Biography for
Jerry Stiller More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

8 June 1927, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Gerald Isaac Stiller

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

As the short, hypertensive male counterpart of the stellar husband-and-wife comedy team "Stiller & Meara," Jerry Stiller and wife Anne Meara were on top of the comedy game in the 1960s, a steady and hilarious presence on TV variety, notably "The Ed Sullivan Show" (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show"), on which they appeared 36 times. Decades later his career was revitalized in the role of the raucous, gasket-blowing Frank Costanza on the sitcom classic "Seinfeld" (1990). The New York-born Stiller was, in the beginning, a drama major at the University of Syracuse. Though he'd played rather uneducated, blue-collar sorts for most of his career, he received a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Drama before making his 1951 acting debut on stage with Burgess Meredith in "The Silver Whistle." While a member of the improvisational team The Compass Players (the company later evolved into the well-known Second City troupe), he met Anne. They married in 1954 and began touring together on the national club circuit while giving new and inventive meaning to the term spousal comedy. After well over a decade of fame together, they decided to pursue individual successes and both found it. A Broadway favorite in such shows as "Hurlyburly," "The Ritz" (he later recreated his role on film), "The Golden Apple," "Three Men on a Horse," "What's Wrong with This Picture," and "The Three Sisters," Stiller even appeared with Kevin Kline and Blythe Danner as Dogberry in William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" in 1988. Musicals were not out of his range, either, as he created the role of Launce in "Two Gentlemen of Verona" and co-starred as Nathan Detroit in a production of "Guys and Dolls." Although he kept afloat on TV as a '70s regular on "The Paul Lynde Show" (1972) and "Joe and Sons" (1975), he had some rocky years and Anne's pilot fizzled when they reunited for a possible "Stiller & Meara" sitcom. Then came eight seasons as Frank Costanza and his character star was reborn. Nominated for a 1997 Emmy Award and the recipient of the 1998 American Comedy Award, Stiller found back-to-back sitcom hits with "The King of Queens" (1998) as the irascible Arthur Spooner. He has also appeared in a number of his successful son, Ben Stiller's, comedy pictures including Heavy Weights (1995) and Zoolander (2001). Daughter Amy Stiller is also a thriving actress. He and Anne have written, performed and produced award-winning radio commercials together for such products as Blue Nun Wine, United Van Lines and Amalgamated Bank, among others. His autobiography "Married to Laughter" came out in 2000.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

Anne Meara

(14 September 1954 - present) 2 children

Trade Mark

Thick New York accent

Short stature

Distinctive halting delivery of lines

Trivia

Half of the mixed marriage (Jewish/Irish) comedy team of Stiller & Meara active during the 1960s and 1970s, with his wife Anne Meara.

Father of Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller.

Grandfather of Ella Olivia Stiller and Quinlin Dempsey Stiller (daughter and son of Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor).

Although wife Anne Meara converted to Judaism upon their marriage, the main source of Stiller & Meara's material was the differences in their ethnic backgrounds, epitomized by their famous "Hershey Horowitz/Mary Elizabeth Doyle" routines.

Awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (October, 1999)

Holds a BS in Speech and Drama from Syracuse University (1950)

He and wife Anne Meara appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (1948) (aka The Ed Sullivan Show) as Stiller & Meara every two months for a total of 36 times.

Was named as "King of Brooklyn" at the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival in 2000. His wife, Anne Meara, was named "Queen of Brooklyn" at the same festival.

Attended Syracuse University.

Has worked with his son, Ben Stiller, on 11 movies to date.

Brother of the Tau Delta Phi Fraternity

In "The King of Queens" (1998) episode "Shrink Wrap", his character's father was played by his real-life son, Ben Stiller.

He is one of the four actors who appeared in both Hairspray (1988) and Hairspray (2007).

Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

The two sitcoms he regularly appeared in, "Seinfeld" (1990) and "The King of Queens" (1998), both aired their series finales on May 14th (1998 and 2007 respectively).

He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.