A Letter from Jerry Seinfeld

Producer of Letters from a Nut by Ted L. Nancy

My first contact with Mr. Ted L. Nancy was the night of August 30, 1995. I went to a friend’s house to watch the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which I watch every year. There were a few other people there, and as we were enjoying the program, I noticed a handful of letters sitting on the coffee table.

I read one, and then another, and then another. I began to laugh out loud at the letters, and just as much at the responses from the various businesses and corporations that followed each one. Then I started reading the letters to my friends, and the next thing I knew, the whole room was laughing and having a wonderful time. There was just one strange thing. There was this one fellow in the room who just kind of nodded approvingly as each letter was read.

He didn’t seem irritated, nor did he seem particularly impressed. He was just sort of sitting back, taking the whole thing in. I guess I didn’t realize it at the time, but I am convinced to this day that that man was the real Ted L. Nancy.

As far as Ted L. Nancy himself goes, I’m really still pretty much in the dark about him. From his Vegas shrimp costume to his lost bag of otter hair, it’s hard to figure out what’s driving this guy. He enjoys the simple things, like fine busboy service, Bon Ami cleanser, and steamboats. He is extremely courteous and complimentary to his correspondents and will go to any length to find a kind word to say. “I love your driveway.” I guess I would like to say that in many ways Ted L. Nancy is a lot like you and me. We all have peculiar problems and often have to deal with faceless strangers to resolve them.

But it’s just not true. Ted L. Nancy is not like you and me. Nobody has problems like this guy. Nobody checks into a hotel with their own ice machine. So… I knew from the beginning that I had to do everything I could to let as many people as possible know the hilarious truth about what has been going on inside the mailbox of Ted L. Nancy.

— Jerry Seinfeld