David Puddy

Infobox character
series = "Seinfeld"
name = David Puddy


caption = David Puddy in "The Face Painter"
first = "The Fusilli Jerry"
April 27, 1995
last = "The Finale"
May 14, 1998
cause = End of Series
creator = Marjorie Gross
portrayer = Patrick Warburton
episode = 11
nickname = "Puddy"
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age =
born =
death =
occupation = Auto mechanic, car salesman
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = New York City

David Puddy, usually just called Puddy, is a fictional character played by Patrick Warburton in the situation comedy "Seinfeld". He is the on-and-off boyfriend of the character Elaine Benes.

Biography

Puddy first appears in the season six episode "The Fusilli Jerry" as Elaine's new love interest. Jerry had been friends with Puddy before he went out with Elaine, and he had spoken of a sexual technique with Puddy known as "The Move." Elaine is pleasantly surprised when Puddy uses this distinctive maneuver on her, as she had previously dated Jerry and experienced the same move before. Puddy next appears as Elaine's current boyfriend and as an obsessive fan of the New Jersey Devils in "The Face Painter", also in season 6.

Elaine and Puddy break up and make up so frequently it becomes inconsequential. In "The Voice," Elaine actually bets Jerry she can break up with Puddy and stay broken up, a bet she loses several times throughout the episode, conceivably because the sex is too good. As she finally realizes she likes being with Puddy, he breaks up with her. In season nine's "The Butter Shave," the two manage to break up, get back together again, and break up again, all during the course of an international flight. In the season nine episode "The Burning," Elaine reveals a motive for reuniting with the blunt mechanic: "I needed to move a bureau." One reason Elaine once gave for breaking up with Puddy was, "I think his answering machine is broken, so I just gave up" ("The Wizard").

Elaine finds Puddy attractive for his masculine qualities, such as his height, his deep voice, and the fact that he works with his hands; early in their relationship, Elaine compares him to Stanley Kowalski. She is turned off by his casual and apparently lackadaisical attitude toward relationships and what she perceives as his odd behaviors, such as face and body painting in support of New Jersey Devils ice hockey games and his love of Arby's. She also finds his religious beliefs in the ("The Burning") problematic, as she herself is not religious. He is unfazed by her lack of faith, and reminds her in his matter-of-fact way that she is going to hell. Puddy is also a recovering germaphobe; he wears a necklace with a germ emblem attached as both proof of the phobia and as a reminder of his struggle. He is also known for his catch phrase, "Yeah, that's right," delivered in a dead-pan manner with little or no emotion behind it. Though Puddy originally appears as a mechanic, he is later promoted to salesman at a Saab dealership, after which Jerry tries to use him to get a good deal on a new car ("The Dealership").

When Puddy agrees with someone strongly enough, he likes to get that person to give him a high-five, a habit which Jerry considers "the lowest form" of communication. Puddy is offended by people that use the term "grease monkey" to describe an auto mechanic, arguing "I don't know too many monkeys that could take apart a fuel injector."

He appears briefly in the series finale; as the four main characters are sentenced to jail, Elaine tells him, "Puddy, don't wait for me," to which he shrugs and nonchalantly replies, "All right." (In the deleted scenes, Puddy was originally supposed to have more screen time and personally talk to Elaine's boss Peterman, but it was cut for time.)

Appearances

*Season Six:
**"The Fusilli Jerry"
**"The Face Painter"
*Season Nine:
**"The Butter Shave"
**"The Voice"
**"The Junk Mail"
**"The Apology"
**"The Dealership"
**"The Reverse Peephole"
**"The Burning"
**"The Finale Part I"
**"The Finale Part II"