Kasten was a staple of the New York City comedy circuit, appearing regularly at The Comic Strip, where Jerry Seinfeld once served as master of ceremonies. The two were photographed in New York in 2013
In the early 2000s, he appeared on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, My Wife and Kids, and 7th Heaven.
Kasten’s family said funeral services will be held at Schwartz Brothers-Jeffers Memorial Chapel in Forest Hills, New York, with a date and time to be determined; with a memorial service in Los Angeles planned for later this summer.
According to the obituary, Kasten’s family “has requested that if anyone would like to pay a memorial tribute, it would be in the form of a charitable donation to” either Crossroads house And Community Entertainment Fund (formerly The Actors Fund).