`SEINFELD' GUESTS FEEL RIGHT AT HOME.

Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Writer

Whether it be a physical trait (a woman with man hands), a speaking dysfunction (high talker, low talker, close talker) or an apparent personality disorder (the Soup Nazi, the obsessive auto mechanic, the nosy doorman or the blabbermouth rabbi), the people who passed through ``Seinfeld's'' New York were as funny as they were well-defined.

Each is now a part of popular culture.

Casting calls have become more frequent for the many actors who have worked the sound stage on the CBS Studio Center lot in Studio City since their stint on the show, but you should get to see them one more time in their familiar role tonight.

Although details about tonight's final episode of ``Seinfeld'' are being guarded as closely as Vito Corleone in a hospital bed, it is a guarantee that many of the bit players who have made the show what it is - and made a name for themselves at the same time - will be paraded across the screen.

Here is a look at some of those characters and the people who played them:

PUDDY

Played by: Patrick Warburton.

Who he was: Jerry's one-time mechanic and Elaine's recurring boyfriend.

Best remembered for: Stealing Jerry's bedroom move, being a face-painted New Jersey Devils fan and wearing a fur coat.

In the fall of 1995, Warburton found himself at center ice of the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., dropping a frozen piece of rubber.

His Puddy character, who painted his face to support the New Jersey Devils, had become the hockey team's poster child.

After the episode aired, the clip was played on the arena scoreboard every time the Devils scored.

``They took the face-painter on as one of their mascots,'' said Warburton, who lives in Woodland Hills.

No, he didn't get residuals every time the Devils played the tape, but Warburton enjoyed the exposure.

The Devils went on to win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history the month after the episode initially aired, and Puddy became larger than life.

``I was not only a mascot, but an icon and a good-luck charm,'' he said. ``They brought me out to drop the puck the next season on Opening Day. There was a half-hour of screaming and yelling and crying. They were raising the banner. It was huge. After all that, they showed the face-painter on the Trinitron, and the fans were going crazy. I walked out on the red carpet and there were 20,000 people on their feet. It was unreal. The whole time I'm thinking that, because of one half-hour of television, the next thing I know is that I'm a national hero in New Jersey.''

After 10 episodes and hundreds of hockey games as Puddy, Warburton is eager to try a new character.

``I'm at a point in my career that I know I have to redefine myself,'' he said. ``I've got to do different things.''

He has a sitcom pilot in development for NBC called ``Blind Men.''

``It's a very different character than Puddy,'' Warburton said. ``I play like the devil, the antagonist. He's insightful and perceptive. He can find out someone's weakness and use it against them.''

J. PETERMAN 

Played by: John O'Hurley.

Who he was: Elaine's verbose boss who converses in catalog-speak.

Best remembered for: His unusual speech patterns and trip to the jungle.

Now get this: J. Peterman and ``J. Peterman'' are friends.

The real catalog mogul and O'Hurley met at a taping of one-time morning show ``Fox After Breakfast.'' O'Hurley, who collects wine, sends vintage bottles to Peterman, who sends him clothes.

``He and I are very good friends now,'' O'Hurley said. ``We are joined at the wrists and ankles for the rest of our lives through reruns of `Seinfeld.' He kind of lost his identity to me, and I'm not giving it back.''

As a matter of fact, O'Hurley is keeping the character alive by writing a book called ``Tales From the Lunatic Fringe: The J. Peterman Diaries,'' which chronicles stories from the fictional character's life.

O'Hurley characterizes his Peterman as a cross between Mr. Magoo and Don Quixote.

``It's a fun character to get into - and a tough one to get out of,'' he said. ``He's such a lunatic. He walks around on puffs of air. His head is always in the clouds. He has his own perception of reality.''

The real Peterman is a ``very astute businessman with not so much a shade of lunacy,'' says the actor.

O'Hurley, who will sing with the Rhode Island Philharmonic this summer and perform in a concert in Rome, lives in Studio City.

``The City of Studios,'' O'Hurley said, ``That's how Peterman would say it.''

MICKEY

Played by: Danny Woodburn.

Who he was: The little person.

Best remembered for: Having a knock-down, drag-out fight with Kramer, who's more than twice his height.

Good thing for Woodburn that his role as Mickey on ``Seinfeld'' propelled his career, because Thieves Market in Studio City is closed.

The actor used to sell boots there to help pay his bills. Now he's made his mark in the acting world as the ``Seinfeld'' character who got caught wearing lifts, a move that made the character a locust among the little people who work as stand-ins for child actors.

``I was doing regular-schmo jobs and working here and there in the business prior to `Seinfeld,' '' Woodburn said. ``Since the first time I was on the show in February 1994, I have been able to support myself solely as as actor.''

``Seinfeld'' was more than a financial pleasure for Woodburn. He was also proud to take part in a show that took little people seriously. But that still isn't the main reason he feels blessed.

``Twelve years ago, I was getting out of a body cast for a skeletal dysplasia, so I don't always think about what's ahead too far,'' he said. ``I don't think about what tomorrow will be like. I don't have expectations. I set goals to reach. A dream is another story, and I was lucky enough to reach one of them, to be part of, as people say, television history.''

JENNA

Played by: Kristin Davis.

Who she was: The girlfriend Jerry couldn't kiss anymore because he dropped her toothbrush in the toilet bowl.

Best remembered for: Close-ups of her mouth.

In Los Angeles, Davis answers to the name Brooke, the character she played on ``Melrose Place.'' In New York, her street name is Jenna, the toothbrush girl from ``Seinfeld.''

Jerry Seinfeld, she said, was a perfectionist right down to checking her wardrobe before the filming. But her lasting memory from the filming of the episode was the hard time (in good fun, of course) that cast member Jason Alexander gave her.

For the close-up shots of Davis' mouth, an image that evoked disgusted responses from the Seinfeld character, she had to stand still and pose while a camera with a fisheye lens took a close-up of her.

``Jason was in the background laughing during the whole thing, and it made it hard to stay still,'' she said. ``I had to purse my lips and stay really still, and Jason was hollering at me.''

Jenna did make a return appearance, bumping into Seinfeld on the street while on the arm of Seinfeld nuisance, comic Kenny Bania.

``I was mean to Jerry,'' Davis said. ``I said to the writers, `How come none of these women are ever mean to him?' My personal idea was to have a party, and all of the women are there, and they are mean to him, and he is scared and has to leave.

``There are so many of these women, he'd be running into them on every corner.''

KENNY BANIA

Played by: Steve Hytner.

Who he was: A hack comic who annoyed Jerry.

Best known for: Giving Jerry an Armani suit in exchange for dinner at a nice restaurant.

Hytner had done television before his role as Bania on ``Seinfeld,'' and he has won parts since (he has a regular role on NBC's ``Working''), but something was special on the show about nothing.

``When you were on the show, you felt like you were inside of a TV,'' said Hytner. ``I don't think I ever felt like that before.''

Hytner, a one-time stand-up comic, will take the stage again tonight during a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House at New York's Comic Strip.

He's been doing the Bania character for four years now, but a little-known fact is that he filmed two more shows than he appeared in, but they landed on the editing-room floor.

``Jerry liked the character because Jerry was funny off of Bania,'' Hytner said. ``Sometimes they would write me into the show late in the week and have me come in to shoot it. They always overshoot, and they would call me and say, `You're not going to make it.' ''

He, like the others is happy to be part of such a big show.

``When I am 80 and in the old actors' home,'' he said, ``my grandchildren will be able to say, `My grandfather was the most annoying man on TV.' ''

JACKIE CHILES

Played by: Phil Morris.

Who he was: Kramer's lawyer - and a direct parody of O.J. Simpson lawyer Johnnie Cochran.

Best known for: Negotiating a legal windfall for Kramer, only to watch his wild-haired client later botch the deal.

Morris had an unusual advantage when he prepared for his role as Jackie Chiles, the fast-talking, sharp-dressed attorney retained by Kramer to fight the tobacco company (yes, the irony of a guy named Phil Morris suing a tobacco company was not lost on the cast and crew of ``Seinfeld''), the latte people and the woman who wore a bra as a shirt.

Morris, as would any good actor, did his share of research to play the Cochran-type attorney. Not only was he, like millions of Americans, Velcroed to the television set to watch the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, he has personal contact with Cochran.

``Mr. Cochran and I get our hair cut at the same place,'' said Morris, who is now a regular on UPN's ``The Love Boat: The Next Wave.'' ``We see each other a lot at Terrell's II in L.A. on La Brea, and he'll be in there getting a haircut, and we'll just be laughing at each other. He came over and gave me a big hug to congratulate me and tell me he's happy it was me.''

Truth be known, Cochran has said he's genuinely amused by the Jackie Chiles character. Series co-creator Larry David even called him to make sure he didn't have a problem with the show using the character, Cochran said. Probably a smart move; you don't want to rub Cochran the wrong way and end up in court.

But it's almost amazing that Cochran even recognized Morris. He is a mild-mannered actor, not exactly known for his comedy work.

``Close friends of mine didn't know it was me,'' Morris said. ``A manager of mine at one time didn't recognize me. He said to another guy in the office that they should sign that actor and the other guy said, `Hey bonehead, that's our client.' The energy is very different. He's a totally full-on manic guy, and I don't come across personally that way to the people who know me. It's rare for an actor to really come outside of himself. We play so many characters close to us. It was so out there for me, it was like a catharsis. Anytime I play him, I channel him. The first line always blows me away. It blows everyone away.''

UNCLE LEO

Played by: Len Lesser.

Who he was: Jerry's annoying uncle who was loud, obnoxious and loved to touch people. He is also the doting father of cousin Jeffrey.

Best remembered for: Picking a wallet and watch out of the garbage.

There's something about Uncle Leo that disturbs the man who plays him on TV.

``People come up to me all the time and say, `Oh you remind me of my Uncle Benny,' or `my brother' or `cousin,' '' said Lesser. ``I'm like, Jesus, this mad, mad character, this crazy banana is like other people? It surprised me. This is the kind of guy that is loud, obnoxious, he grabs your arm and won't let go and he back-slaps. He's one of these guys that pinches your cheeks.''

Yet, for some reason, people identify with Uncle Leo. And not just people in the United States. In Sweden, France and England, strangers offer up a quick, ``Jerry. Hello,'' his trademark salutation while addressing the series' star. They even ask to see his watch, wallet or eyebrows.

``What really flabbergasted me,'' he said, ``was that I was at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem four or five years ago on a Sunday afternoon by myself. It was an incredible sight. People were at the Wall, putting in prayers on paper and contemplating things or whatever. It was a powerful moment. I was tripping out by myself, and someone came up to me and said, `Uncle Leo. Hello.' Some people talked to me. It was like a sacrilege.''

THE DRAKE

Played by: Rick Overton.

Who he was: A friend of the gang who received a big-screen television set from them as an engagement present. They took it back when he called off the nuptials.

Best known for: Everybody loving the Drake, except George of course.

In many sitcoms, stars refuse to give up the laugh lines to their co-stars, let alone sit back while guest actors are allowed to operate.

Not so on ``Seinfeld,'' says Overton. That the ``Seinfeld'' stars are generous enough to share punch lines - and that guests have great material to work with - is a well-known fact among actors, Overton said. And it's likely one reason for the show's success.

``They are normal people. Normal, talented, exceptional people,'' said Overton, who came up through the comic ranks with Seinfeld and is now a consultant on an hourlong drama called ``The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne,'' which is in preproduction in Montreal. ``The best ones don't have to put on the bravado, covering something that's missing. They don't have to prove anything.''

The Drake is a great example of how ``Seinfeld'' used callbacks. The reality of this fictitious world was such that the same people kept popping up. Just as the toothbrush girl dated Bania, the Drake made a quick, yet funny, comeback that rewarded regular viewers with good memories.

When the Drake got engaged, our four heroes bought him a big-screen TV. When the wedding was called off, they pulled a scam to get it back.

Then, in a later episode, when Jerry's show inside a show was on the air, the Drake was shown watching on a tiny TV.

``They are brilliant callbacks, all of them,'' Overton said.

Overton said that from the first episode of ``Seinfeld'' he saw, he knew it would be imitated; he says some, like ``Friends,'' have turned out well.

``I knew this would be great,'' he said. ``Larry (David) is a genius. No one weaves a ... story like he does. If someone has one brilliant idea, people are like bugs at a picnic, and this one is a smorgasbord. But this show is so good, some of the rip-offs are even good.''

SUE ELLEN MISCHKE 

Played by: Brenda Strong.

Who she was: The O'Henry candy bar heiress and an unintentional nemesis of Elaine's.

Best known for: Strong is a classically trained singer, dancer and actress, but that wasn't what jump-started her career. Walking around braless in a snug shirt, and later walking around in just a bra, with no shirt, marked her breakthrough.

``After the first episode aired, I immediately got a call from 20th Century Fox, and they were just raving about the show,'' Strong said. ``I guess all I had to do earlier in my career was wear a bra. It was a little bit of a rude awakening about the industry and our value system.''

Despite that, Strong had no problems playing the character or the role.

``I was breast-feeding at the time,'' she said, ``and I walked up to Larry David and said, `How big do you want them?' I think I embarrassed him. He just said, `They look fine.' I really loved the role and being part of such an amazing ensemble and being a part of history,'' she said. ``The glass ceiling gets lifted when you do a `Seinfeld'; it's like getting a seal of approval.''

Although she had been called to read for other parts on ``Seinfeld,'' her management advised her to pass and wait for the right part.

``Ironically, we weren't sure how it was going to play,'' she said. ``It looks a little risky walking down a street in the middle of New York in a bra. But in modern day, people wear less than that in the street.''

Strong said the fact that she stands 6 feet, much taller than Julia Louis-Dreyfus, helped her get the part.

``Her eye level is at my chest level,'' Strong said.

That's usually where strangers' eyes tend to fall, too, however discreetly.

``If they recognize me, they will take a side glance to see if I'm wearing one (a bra) or not,'' Strong said. ``It's a tribute to the believability and the credibility that, even with these stretches of the imagination, people really believe that these people exist.''

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Chart, Drawing

Photo: (1) no caption (Patrick Warburton)

(2) no caption (John O'Hurley)

(3) no caption (Kristin Davis)

(4) no caption (Phil Morris)

(5) no caption (Len Lesser)

(6) no caption (Brenda Strong)

Drawing/Chart: Seinfeld Faves

Scores of people participated in the Daily News' ``Seinfeld'' play-at-home game and offered up their opinions on their favorite people, places and things in the sitcom's nine years of cutting-edge entertainment.The following is a look at the 10 categories and the phoned-in results

Bradford Mar/Daily News