Jerry Stiller, who for decades teamed with wife Anne Meara in a beloved comedy duo and then reached new heights in his senior years as the high-strung Frank Costanza on the classic sitcom B次元官网网址淪einfeldB次元官网网址� and the basement-dwelling father-in-law on B次元官网网址淭he King of Queens,B次元官网网址� died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes,B次元官网网址� his son said in a tweet.
B次元官网网址淗e 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,B次元官网网址� wrote Ben, who followed in his fatherB次元官网网址檚 comedic footsteps and became an A-list box office star with movies like B次元官网网址淭ropic Thunder,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淒odgeballB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪omething About Mary.B次元官网网址�
Jerry Stiller was a multi-talented performer who appeared in an assortment of movies, playing Walter MatthauB次元官网网址檚 police sidekick in the thriller B次元官网网址淭he Taking of Pelham One Two ThreeB次元官网网址� and DivineB次元官网网址檚 husband Wilbur Turnblad in John WatersB次元官网网址� twisted comedy B次元官网网址淗airspray.B次元官网网址�
He also wrote an autobiography, B次元官网网址淢arried to Laughter,B次元官网网址� about his 50-plus year marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara, who died in 2015. And his myriad television spots included everything from B次元官网网址淢urder She WroteB次元官网网址� to B次元官网网址淟aw & OrderB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� along with 36 appearances alongside Meara on B次元官网网址淭he Ed Sullivan Show.B次元官网网址�
Stiller, although a supporting player on B次元官网网址淪einfeld,B次元官网网址� created some of the Emmy-winning showB次元官网网址檚 most enduring moments: co-creator and model for the B次元官网网址渂ro,B次元官网网址� a brassiere for men; a Korean War cook who inflicted food poisoning on his entire unit; an ever-simmering salesman controlling his explosive temper with the shouted mantra, B次元官网网址淪erenity now!B次元官网网址�
Stiller earned an 1997 Emmy nomination for his indelible B次元官网网址淪einfeldB次元官网网址� performance. In a 2005 Esquire interview, Stiller recalled that he was out of work and not the first choice for the role of Frank Costanza, father to Jason AlexanderB次元官网网址檚 neurotic George.
B次元官网网址淢y manager had retired,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 was close to 70 years old, and had nowhere to go.B次元官网网址�
IB次元官网网址檓 sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. 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.
B次元官网网址� Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen)
He was initially told to play the role as a milquetoast husband with an overbearing wife, Estelle, played by Estelle Harris. But the character wasnB次元官网网址檛 working B次元官网网址� until Stiller suggested his reincarnation as an over-the-top crank who matched his wife scream for scream.
It jump-started the septuagenarianB次元官网网址檚 career, landing him a spot playing Vince Lombardi in a Nike commercial and the role of another over-the-top dad on the long-running sitcom B次元官网网址淜ing of Queens.B次元官网网址�
While he was known as a nut-job father on the small screen, Stiller and wife Meara raised two children in their longtime home on ManhattanB次元官网网址檚 Upper West Side: daughter Amy, who became an actress, and son Ben, who would become perhaps the most famous Stiller as a writer, director and actor.
He and Ben performed together in B次元官网网址淪hoeshine,B次元官网网址� which was nominated for a 1988 Academy Award in the short subject category.
Stiller was considerably quieter and reflective in person than in character B次元官网网址� although just as funny. The son of a bus driver and a housewife, Stiller grew up in Depression-era Brooklyn. His inspiration to enter show business came at age 8, when his father took him to see the Marx Brothers in the comedy classic B次元官网网址淎 Night at the Opera.B次元官网网址�
Years later, Stiller met Groucho Marx and thanked him.
Stiller earned a drama degree at Syracuse University after serving in World War II, and then headed to New York City to launch his career. There was a brief involvement in Shakespearean theatre, including a $55 a week job with Jack Klugman in B次元官网网址淐oriolanus.B次元官网网址�
But his life and career took off after he met Meara in spring 1953. They were married that fall.
The seemingly mismatched pair B次元官网网址� he a short, stocky Jewish guy from Brooklyn, she a tall, Irish Catholic from the Long Island suburbs B次元官网网址� shared an immediate onstage chemistry, too. They were soon appearing on B次元官网网址淭he Ed Sullivan ShowB次元官网网址� and working nightclubs nationwide.
The pair also wrote and performed radio commercials, most memorably a series of bits for a little-known wine called Blue Nun. The duoB次元官网网址檚 ads boosted sales by 500%. Ben Stiller recalled trips with his sister to California when his parents would head west to do television appearances.
The couple went on to appear as a team in dozens of film, stage and television productions. One of them was B次元官网网址淎fter-Play,B次元官网网址� a 1995 off-Broadway show written by Meara.
Stiller joined B次元官网网址淪einfeldB次元官网网址� in 1993, and moved on to B次元官网网址淜ing of QueensB次元官网网址� when the other Jerry & company went off the air in 1998. He also appeared in Ben StillerB次元官网网址檚 spoof on modeling, B次元官网网址淶oolander,B次元官网网址� released in 2001.
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Larry McShane, a former staffer of the Associated Press, was the principal writer of this obituary.
The Associated Press
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