Seinfeld to FEMA
John O’Hurley is touring North America in productions of “Chicago” and “Spamalot,” but he says it’s a “guise” to introduce his clean-energy technology to the cities he visits.
Among O’Hurley’s many ventures are businesses that harness methane from landfills and convert solid waste to emission-free energy.
He’s recently met with lawmakers and the Environmental Protection Agency, but his main goal is to get in front of Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, in hopes that they can use his technology in the event of a natural disaster. He says he has 30 projects in the pipleline, ranging from the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas to the Southern Nevada Water Authority to an entire town in the upper Midwest that has been hurt by the auto industry’s troubles. “This town will be a totally green town,” he said. “We’re going to take it over, essentially.”
Next week, he heads to Anchorage, Alaska, for a production of “Spamalot,” and he’s trying to get an audience with Gov. Sarah Palin.
So we couldn’t help but ask him: How would J. Peterman, his legendary character from “Seinfeld,” sell the clean-energy technology? “As I was standing in the amber waters of the Ganges River, elbow to elbow with the fish wives of New Delhi,” he said, channeling Peterman, “I was learning the gentle art of river laundering, trying to put the last minute spit shine on a pair of Navy blue boxer shorts, when it occurred to me that this stuff is drinkable.”
As we reported last week, O’Hurley gave his “Chicago” character, Billy Flynn, an extra line during his performances in Washington — on that referenced disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attempts to sell the state’s Senate seat. But, he told reporters assembled at Teatro Goldoni on Wednesday afternoon, word came down from New York that he had to scrub the one-liner from the performance. He said he’s still not sure why.
