Behind the Scenes Stories from ‘Seinfeld’

12. The J. Peterman Catalogue is Real

In real life the J. Peterman catalogue is only based in Kentucky, but it’s real. The show just switched the name Jacopo Peterman for the real John Peterman. Elaine’s character famously comes up with the “urban sombrero” which the fictional J. Peterman responds to with “The horror. The horror.” However, just this week the real life news broke that the real J. Peterman company is launching a campaign to sell the hat. Oh, and by the way, the actor John O’Hurley who played the fictional J. Peterman actually owns the real J. Peterman company now. It’s almost too much, and amazing. Says John: “I have resisted the many demands to offer [the hat] in the Owner’s Manual catalog because it wasn’t an authentic item. But after 20 years, maybe the Urban Sombrero has served enough time in purgatory. Maybe it has earned its authenticity. More importantly, I’m looking forward to wearing mine at our next board meeting.”