Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller

Stiller and Anne Meara
Born Gerald Isaac Stiller
(1927-06-08) June 8, 1927
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation Comedian, actor
Years active 1953–present
Spouse(s) Anne Meara (m. 1954; her death 2015)
Children 2, Amy & Ben

Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Frank Costanza on the NBC comedy series Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series The King of Queens.[1] He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara. They are the parents of actor Ben Stiller, with whom Stiller co-starred in the films Zoolander, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit, The Heartbreak Kid and Zoolander 2.

Early life

The eldest of four children,[2] Stiller was born at Unity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Bella (née Citron; 1902–1954) and William Stiller (1896–1999), a bus driver.[3] His family was Jewish. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Galicia, and his mother was born in Poland.[4] He lived in the Williamsburg and East New York neighborhoods before his family moved to the Lower East Side,[5] where he attended Seward Park High School.[6]

A drama major at Syracuse University, he earned a bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama in 1950. In the 1953 Phoenix Theater production of Coriolanus (produced by John Houseman), Stiller (along with Gene Saks and Jack Klugman) formed "the best trio of Shakespearian clowns that [he] had ever seen on any stage".[7]

Stiller and Meara

The comedy team Stiller and Meara, composed of Stiller and wife, Anne Meara, was successful in the 1960s and 1970s, with numerous appearances on television variety programs, mainly on The Ed Sullivan Show.[8] Their career declined as variety series gradually disappeared, but they subsequently forged a career in radio commercials, notably the campaign for Blue Nun wine. They starred in their own syndicated five-minute sketch comedy show, Take Five with Stiller and Meara (1977–1978).[9]

From 1979 to 1982, Stiller and Meara hosted HBO Sneak Previews, a half-hour show produced monthly on which they described the movies and programs to be featured in the coming month.[10] They also did some comedy sketches between show discussions. The duo's own 1986 TV sitcom, The Stiller and Meara Show, in which Stiller played the deputy mayor of New York City and Meara portrayed his wife, a TV commercial actress, was not successful

Resurgence

Seinfeld

Stiller played the irascible Frank Costanza, the father of George Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld from 1993 to 1998. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1997, and won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series for his portrayal of Frank Costanza.

The King of Queens

After Seinfeld's run ended, Stiller had planned on retiring, but Kevin James asked him to join the cast of The King of Queens. James, who played the leading role of Doug Heffernan, had told Stiller that he needed him in order to have a successful show. Stiller obliged, and played the role of Arthur Spooner, the father of Carrie Heffernan, in the sitcom from 1998 until 2007. Stiller said this role tested his acting ability more than any others have and that, before being a part of King of Queens, he only saw himself as a "decent actor".

Other appearances

Stiller played himself in filmed skits, opening and closing Canadian rock band Rush's 30th Anniversary Tour concerts in 2004. These appearances are seen on the band's DVD R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, released in 2005. Stiller later appeared in cameos in later in-concert films for the band's 2007-2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour. Stiller appeared on Dick Clark's $10,000 Pyramid show as himself in the 1970s, but actual footage of this appearance was later edited into an episode of The King of Queens to make it appear that his character was a contestant on the show, and he was bitter as he never received his parting gift, a lifetime supply of "Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat". He also appeared on the game show Tattletales with his wife Anne in the "Blue rooting section". (Reran Fox 2 Detroit, MI channel 2.3 on 6/2/15 7:00 AM)

In the late 1990s, Stiller appeared in a series of Nike television commercials as the ghost of deceased Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. Stiller has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably Zoolander (2001) and Secret of the Andes (1999). On February 9, 2007, Stiller and Meara were honored with a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On October 28, 2010, the couple appeared on an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Stiller voiced the announcer on the children's educational show Crashbox. Starting in October 2010, Stiller and Meara began starring in a Yahoo web series, Stiller & Meara from Red Hour Digital, in which they discussed current topics. Each episode was about two minutes long.[11] As of 2012, Stiller has been a spokesman for Xfinity.

As author

Stiller in 2005

Stiller wrote the foreword to the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us (ISBN 0-446-69674-9) by Allen Salkin, released on October 26, 2005. Stiller's memoir, Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara, was published by Simon & Schuster © 2000; ISBN 0-684-86903-9.

Personal life

Stiller was married to Anne Meara from 1954 until her death on May 23, 2015. Their son is actor-comedian Ben Stiller (born 1965) and their daughter is actress Amy Stiller (born 1961). He is also a grandfather to two children.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

  1. ↑ Dennis Bjorklund. Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia with Biographies, Character Profiles & Episode Summaries. Praetorian Publishing. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-0-9679852-4-4. Best remembered for his five-year stint on "Seinfeld" in a recurring regular role, Jerry Stiller ... is a veteran actor with a long history of stage performances. His notoriety first came when he revamped the role of George's father, but he ...
  2. ↑ "Jerry Stiller profile at". Accuracyproject.org. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  3. ↑ Jerry Stiller profile, filmreference.com; accessed August 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Jerry Stiller (8 August 2000). Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara. Simon & Schuster. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-0-7432-1146-8.
  5. ↑ Jerry Stiller's Own Private East Side
  6. ↑ "Famous Alumni". Sewardparkhs.com. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  7. ↑ Houseman, John (1979). Front & Center. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 439. ISBN 0-671-24328-4.
  8. ↑ Jeffrey Ross (September 15, 2009). I Only Roast the Ones I Love: Busting Balls Without Burning Bridges. Gallery Books. pp. 163–. ISBN 978-1-4391-6420-4.
  9. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2. VNR AG. p. 404. ISBN 0918432618. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Jerry Stiller profile, Filmreference.com; accessed May 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Watch Stiller and Meara online". Stillerandmeara.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  12. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118958/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_39

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