Todd Grant Kimsey was an American film, stage and television actor. He appeared in more than forty television roles throughout his career, as well as film roles including The Perfect Storm in 2000, Planet of the Apesin 2001, and Hidalgo in 2004. However, Kimsey may be best known for guest-starring as Ned Isakoff, Elaine Benes's communist boyfriend, in The Race, a 1994 episode of Seinfeld. Kimsey's character was later included in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Best Seinfeld Characters" in 2014.
Biography
Kimsey, one of four siblings, was born to Dr. William and Linda Kimsey on June 6, 1962, in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from Clarke Central High School in Athens in the 1980s. Kimsey initially enrolled in Davidson College for two years, before transferring to Florida State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theater. He then interned at Burt Reynolds Celebrity Dinner Theater, which was owned by Burt Reynolds, in Jupiter, Florida, following his graduation from FSU. Kimsey moved to New York, where he acted off-Broadway and television commercials, followed by a year with the touring production of Biloxi Blues. Kimsey relocated to Los Angeles to pursue film and television. He appeared in more than forty television roles, including Doogie Howser, M.D. and Growing Pains. Kimsey was perhaps best known for his guest starring role in the December 1994 episode of Seinfeld, The Race, during the sixth season. He plays Ned Isakoff, Elaine Benes' new boyfriend, whom she discovers is a communist. In the episode, Ned, who wears olive-color clothes and reads the Daily Worker, influences Kramer with his communist ideology, leading Kramer to be fired from his job as a department storeSanta Claus. Rolling Stone magazine named Kimsey's Ned to its "100 Best Seinfeld Characters" in 2014. Todd Kimsey died on September 16, 2016, in Westwood, California at the age of 54 following a three-and-a-half-year battle with lymphoma. He was survived by his wife, Lisa ; three sons, Jackson, Judah and Kellen; his parents; and siblings, Terri Langford, Tracey Evans and Troy Kimsey.
