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Glenn Padnick, who co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, served as its TV president and was a key player in bringing its crown-jewel sitcom Seinfeld into existence, has died. He was 77.

His reps told Deadline that Padnick died February 25 of complications from Erdheim-Chester disease, a rare illness he lived with for a quarter-century.

Padnick shepherded the Jerry Seinfeld-fronted comedy juggernaut into being and produced and oversaw the NBC series through all nine seasons, making an uncredited on-screen cameo in the Season 4 episode “The Pilot.”

Alan Horn, co-founded Castle Rock in 1987 along with Padnick, Rob Reiner, Martin Shafer and Andrew Scheinman in 1987, said of Padnick: “We found ourselves having a phenomenal run with what is unquestionably one of the most famous situation comedies in television, Seinfeld. And he was the point person as president of Castle Rock Television.”

During his career as a TV executive, Padnick also produced several hit comedies of...

Television history is littered with failed sitcoms headlined by comedians that audiences seem to love — in the right show. Turn up in a stinker, however, and the shows are gone in a blink. Matthew Perry was great in Friends, but no one wanted Mr. Sunshine. Audiences adored McLean Stevenson in M*A*S*H but said goodbye to Hello Larry. Jon Cryer scored with Two and Half Men but was booted from his Extended Family this year.

Here are four more comedy stars who flopped multiple times while trying to get sitcoms off the ground…

1 Jason Bateman

Bateman received two well-deserved Emmy nominations for his performance as Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, recognition that came decades after his breakthrough as a Tiger Beat cover boy in Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family. In between, however, he starred in several sitcom flops that lasted a year or less, including It’s Your Move...