"I don't think my judgment is that good. I don't know what is funny." -- Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller (born June 8, 1927) is an American comedian and actor.
He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara. Stiller and Meara are the parents of actor Ben Stiller (with whom he co-starred in the movies Zoolander, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit and The Heartbreak Kid), and actress Amy Stiller.
He is best known for his recurring role as Frank Costanza on the television series Seinfeld and his starring role as Arthur Spooner on the television series The King of Queens.
"Anne hated the idea of putting me down in front of the audience.""Anne is very forgiving. She doesn't care about money, being rich, or clothes. We never argued about finances.""Being on a sitcom stops me from getting Alzheimer's.""Creative comedy is like growing geraniums in a mine field.""During the Great Depression, when people laughed their worries disappeared. Audiences loved these funny men. I decided to become one.""Hollywood never knew there was a Vietnam War until they made the movie.""I ask myself why I do it. Maybe it's to prove I'm still around. It takes a lot out of my body. I'm not an NBA player anymore. At my age, very few people can handle it.""I loved the idea of touching base with an audience.""I shave without using shaving cream.""I've been around the block a lot and I've had a merry trail for 55 years.""It can make you sad to look at pictures from your youth. So there's a trick to it. The trick is not to look at the later pictures.""Money is sensual.""My father and mother - I figured if I could make them laugh, they'd stop fighting. I stole all their material.""Never go for the punch line. There might be something funnier on the way.""Some of the routines come back very easily. We do it off the top of our heads.""The worst thing in this business is to be thought of as a no-talent.""We managed to hang in there. Today when people get married there's a tendency to run away when things get tough. There is a lot of strength in hanging together."
The oldest of four children, Stiller was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Bella (née Citrin) and William Stiller, a bus driver. Jerry Stiller Biography (1927-) His paternal grandparents were Austrian Jewish immigrants and his maternal grandparents were Russian Jews. He attended Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, NY. and Seward Park High School. A drama major at Syracuse University, he gained a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama in 1950. He is a brother of Tau Delta Phi fraternity, Tau Zeta chapter.
Stiller has two grandchildren (both of them are from his son, Ben, with actress Christine Taylor): Ella Olivia Stiller (b. April 10, 2002) and Quinlin Dempsey Stiller (b. July 10, 2005).
The comedy team Stiller and Meara, composed of Stiller and wife Anne Meara, was successful in the 1960s and 1970s, with numerous appearances on television variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. Their career declined as variety series gradually disappeared, but they subsequently forged a career in radio commercials, notably the campaign for Blue Nun wine. They also starred in their own syndicated five-minute sketch comedy show Take Five with Stiller and Meara, in 1977-78. From 1979 to 1982 Stiller and Meara hosted HBO Sneak Previews, a half-hour show produced monthly on which they described the movies and programs to be featured in the coming month. They would also do a few brief comedy sketches between show discussions. The duo's own 1986 TV sitcom, The Stiller and Meara Show, in which Stiller played the deputy mayor of New York City and Meara portrayed his wife, a TV commercial actress, was unsuccessful.
Jerry Stiller played the short-tempered Frank Costanza, the father of George Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld from 1993 to 1998. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1997 and won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series for his portrayal of Frank Costanza.
The King of Queens
After Seinfeld's run ended, Stiller had planned on retiring, but Kevin James requested him to join the cast of The King of Queens. Kevin James, who played the leading role of Doug Heffernan, had told Stiller that he needed him in order to have a successful show . Stiller obliged, and played the role of Arthur Spooner, the always scheming father of Carrie Heffernan in the situational comedy The King of Queens from 1998 until 2007. Stiller has said this role tested his acting ability more than any others have and that, before being a part of King of Queens, he only saw himself as a "decent actor".
Miscellaneous
Stiller played himself in filmed skit, opening and closing Canadian rock band Rush's 30th Anniversary Tour concerts in 2004. These appearances are seen on the band's DVD R30 Live In Frankfurt, released in 2005. Stiller later appeared in cameo in later in-concert films for the band's 2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour.
Stiller is a martial arts enthusiast and has hosted the Kumite three times. He also routinely attends UFC events and can be seen in many backstage segments.
In the late 1990s Stiller appeared in a series of Nike television commercials as deceased Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, which were removed after the Lombardi family members disapproved.
On February 9, 2007, he and his wife were honored with a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Stiller and his wife will star in a Yahoo! web series produced by their son Ben Stiller. The show will be launched by the end of the year (2010).
