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Cast of 'Seinfeld' surprise dying fan with birthday wishes

By Wade Sheridan
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wishing terminally ill "Seinfeld" superfan James Anthony Calder a Happy Birthday after his son reached out to the cast of the hit comedy series. Photo courtesy of James Calder/YouTube
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wishing terminally ill "Seinfeld" superfan James Anthony Calder a Happy Birthday after his son reached out to the cast of the hit comedy series. Photo courtesy of James Calder/YouTube

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Terminally ill Seinfeld super fan James Anthony Calder received a special surprise on his birthday recently when the cast of the iconic comedy series wished him Happy Birthday in a collection of videos.

Former cast members including Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), Wayne Knight (Newman), John O' Hurley (J. Peterman), and Larry Thomas (The Soup Nazi) and more sent Calder personal Happy Birthday videos which his son also named James posted to YouTube.

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It was Calder's son who reached out to the cast mentioning how his father was huge fan of the show and could use a boost on his 67th birthday as he battled with lung cancer.

"I just wanted to say Happy Birthday. I hope it's a great one, and I'm wishing you the very best," Louis-Dreyfus said in the video after thanking the elder Calder for being a fan and praising his work raising a son "who clearly adores you."

Knight who stayed in character as Seinfeld nemesis Newman in his video mentioned how he threw a "virtual party" for Calder but only showed up because he was "told there would be cake."

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Michael Richards who famously portrayed Kramer on the show privately reached out to Calder to wish him Happy Birthday with a phone call.

Sadly, James Anthony Calder passed away in November a day after seeing the videos and three days before his birthday, his son wrote in the Huffington Post.

"These wonderful people helped to honor and celebrate my father's birthday and provided a much needed distraction during an extremely difficult time for my family," he wrote. "Their kindness and compassion has humbled us to our core."

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