WPIX/Ch.11 won’t be re-airing the 1995 “Murphy Brown” episode featuring a cameo appearance by John F. Kennedy Jr.
But the station still isn’t sure if it will repeat two popular 1992 “Seinfeld” episodes that featured plotlines revolving around JFK Jr.
“That’s up to [‘Seinfeld’ syndicator] Columbia TriStar,” a Ch.11 spokeswoman said. “They make all the decisions.”
Viewers who watch Ch.11’s 12:30 a.m. reruns of “Murphy Brown” won’t be seeing the episode featuring Kennedy, which originally aired in September 1995.
In that episode, Kennedy – playing himself – hyped his then-new magazine, George, to TV newswoman Murphy Brown (series star Candice Bergen).
“It is up to the individual stations whether or not they air that episode in the future,” said a spokesman for Warner Bros., which syndicates the show.
Warner Bros. has made the Kennedy-on-“Murphy Brown” clip widely available to news organizations covering JFK Jr.’s untimely death.
But Ch.11 isn’t scheduled to show the Kennedy episode in its batch of “Murphy Brown” reruns, which expires in March 2000.
It’s a different story with Ch.11’s “Seinfeld” repeats, which air weeknights at 11 p.m.
Allusions to Kennedy were made on two 1992 episodes entitled “The Virgin” and “The Contest.”
Kennedy was never seen in those episodes, but was mentioned by name.
In “The Virgin,” Jerry Seinfeld falls for a woman who ends up losing her virginity to JFK Jr., much to Jerry’s chagrin.
In “The Contest” – perhaps the show’s most famous episode – Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer bet on who can “master their domain” by abstaining the longest from masturbating.
Elaine tells the others that she’s become tempted – because hunky JFK Jr. has joined her gym.
Kramer (Michael Richards) ultimately loses the contest.
“The Contest” last aired on Ch.11 in February; neither “The Contest” or “The Virgin” are scheduled to air at least through Aug. 21 on Ch.11, according to the station’s spokeswoman.
Officials at Columbia TriStar were unavailable for comment.
Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister, Lauren Bessette, are presumed dead after Kennedy’s single-engine plane crashed Friday en route to Martha’s Vineyard.
