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IMDbPro

Jerry Stiller(1927-2020)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0004
Jerry Stiller at an event for Meet the Fockers (2004)
Jewish culture reflects the heart of a vital ethnic history. As that culture continues to shift and adapt alongside mainstream America, delicatessen food – as its name suggests – remains a beloved communal delicacy.In Houston, Texas, third-generation deli man Ziggy Gruber has built arguably the finest delicatessen restaurant in the U.S.  His story – augmented by the stories of iconic delis such as Katz’s, 2nd Avenue Deli, Nate ‘n Al, Carnegie, and the Stage – embodies a tradition indelibly linked to its savory, nostalgic foods.
Play trailer2:16
Deli Man (2014)
40 Videos
78 Photos
As the short, straight-man 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 television variety, notably The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), on which they appeared 36 times. Decades later, Jerry's career was revitalized in the role of the raucous, gasket-blowing Frank Costanza on the sitcom classic Seinfeld (1989).

Jerry Stiller was born Gerald Isaac Stiller in the Unity Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, to Bella (Citron) and William Stiller, a bus driver. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Galicia, and his mother was a Polish Jewish emigrant, from Frampol. Stiller was, in the beginning, a drama major at the Syracuse University. Though he had 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. This led to TV prominence on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show," "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour," "The Merv Griffin Show," as well as game shows "He Said, She Said," "You're Putting Me On" and "What's My Line?" as well as other talk/comedy venues.

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 hilarious mobster family member role in the film The Ritz (1976)), "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 television as a 1970s 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 hypertensive 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 also appeared in a number of his successful son Ben Stiller's comedy pictures including Heavyweights (1995), Zoolander (2001), The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and Zoolander 2 (2016)

Into the millennium, Jerry has appeared in a number of independent films, including a starring role as a low-level director seeking a comeback in the comedy The Independent (2000); had a cameo in the off-color Rodney Dangerfield slapstick farce My 5 Wives (2000); played the slick Mr. Pinky in the film version of the Broadway musical hit Hairspray (2007); and featured roles in the romantic comedies Swinging with the Finkels (2011) and Excuse Me for Living (2012).

Daughter Amy Stiller is also a thriving actress. He and Anne wrote, 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.

Stiller's wife Anne died in May 2015, and he died near five years later, in May 2020, at age 92.
BornJune 8, 1927
DiedMay 11, 2020(92)
BornJune 8, 1927
DiedMay 11, 2020(92)
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0004
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos78

Jerry Stiller in TCM Remembers 2020 (2020)
Jerry Stiller in Chump Change (2000)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Jerry Stiller, Estelle Harris, Tracy Letts, Colin Malone, Michael Richards, and Daniel von Bargen in Seinfeld (1989)
Jerry Stiller in The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (1997)
Jerry Stiller and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
F. Murray Abraham and Jerry Stiller in The Ritz (1976)
Jerry Stiller, Kaye Ballard, and Jack Weston in The Ritz (1976)
F. Murray Abraham, Rita Moreno, Treat Williams, Jerry Stiller, Kaye Ballard, Christopher J. Brown, John Everson, Bessie Love, and Jack Weston in The Ritz (1976)
F. Murray Abraham, Treat Williams, Jerry Stiller, Christopher J. Brown, and John Everson in The Ritz (1976)
Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, and Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Jerry Stiller, Barney Martin, Phil Morris, Michael Richards, and Liz Sheridan in Seinfeld (1989)
Milla Jovovich, Will Ferrell, Jerry Stiller, and Nathan Lee Graham in Zoolander (2001)

Known for

Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, and Nikki Blonsky in Hairspray (2007)
Hairspray
6.7
  • Mr. Pinky
  • 2007
Ben Stiller and Malin Akerman in The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
The Heartbreak Kid
5.8
  • Doc
  • 2007
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards in Seinfeld (1989)
Seinfeld
8.9
TV Series
  • Frank Costanza
Ben Stiller in Zoolander (2001)
Zoolander
6.5
  • Maury Ballstein
  • 2001

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Zoolander: Super Model (2016)
    Zoolander: Super Model
    • (voice)
  • Ben Stiller, Penélope Cruz, and Owen Wilson in Zoolander 2 (2016)
    Zoolander 2
  • John Ratzenberger, Sean Hayes, Jerry Stiller, and Kevin Michael Richardson in How Murray Saved Christmas (2014)
    How Murray Saved Christmas
    • (voice)
  • Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)
    Planes: Fire & Rescue
    • (voice)
  • Simpler Times (2014)
    Simpler Times
  • Cousins
  • Wayne Knight and James McCaffrey in Excuse Me for Living (2012)
    Excuse Me for Living
  • Jeff Bergman, Hilary Duff, and Edie McClurg in Foodfight! (2012)
    Foodfight!
    • (voice)
  • Fish Hooks (2010)
    Fish Hooks
    • (voice)
  • Martin Freeman and Mandy Moore in Swinging with the Finkels (2011)
    Swinging with the Finkels
  • Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife (2009)
    The Good Wife
  • Shelley Long, Jessica Cauffiel, Jerry Stiller, and Brady Smith in Ice Dreams (2009)
    Ice Dreams
  • Michelle Trachtenberg, Jaime Lee Kirchner, and Taylor Schilling in Mercy (2009)
    Mercy
  • T.J. Stanton, Brielle Barbusca, Teala Dunn, Sofie Zamchick, Danica Lee, and Hayden Hunter in Wonder Pets! (2006)
    Wonder Pets!
    • (voice)
  • Ben Stiller and Malin Akerman in The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
    The Heartbreak Kid

Producer

  • Cousins
  • Stiller & Meara (2010)
    Stiller & Meara

Writer

  • The Stiller & Meara Show

Videos40

The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
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The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition
King of Queens: The Complete Ninth Season
Clip 1:53
King of Queens: The Complete Ninth Season

Personal details

Edit
    • Broadway_org
    • June 8, 1927
    • Brooklyn, New York, USA
    • May 11, 2020
    • Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(natural causes)
    • Anne MearaSeptember 14, 1954 - May 23, 2015 (her death, 2 children)
    • Amy Stiller
  • Other works
    TV commercial (voice): Nissan Pathfinder
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 2 Interviews
    • 2 Articles
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Has worked with his son, Ben Stiller, on 11 movies to date.
  • Quotes
    The worst thing in this business is to be thought of as a no-talent.
    • Thick New York accent

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