He also worked with Andy Kaufman and Marty Feldman

Howard West,Jerry Seinfeld's long-term producer, has died at the age of 84, Hollywood industry website Deadline is reporting.

With his business partner George Shapiro West executive producerd all 172 episodes of Seinfeld, as well as the comedian's 2010 reality show The Marriage Ref.

Earlier in his career he also worked with Andy Kaufman, producing Andy's Funhouse in 1979 and the performance video Andy Kaufman Plays Carnegie Hall. And he made a cameo appearance in the 1999 Kaufman biopic Man On The Moon as a network executive, which he and Shapiro also produced.

West also produced Marty Feldman's ill-fated attempts to become a Hollywood leading man, 1977's The Last Remake of Beau Geste, whose ensemble cast included Spike, Milligan, Terry-Thomas and Michael York, and 1980's In God We Tru$t, which also co-starred Kaufman and Richard Pryor.

Shapiro and West met at school in the Bronx and worked their way up the showbusiness ladder from the mailroom of the William Morris talent agency. They represented the likes of Neil Diamond and Glen Campbell before taking on comedy talent such as Seinfeld, Feldman, Kaufman and Carl Reiner.

West also mentored Bill Lawrence, who produced Spin City, Scrubs, Cougar Town and his new series Undateable.

Published: 6 Dec 2015