From pagesix.com:


Jerry Stiller, the beloved comedy legend who starred in “Seinfeld” and “The King of Queens,” has died, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday.

He was 92.

“I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes,” Ben tweeted early Monday.

“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.”

Stiller had launched his career in the 1950s opposite his wife Anne Meara, who also starred alongside him in many of his most memorable on-screen moments before her death at 85 in May 2015.

Besides “There’s Something About Mary” star Ben, the couple had a daughter, Amy, an actress, raising the family in their longtime home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The son of a bus driver and a housewife, Stiller grew up in Depression-era Brooklyn, earning a drama degree at Syracuse University after serving in World War II.

He then headed back to the Big Apple to launch his career — which really took off after he met Meara in spring 1953, getting married that fall.

They used their obvious differences — he a short, stocky Jewish guy from Brooklyn, she a tall, Irish Catholic from the Long Island suburbs — in a routine that took them to “The Ed Sullivan Show” 36 times.

“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.

The couple went on to appear as a team in dozens of film, stage and television productions, including the 1995 off-Broadway show “After-Play,” written by Meara.

Despite appearing in numerous hit movies, Stiller is best known for his star turns in TV comedy classics — starting in 1993 when he joined “Seinfeld” as the hysterically high-strung Frank Costanza.

Although a supporting player, he created some of the Emmy-winning show’s most enduring moments and earned a 1997 Emmy nomination.

In a 2005 Esquire interview, Stiller recalled that he was out of work and not the first choice to be the father to Jason Alexander’s neurotic George Costanza, and had a smaller role.

When he was finally picked, he said it was supposed to be “very meek” — which he said was not working.

“On the fourth day, I said to Larry David, ‘This ain’t workin’. Can I do it my way?'” he recalled, saying his first over-the-top scene had the cameramen cracking up.

The break-through could not have come at a better time. “My manager had retired,” he told Esquire. “I was close to 70 years old, and had nowhere to go.”

It jump-started the septuagenarian’s 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 “King of Queens.”

Meara also starred, and in its final season, her Veronica married her real-life husband’s character, Arthur Spooner.

Stiller once claimed the show’s star Kevin James “seduced” him to take the job on the sitcom that ran from September 1998 to May 2007.

He also got to appear alongside son Ben in some of his movies, including modeling spoof “Zoolander” and “Shoeshine,” which was nominated for a 1988 Academy Award in the short subject category.

His storied career also saw him playing Walter Matthau’s police sidekick in the thriller “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” and Divine’s husband Wilbur Turnblad in John Waters’ twisted comedy “Hairspray.”

Stiller also wrote an autobiography, “Married to Laughter,” about his marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara.

https://pagesix.com/2020/05/11/jerry...an-dead-at-92/

RIP Jerry Stiller

I guess he has serenity now.

Oddly enough I actually was just thinking about him the other day and wondering if he was still alive. I mainly knew him for his role as Frank Costanza which was easily one of the best parts of Seinfeld. Saw him a bit on The King of Queens too but I didn’t watch that as much. RIP.

RIP Never watched King of Queens, but he was brilliant in Seinfeld.

He was either a comic genius or legitimately insane, I could never tell. I always enjoyed his work and I'll definitely miss him.

He's having Festivus for the rest of us...

To go from one of the greatest shows (Seinfeld) to another great show (King of Queens) was quite a run (he started Seinfeld in 1993 and King of Queens ended in 2007). My mom said Stiller and Anne Meara were a great comedy team together in the 1960's (before my time), so he had one hell of life in this business. RIP

So many memorable moments from Seinfeld. Shit I still quote in everyday life. R.I.P.

Festivus will never be the same.

He brought to life one of the most memorable characters on TV in my opinion. What a unique and unforgettable talent. RIP Jerry.

He was very good on KoQ as well. He was like a sweeter, calmer Frank Costanza. Not quite as iconic as his character on Seinfeld but still very good.

I remember first seeing him in an episode of Tales from the Darkside called The Devil's Advocate. He was great in Seinfeld & KoQ.

What a fantastic comedic actor. Seems like he lived a full and happy life and had a great family as well. We should all be so lucky. Rest in peace, Jerry!

He was amazing on Seinfeld. I never watched KOQ. RIP.

Here’s a cool story about Jerry Stiller, from former DC editor Jack Harris:

Funny man Jerry Stiller has passed, so, as a tribute, I will share my Jerry Stiller story. Many years ago, one of my neighbors organized an annual radiothon to raise funds for either cancer or heart research (I forget which one). As I was working for DC Comics at the time, he thought I would be a good guest and I could give some free comics away to contributors. I agreed right away since the fund raiser was hosted by Kevin McCarthy of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" fame. While I was on, Kevin and I were joined at the table by former New York mayor John Lindsay, a member of the New York Jets football team, Ann Meara and Jerry Stiller. When Jerry learned I worked for DC, he told a wonderful story. He said when he was little, he stopped by a candy store on his way to Hebrew school. As he left the store, he shoplifted a Batman comic book. However, both his Hebrew class AND the Batman comic included lessons on honesty. Sheepishly, on his way home, he returned to the candy story and paid for the comic. He credited both God and Batman for his honesty.

"The King of Queens" is hilarious. I've watched it as much as "Seinfeld". To those who have never seen it, you need to give it a shot. Did you know Stiller was only on 26 episodes of "Seinfeld", out of the 173 episodes that aired? In comparison, he was on every episode of "King of Queens". All 206!

I was just channel surfing and decided to watch some King of Queens (syndicated on Lifetime). I wanted to see some classic Jerry Stiller comedy.

and oddly enough, two episodes I saw didn’t have Jerry (Cheap Sax and Damned Yankee episodes). And the third episode (Multiple Plots) involves “Arthur” selling a Shady Acres cemetery plot

He wasn't in it at the beginning at all. The first episode had Carrie's sister who got divorced and moved into Doug & Carries house with a child. It was not good, but eventually they changed it up and added Arthur (Jerry Stiller) which IMO saved the show. I'm not sure how many episodes they had with the sister. I don't think it would have had as long of a run without Jerry Stiller's crazy antics.

One scene I remember was Doug was watching TV and Arthur comes in the room and out-of-the-blue announces "Well, my body has no use for corn." Then there's a pause and Doug does an eyeroll and disgusted face. I had to think about that one for a minute.