The Late Great Jerry Stiller

Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller, one half of the comedy team of Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara and a regular on such television shows as Joe and Sons, Tattingers, Seinfeld, and The King of Queens, died yesterday, May 11 2020, at the age of 92.

Jerry Stiller was born on June 8 1927 in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, he saw performances of both Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante in person, which inspired him to go into entertainment. He was still attending Seward Park High School in Manhattan when he started performing at the Henry Street Playhouse. During and immediately following World War II, Mr. Stiller served in the United States Army. After his service ended, he studied theatre at Syracuse University and received a bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama in 1950. Following his graduation, Jerry Stiller began working in summer stock

It was in 1953 that Jerry Stiller met Anne Meara. The two married in 1954. Jerry Stiller appeared in Off Broadway shows and made his debut on Broadway in 1954 in The Golden Apple. In the Fifties he also appeared on Broadway in Threepenny Opera, The Carefree Three, Diary of a Scoundrel, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Measure for Measure, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Power and the Glory. He made his television debut in an episode of The Big Story in 1957. During the decade he also appeared on the television shows Studio One, Armstrong Circle Theatre, and Camera Three.

Jerry Stiller convinced his wife, Anne Meara, to become part of a comedy team with him, even though she had never considered comedy. She agreed because at the time work was hard to find. The two of them joined The Compass Players, the legendary comedy troupe which over the years had boasted  Theodore J. Flicker, Nichols and May, and others as members. Eventually they struck out on their own as the comedy duo of Stiller and Meara. . Among their best known routines was a whole series involving the relationship between Hershey Horowitz, a short Jewish man, and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, a tall Catholic woman, who met and fell in love. By 1961 Stiller and Meara were playing nightclubs in New York City. By 1962 they were one of the biggest comedy teams around.

Stiller and Meara appeared on the majority of variety shows and talk shows in the Sixties. They made their television debut as a comedy team on The Merv Griffin Show in 1962. Throughout the decade, Stiller and Meara appeared on such variety shows and talk shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Danny Kaye Show, Hullabaloo,  Today, The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, The Mike Douglas Show, The Skitch Henderson Show, and The Tonight Show. They provided voices for episodes of the classic Saturday morning cartoon Linus the Lion Hearted. They appeared in the film Lovers and Other Strangers (1970).  Jerry Stiller guest starred without Anne Meara on the shows Studio One, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Lamp Unto My Feet, The Defenders, General Electric Theatre, and Brenner.

Stiller and Meara continued to appear on variety shows and talk shows in the Seventies, The Kraft Music Hall, Flip, The Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and Tony Orlando and Dawn. They appeared on the game show Hollywood Squares. Stiller & Meara guest starred on the shows Love, American Style; The Courtship of Eddie's Father; The Paul Lynde Show; Time Express; and The Love Boat. They had recurring roles on Rhoda. They appeared in the film Nasty Habits (1977).  He guest starred on his wife Anne Meara's show Kate McShane. Without his wife, Jerry Stiller was a regular on the show Joe and Sons, and guest starred on Phyllis, Jerry Stilller appeared without his wife in the movies The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), The Ritz (1976), and Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980).

In the Eighties Stiller and Meara appeared in the unsold pilot The Stiller and Meara Show. They guest starred on the shows The Love Boat, Breakaway, Saturday Night Live, and Monsters. He guest starred on Archie Bunker's Place, on which his wife was a regular. Without Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller was a regular on the show Tattingers and guest starred on the shows Hart to Hart; Private Benjamin; Simon & Simon; Alice; Reading Rainbow; Trapper John, M.D.;The Equalizer; Tales from the Darkside; Screen Two; and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared in the TV movie Sweet 15. Mr. Stiller appeared in the movies Seize the Day (1986), Hot Pursuit (1987), Nadine (1987), Hairspray (1988), That's Adequate (1989), and Little Vegas (1990).

In the Nineties Stiller and Meara appeared in the films Highway to Hell (1991), Reality Bites (1994), Heavy Weights (1995), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), The Independent (2000), and Chump Change (2000). They appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Anne Meara guest starred several times on her husband Jerry Stiller's TV show King of Queens. Without Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller played George Constanza's father Frank on Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner on King of Queens. He guest starred on L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Eddie Files, Deadly Games, Law & Order, Touched by An Angel, and The Larry Sanders Show. He was a regular voice on the animated series Teacher's Pet. He appeared in the films The Pickle (1993), Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz (1997), Stag (1997), The Deli (1997), Secret of the Andes (1998), The Suburbans (1999), and My 5 Wives (2000).

From the Teens into the Naughts, Stiller and Meara had their own TV show, Stiller and Meara. They appeared on the game show Hollywood Squares, on the show Sex and the City, and in the film Zoolander (2001), which starred their son Ben Stiller.  Without Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller continued to appear on The King of Queens. He guest starred on the shows Odd Job Jack, Mercy, and The Good Wife. He was a regular on the animated series Fish Hooks.

Stiller and Meara were one of the greatest comedy teams of the late 20th Century. It is with good reason that they were so popular in the Sixties and Seventies. Their routines focused on male and female relationships, and the similarities and differences between the sexes. Their routines were always filled with insight, but also with a good deal of humanity. Of course, even without Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller was a force to be reckoned with. As a comedian he was naturally known for his comic roles, such as Frank Constanza, Arthur Spooner, and yet others. At the same time, he could play dramatic roles. He played Police Lieutenant Patrone in The Takign of Pelham One Two Three and appeared in dramatic roles on shows from The Defenders to In the Heat of the Night. Both as one half of Stiller and Meara and as an actor on his own, Jerry Stiller will always be remembered.