Jerry Stiller - # 229

Jerry Stiller, Funnyman of 'Seinfeld' and Stiller and Meara Fame, Dies at 92

He was number 229 on the list.

The husband half of the legendary comedy duo also starred for years on 'The King of Queens.'

Jerry Stiller, the shorter half of the famed husband-and-wife comedy team Stiller and Meara who was the father of the famous (Ben Stiller) and the fictitious (Seinfeld nebbish George Costanza), died early Monday in his New York home. He was 92.

"I'm sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes," actor-director Ben Stiller tweeted. "He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad."

Anne Meara, his frequent comedy partner, died in May 2015. Survivors also include their daughter Amy Stiller, an actress.

In addition to portraying the combustible Frank Costanza on Seinfeld, Stiller played another dad, the basement-dwelling Arthur Spooner, on the long-running CBS sitcom The King of Queens.

While Stiller was 5-foot-4 and Jewish, Meara was lanky, two inches taller and an Irish American who was raised Catholic. Needing a comedy bit as a stint on The Ed Sullivan Show loomed, Stiller decided to use their dissimilarities for what would become their signature routine, playing the characters Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle.

"That was Jerry's idea, to use and plumb the depths of our backgrounds, exaggerate them and have the two differences of the Jewish and the gentile," Meara said during a 2005 Archive of American Television sit-down with her husband.

he New Yorkers, who met in a theatrical agent's office in 1953 after both failed to land a job in summer stock, made 36 appearances on the Sullivan show alone. By the end of the decade, they were the No. 1 couple of comedy, inheriting the title vacated by Elaine May and Mike Nichols and following in the footsteps of another famous husband-and-wife team, George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Stiller portrayed the cranky Frank, a former salesman who speaks fluent Korean, on more than two dozen episodes of NBC's Seinfeld, and in 1997 he received his lone Emmy nomination for his work on the show. (The character was introduced during the fourth-season episode "The Handicap Spot" but was played by John Randolph. Series co-creator Larry David, though, thought Randolph "looked too Protestant," said Stiller, who flew out to L.A. to audition for the job.)
David told Stiller that his wife on the series, played by the high-pitched Estelle Harris, screamed a lot, so he should play it "very meek," Stiller recalled. "Well, this happened during rehearsal and I obeyed. I soon realized that I [like Randolph] would be leaving the show because nothing was happening.
"For about three days, we did that same sort of thing, and I felt more and more restricted. Finally, before we were supposed to shoot, I just took it upon myself. When [a hysterical] Estelle said, 'You're the one who ruined [George's] life, you were never there for him, you were a lousy role model, you weren't a father,' I [returned fire] out of desperation, 'You're the one who killed him off, you slept in bed with him, you made him sandwiches, you never treated him like a real object.' And the place broke up!"
As popular as he was playing George's (Jason Alexander) dad on Seinfeld, Stiller was more visible on The King of Queens, the blue-collar sitcom that ran from September 1998 to May 2007. His irascible character lived with his daughter, Carrie, and son-in-law, Doug (Leah Remini and Kevin James), after burning down his home in the pilot. (Meara also was on the show, and in its final season, her Veronica and his Arthur got married.)
After Seinfeld's success, Stiller said James "seduced" him to take that job.

Stiller also played mobster Carmine Vespucci in Terrence McNally's 1975 Broadway hit The Ritz, and he reprised the role a year later for the Richard Lester film adaptation. He also showed up in such films as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Airport 1975 (1974), Nasty Habits (1977) and Hairspray (both the 1988 and 2007 versions) and in his son's films Zoolander (2001), Zoolander 2 (2016) and The Heartbreak Kid (2007).

Stiller was born on June 8, 1927, in Brooklyn, the son of a bus driver ("the shortest probably in all of New York City") who wanted him to become a dental technician — someone who makes false teeth. The boy would deliver lunch to his father in a paper bag, but his mother, Bella, sometimes would mix things up, and he would mistakenly hand over a bag filled with garbage instead.

He got his first taste of acting during high school when he performed for the local Henry Street Playhouse. He served in the Army and then headed, thanks to the GI Bill, to study drama at Syracuse University.

Back in New York after graduation, he sold hot dogs at Nedick's and made cold calls at agencies, looking for acting jobs. Occasionally, he was accompanied by John Cassavetes, another struggling actor. He found work as an extra on the live TV shows The Colgate Comedy Hour and Studio One.

Stiller and Meara were married in 1954, and she converted to Judaism. When he was cast in a production of Joseph Papp's just-formed Shakespeare Company in Central Park, he helped her get a job as well. He often played a clown or oaf.

They turned to comedy and polished their act in Chicago, improvising with the Compass Players (which also spawned the careers of Nichols and May, Alan Arkin and Shelley Berman). They returned to New York to appear at such venues as The Village Gate, Phase Two and The Blue Angel.

A stint on Merv Griffin's afternoon talent showcase led to their first appearance on Sullivan when Meara played a reporter interviewing a man (Stiller) who had been swallowed by a whale. Sullivan quickly signed them to a contract that called for the duo to appear regularly.

Their debut LP, Presenting America's New Comedy Sensation: Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara Live at The Hungry I, released in 1963, sold well.

In 1970, they broke up the act. "I love Anne, but if I had depended on her in my professional life, I would have lost her as a wife," Stiller told People magazine in 1977. Said Meara, "I didn't know where the act ended and our marriage began."

Longtime residents of the Upper West Side, Stiller and Meara got back together professionally. They toured in the Neil Simon comedies The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and The Prisoner of Second Avenue. In 1986, he played the deputy mayor of New York and she was his actress wife on The Stiller & Meara Show. They went at it for an internet program in 2010 directed by their son. And Stiller provided the voice for Principal Stickler on the Disney Channel series Fish Hooks.

The two also had a nice side job endorsing Blue Nun Wine, a liebfraumilch, in radio ads. With Stiller and Meara confusing the sweet wine with Catholic sisters in their ads, sales soared — from 43,000 cases a year in 1969 to more than a million a decade later, according to a 1983 article in New York magazine. (The comics were dropped in 1979 for a campaign that featured a nun on a bicycle.)

In one commercial, Stiller, playing a guy at a singles resort, offers Meara's character a little Blue Nun. "Is she the one in the little black pedal pushers?" Meara asks.

And another (which The Hollywood Reporter linked to in Meara's obituary and couldn't help but repeat here): "I'm having some friends over for smorgasbord. Some shrimp, a little cheese, some meatballs. What kind of wine can you serve with all those things?" she asks. "Might I suggest you have a little Blue Nun at your smorgasbord?" he replies. "Oh, I don't think she'd have a very good time," Meara says. "Besides, it's going to be all couples."

Filmography

Film

Year       Film       Role       Notes    Ref(s)

1970      Lovers and Other Strangers          Jim         Uncredited        

1974      The Taking of Pelham One Two Three      Lt. Rico Patrone                               

Airport 1975       Sam                      

1976      The Ritz                Carmine Vespucci                            

1977      Nasty Habits       P.R. Priest                           

1980      Those Lips, Those Eyes   Mr. Shoemaker                

1986      Seize the Day     Dr. Tamkin                         

1987      Hot Pursuit         Victor Honeywell                             

Nadine Raymond Escobar                           

1988      Hairspray             Wilbur Turnblad                              

1989      That's Adequate               Sid Lane                              

1990      Little Vegas         Sam                      

1992      Highway to Hell                 The Desk Cop                    

Freefall                 Emily's Father    Short    

1993      The Pickle            Phil Hirsch                          

1995      Heavyweights    Harvey Bushkin                

1997      Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz               Prof. Plumpingham                         

Camp Stories      Schlomo                              

Stag       Ted                       

The Deli                Petey Cheesecake                          

1999      A Fish in the Bathtub      Sam Kaplan                        

Secret of the Andes         Dr. Golfisch                        

The Suburbans Speedo Silverburg                           

2000      The Independent             Monty Fineman                               

My 5 Wives         Don Giovani                       

Chump Change The Colonel                       

2001      Zoolander            Maury Ballstein                                

On the Line         Nathan                

2002      Serving Sara        Milton the Cop                 

2004      Teacher's Pet     Pretty Boy           Voice    

The Lion King 1½              Uncle Max           Voice; Direct-to-DVD     

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy             Man in Bar          Uncredited        

2005      R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour            Himself                                

2007      Hairspray             Mr. Pinky                            

The Heartbreak Kid          Doc                       

2008      Snakes & Arrows Live     Heidi                     

2011      Swinging with the Finkels              Mr. Winters                       

2012      Foodfight!           General X             Voice    

Excuse Me for Living       Morty                   

2014      Planes: Fire & Rescue     Harvey Voice    

2016      Zoolander 2        Maury Ballstein                                

Television

Year       Show     Role       Notes    Ref(s)

1956–1957          Studio One in Hollywood              Sergeant Joe Capriotti / Hugh     2 episodes         

1957      The Big Story      Tyler      Episode: "The Hoax"      

1959      Armstrong Circle Theatre              Pfc. Elwood Johnson       Episode: "Thunder Over Berlin"

1962      The Defenders Sergeant Wysenski          Episode: "The Empty Chute"       

General Electric Theater                Harold   Episode: "Acres and Pains"          

1964      Brenner                Chris Zelco          Episode: "The Plain Truth"           

1964–1965          Linus the Lionhearted                     3 episodes         

1969      That's Life            Himself                 Episode: "Our First Fight"             

1971–1972          The Courtship of Eddie's Father Mr. Landon / Paul Sterling            2 episodes         

1971–1973          Love, American Style      Leonard Ferguson / Harry             2 episodes         

1972      The Carol Burnett Show                 Himself                 Episode: "#6.8"

1972–1973          The Paul Lynde Show      Barney Dickerson             4 episodes         

1975–1976          Joe and Sons      Gus Duzik            14 episodes       

1976      Phyllis   Burt Hillman       Episode: "Phyllis and the Jumper"            

Rhoda   Lloyd Zimmer     Episode: "A Touch of Classy"      

1979      Time Express      Edward Chernoff              Episode: "Garbage Man/Doctor's Wife"

1979–1983          The Love Boat    Harlan Weatherly

Tony Vitelli

Bud Hanrahan   3 episodes         

1980–1982          Archie Bunker's Place     Carmine               2 episodes         

1981      Madame X          Burt Orland         Television film  

Hart to Hart        Myron Finkle      Episode: "Murder Takes a Bow"

Private Benjamin              Sgt. Muldoon     Episode: "So Long, Sergeant Ross"           

1982      Simon & Simon Harold Traxler    Episode: "The Uncivil Servant"   

Alice      Gordy    Episode: "Do You Take This Waitress"     

1983      Reading Rainbow             Dinosaur Comic                 Episode: "Digging Up Dinosaurs"               

Amanda's            Sal          Episode: "You Were Meant for Me"        

The Other Woman           Mel Binns            Television film  

1984      Trapper John, M.D.          Artie Merrow     Episode: "Where There's a Will"               

1985      The Equalizer     Brahms                 Episode: "Pilot"                

Tales from the Darkside                 Luther Mandrake             Episode: "The Devil's Advocate"               

1986      Screen Two         Marty de Reske                 Episode: "The McGuffin"              

1987      Saturday Night Live         Stu         Episode: "Charlton Heston/Wynton Marsalis"     

1988–1989          Tattingers            Sid Wilbur           14 episodes       

1989      Murder, She Wrote         SFPD Lt. Birnbaum           Episode: "When The Fat Lady Sings"        

1990      Monsters             Victor    Episode: "One Wolf's Family"     

Sweet 15              Waterman           Television film  

1991      American Playhouse       Sam / Seymour Shapir    2 episodes         

Women & Men 2              Irving     Television film  

1992–1996          Law & Order       Michael Tobis / Sam Pokras         2 episodes         

1993–1998          Seinfeld                Frank Costanza 26 episodes       

1993      L.A. Law                Nat Pincus           Episode: "Rhyme and Punishment"         

1994      In the Heat of the Night                 Rabbi Feldman Episode: "The Rabbi"     

1995      Homicide: Life on the Street        McGonnigal        Episode: "In Search of Crimes Past"         

1996      Deadly Games   Phil Cullen           Episode: "Dr. Kramer"   

1997      Subway Stories Old Man               Television film  

1998      Touched by an Angel      Maury Salt          Episode: "Cry and You Cry Alone"             

The Larry Sanders Show                Himself                 Episode: "I Buried Sid"  

Hercules               Eagle     Voice; Episode: "Hercules and the Promethus Affair"      

1998–2007          The King of Queens         Arthur Spooner 195 episodes    

2000–2002          Teacher's Pet     Pretty Boy           Voice; 11 episodes         

2003      Odd Job Jack      Jim McDonald    Episode: "A Candidacy of Dunces"            

Sex and the City                Mr. Brady            Episode: "One"

2009      Wonder Pets!    Old White Mouse             Voice; 2 episodes            

Mercy   Joe Thalberg       Episode: "The Last Thing I Said Was"       

2010      Ice Dreams          Skipper                 Television film  

2010–2011          Fish Hooks           Principal Stickler               Voice; 21 episodes         

2011      The Good Wife Judge Felix Afterman      Episode: "Silver Bullet"

2014      How Murray Saved Christmas     Murray Weiner Voice; Television film     

2016      Zoolander: Super Model                Maury Ballstein                 Voice; Television film (final film role)      

Stage

Year       Title       Theatre                Role       Ref(s)

1954      The Golden Apple            Alvin Theatre     Mayor Juniper  

1955      The Carefree Tree            Phoenix Theatre, Broadway         The Propertyman            

1956      Diary of a Scoundrel        Styopka               

The Good Woman of Setzuan      Policeman          

1957      Measure for Measure    Barnadine           

The Taming of the Shrew              Biondello            

1958      The Power and the Glory              Mestizo               

1975      The Ritz                Longacre Theatre, Broadway       Carmen Vespucci             

1977      The Unexpected Guest Little Theatre, Broadway               Harry Mullin      

1980      Passione              Morosco Theatre, Broadway       Berto    

1984      Hurlyburly           Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway        Artie     

1993      Three Men on a Horse    Lyceum Theatre, Broadway          Charlie

1994      What's Wrong with This Picture?               Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway         Sid         

1997      The Three Sisters              Criterion Center Stage Right, Broadway Chebutykin