The ‘Seinfeld’ Fandom Says Goodbye to ‘Crazy’ Joe Davola Actor Peter Crombie

Heaven likes to encourage intruders.

This past Wednesday, actor and writer Peter Crombie, best known by the public for his five-episode arc in Seinfeld playing writer, clown and kibosher “Crazy” Joe Davola, died at the age of 71 in a Palm Springs hospital following a battle with an unspecified illness. Seinfeld legend Larry Charles lamented his former colleague’s passing following the news of Crombie’s death which circulated entertainment circles this past weekend, writing on Instagram, “Peter Crombie was a wonderfully subtle actor. His portrayal of Joe Davola managed to feel real and grounded and psychopathic and absurd and hilarious all at the same time.”

Other famous friends and colleagues have offered similarly glowing appraisals of Crombie’s acting roles, but the impact of his passing was, perhaps, expressed most passionately by the online Seinfeld fandom who hate losing one of their heroes more than a hair on a tongue. Thankfully, Crombie’s fans haven’t directed their anger over his loss at Jerry Seinfeld himself – yet.

Crombie was also mourned by his close friend, the Daily Show veteran Lewis Black, who wrote in a Twitter post on Friday that he was “heartbroken by the death of my good friend Peter Crombie.” Black said of the deceased, “He was a gifted artist. Not only was he a wonderful actor but an immensely talented writer. More importantly he was as sweet as he was intelligent and I am a better person for knowing him.”

Over in the Seinfeld subreddit, the largest such fan forum dedicated to the series, news of Crombie's passing skyrocketed to the top of the front page as the usual deluge of quotes, references and memes followed in the comments. “His acting was terrifying. RIP,” one user wrote, with another adding of the Crazy Joe Davola character, “That was a very dark story arch. Was written by Larry Charles? His stuff was heavy.”

“Someone should go to his funeral and spray some cherry Binaca on him for us,” one more user wrote, to which another faceciously quippted, “Open casket, as he liked to encourage intruders.”