Which actor played Frank Costanza after John Randolph's first appearance?

Jerry Stiller played Frank Costanza after John Randolph’s initial appearance as George’s father on Seinfeld.

Randolph played Frank in the original broadcast of season 4’s “The Handicap Spot,” which aired on May 13, 1993. After that episode, the role was recast with Stiller, who portrayed Frank for the remainder of the series and became strongly identified with the character’s explosive personality.

Stiller’s first new appearance as Frank was in season 5’s “The Puffy Shirt.” His version was initially imagined as meek and restrained, but Stiller changed the performance into the loud, unpredictable character audiences remember. He was cast without an audition and developed the interpretation partly through his interaction with Estelle Harris, who played Estelle Costanza.

A common source of confusion is syndication. In 1995, Stiller re-shot Randolph’s scenes for syndicated versions of “The Handicap Spot,” so many viewers encountered Stiller even in the character’s earliest story. Randolph nevertheless remains the actor in the original broadcast.