Anne Meara (born September 20, 1929) is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.

Personal life[link]

Meara was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, Mary (née Dempsey) and Edward Joseph Meara, a lawyer.^[1][2][3] Meara was raised Catholic in an Irish American family, and converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.^[4][5] She has long stressed that she did not convert at Stiller's request, but because "Catholicism was dead to me." She took the conversion seriously and studied the faith in such depth that her Jewish-born husband quipped, "Being married to Anne has made me more Jewish."^[6]

Meara has written about her mother's death and her childhood experiences at Catholic boarding school.^[7]

Career[link]

Meara has been married to Stiller since 1954. Both were members of the improvisational company The Compass Players (which later became The Second City), and the pair, as the comedy team Stiller and Meara, brought many of their real-life relationship foibles to bear on their often-improvised comedy routines. After some years honing the act, Stiller and Meara became regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show and other TV programs. Their career declined, however, as variety series gradually disappeared.

During the 1970s, Meara and Stiller wrote and performed many radio commercials together for Blue Nun Wine. She had a recurring role on the sitcom Rhoda as airline stewardess Sally Gallagher, one of the title character's best friends. She also had a small role opposite Laurence Olivier in The Boys from Brazil (1978).

Meara costarred with Carroll O'Connor and Martin Balsam in the early 1980s hit sitcom Archie Bunker's Place, which was a continuation of the influential 1970s sitcom All in the Family. She played the role of Veronica Rooney, the bar’s cook, for the show's first three seasons (1979–1982). She also appeared as the grandmother in the TV series ALF in the late 1980s. Her 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.

More recently, she has had recurring roles on the television shows Sex and the City (as Mary Brady) and The King of Queens (as Veronica). In the 2004-'05 season, she appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

She is the consulting director of J.A.P. - The Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, a 2007 Off-Broadway production that features live stand-up routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s: Totie Fields, Jean Carroll, Pearl Williams, Betty Walker and Belle Barth.

Starting in October 2010, Meara and her husband Jerry Stiller began starring in a Yahoo! web series called Stiller & Meara produced by Red Hour Digital, a production company owned by their son Ben Stiller.^[8][9] She accepted a role in the Off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 through May 29, 2011 run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Minka Kelly, and B. Smith.^[10]

Filmography[link]

• The Out-of-Towners (1970)
• Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)
• Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972)
• Nasty Habits (1977)
• The Boys from Brazil (1978)
• Fame (1980)
• In Our Hands (1984) (documentary)
• The Longshot (1986)
• The Perils of P.K. (1986)
• My Little Girl (1987)
• That's Adequate (1989)
• Awakenings (1990)
• Through an Open Window (1992) (short subject)
• Highway to Hell (1992)
• So You Want to Be an Actor (1993) (short subject)
• Reality Bites (1994)
• The Search for One-Eye Jimmy (1994)
• Heavyweights (1995)
• Kiss of Death (1995)
• The Daytrippers (1996)
• The Thin Pink Line (1998)
• Southie (1998)
• The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (1999)
• Judy Berlin (1999)
• Brooklyn Thrill Killers (1999) (short subject)
• A Fish in the Bathtub (1999)
• Amy Stiller's Breast (2000) (short subject)
• The Independent (2000)
• Zoolander (2001)
• Keeping It Real: The Adventures of Greg Walloch (2001) (documentary)
• Get Well Soon (2001)
• Like Mike (2002)
• The Yard Sale (2002) (short subject)
• Crooked Lines (2003)
• Chump Change (2004)
• Night at the Museum (2006)
• The Mirror (2007)
• Sex and the City: The Movie (2008)

Television work[link]

• The Greatest Gift (1954–1955)
• Ninotchka (1960)
• Dames at Sea (1971)
• The Paul Lynde Show (1972–1973)
• The Corner Bar (cast member in 1973)
• Kate McShane (1975) (canceled after 10 episodes)
• Rhoda (cast member from 1976–1977)
• Take Five with Stiller & Meara (1977–1978)
• Archie Bunker's Place (cast member from 1979–1982)
• HBO Sneak Previews (costarred with Jerry Stiller 1979-1982)
• The Other Woman (1983, writer and cast member)
• The Stiller and Meara Show (1986) (canceled after a few weeks, cast member and co-writer)
• ALF (appeared in 7 episodes from 1987–1989, wrote one episode in 1989)
• The Day They Came to Arrest the Book (1987)
• Murder, She Wrote (1988) (guest appearance)
• Avenue Z Afternoon (1991)
• The Sunset Gang (1991)
• All My Children (cast member from 1992–1999)
• Love off Limits (1993)
• "In the Heat of the Night" (1994) (1 episode)
• Great Performances (The Mother) (1994)
• Jitters (1997)
• After Play (1999, writer and cast member)
• What Makes a Family (2001)
• The Yard Sale (2002)
• Sex and the City (2002–2004)
• The King of Queens (1998, 2003–2007)
• Oz (appeared in 2 episodes in 1999 & 2002)
• Crooked Lines (2003)
• Good Morning, Miami (2003, 1 episode)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004, 1 episode)
• Four Kings (2006, 1 episode)
• The Shallow End of the Ocean (2007)
• Mercy (2009, 1 episode)
• Wonder Pets (2009–2010, 2 episodes)

Theatre[link]

• Down the Garden Paths (2000, playwright)
• After-Play (1995, playwright, lead)
• Anna Christie (1993, Tony Award nominee)
• Eastern Standard (1988)

Radio[link]

• I'd Rather Eat Pants, National Public Radio, 2002
• Dining Alone (Blue Nun wine ad with Jerry Stiller, winner Clio Award, 1975)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stiller & Meara Yahoo podcast
• "Old Nuns" by Anne Meara
• AOL Video interview
• Anne Meara at the Internet Movie Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Broadway Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Works by or about Anne Meara in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• The Stiller and Meara Show at Internet Movie Database
• Production: Anna Christie - Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, January 1993
• The Jewish American Princesses of Comedy
• Stiller and Meara article at talkingcomedy.com
• New York Observer interview
• NY Times review of 2000 play by Meara: "Down the Garden Paths"
• After-play by Meara, 1995 at Google Books

Jerry Stiller
Stiller in New York City in November 2005
Born	Gerald Isaac Stiller (1927-06-08) June 8, 1927 (age 85) New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Seward Park High School
Alma mater	Syracuse University
Years active	1956–present
Home town	New York City, New York
Height	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Spouse	Anne Meara (1954–present)
Children	Ben Stiller, Amy 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 supporting role as Arthur Spooner on the television series The King of Queens.

Personal life[link]

The eldest of four children,^[1] Stiller was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Bella (née Citrin) and William Stiller, a bus driver.^[2] He attended Seward Park High School.^[3] A drama major at Syracuse University, he gained a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama in 1950.

In the 1953 Phoenix Theater production of Coriolanus (produced by John Houseman) Jerry Stiller (along with Gene Saks and Jack Klugman) formed "the best trio of Shakespearian clowns that [he] had ever seen on any stage."^[4]

Stiller has two children, actor/comedian Ben Stiller and actress Amy Stiller.

Stiller is a member of the National Fraternity Tau Delta Phi.

Stiller and Meara[link]

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.^[5] 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.

Resurgence[link]

Seinfeld[link]

Jerry Stiller played the irascible 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[link]

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^{[citation needed]}. Stiller obliged, and played the role of Arthur Spooner, the always scheming (and again, irascible) father of Carrie Heffernan in the situation comedy 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".

Other appearances[link]

Stiller played himself in filmed skits, 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 cameos 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 the ghost of deceased Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi.

Stiller has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably Zoolander (2001) and Secret of the Andes (1999) with Nancy Allen.

On February 9, 2007, Stiller and his wife were honored with a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On October 28, 2010, Stiller and his wife appeared on an episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

Stiller voiced the announcer on the childrens' educational show Crashbox

Starting in October 2010, Stiller and his wife began starring in a Yahoo web series called Stiller & Meara from Red Hour Digital, in which they discuss current topics. Each episode lasts about two minutes.^[6]

As author[link]

Stiller wrote the foreword to the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us (ISBN 0-446-69674-9) by Allen Salkin, released on October 26, 2005.

His memoir, Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara, was published in 2000.

Filmography[link]

• Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) as Jim (Carol's Father) (uncredited)
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) as Lt. Rico Patrone
• Airport 1975 (1974) as Sam
• The Ritz (1976) as Carmine Vespucci
• Nasty Habits (1977) as P.R. Priest
• Time Express (1979) (TV series)
• Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980) as Mr. Shoemaker
• Madame X (1981) (made for TV)
• Simon & Simon (1982) "The Uncivil Servant" as Harold Traxler
• The McGuffin (1985) as Marty
• Tales from the Darkside (November 10, 1985) in "The Devil's Advocate" (TV)
• Seize the Day (1986) as Dr. Tamkin
• Hot Pursuit (1987) as Victor Honeywell
• Nadine (1987) as Raymond Escobar
• Hairspray (1988) as Wilbur Turnblad
• That's Adequate (1989) as Sid Lane
• Little Vegas (1990) as Sam
• Sweet 15 (1990) as Mr. Waterman
• Freefall (1992) as Emily's Father
• Highway to Hell (1992) as The Desk Cop
• Seinfeld (1993–1998) as Frank Costanza (TV)
• The Pickle (1993) as Phil Hirsch
• Heavyweights (1995) as Harvey Bushkin
• Subway Stories (1997) as man in the subway
• Camp Stories (1997) as Schlomo
• Stag (1997) as Ted
• The Deli (1997) as Petey Cheesecake
• The King of Queens (1998–2007) as Arthur Spooner (TV)
• The Suburbans (1999) as Speedo Silverburg
• A Fish in the Bathtub (1999) as Sam
• Secret of the Andes (1999) as Dr. Golfisch
• The Independent (2000) as Monty Fineman
• My 5 Wives (2000) as Don Giovanni
• Chump Change (2001) as The Colonel
• Zoolander (2001) as Maury Ballstein
• On the Line (2001) as Nathan
• Serving Sara (2002) as Milton the Cop
• Teacher's Pet (2004) (voice) as Pretty Boy
• The Lion King 1½ (2004) (voice) (direct-to-DVD) as Uncle Max
• R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005) as himself
• Hairspray (2007) as Mr. Pinky
• The Heartbreak Kid (2007) as Doc
• Snakes & Arrows Live (video) (2008) as "Heidi"
• Fish Hooks (2010) as Principal Strickler (voice)
• Ice Dreams (2010) as Skipper
• Excuse Me For Living (2012) as Morty^[7]

Television[link]

• The Love Boat
• Fish Hooks as Principal Stickler
• The Paul Lynde Show as Barney Dickerson 1972-1973
• Archie Bunker's Place as Carmine – 1980
• Celebrity Ghost Stories, Season 3, Episode 3(bio.HD)
• Seinfeld as Frank Costanza - 1993-98
• King of Queens 1998-2007 As Arthur Spooner
• The Good Wife as Judge Felix Afterman - 2011

Short films[link]

• Shoeshine (1987)
• So You Want to Be an Actor (1993)
• Amy Stiller's Breast (2000)

See also[link]

• Stiller and Meara
• The Stiller and Meara Show
• Anne Meara
• Ben Stiller
• Amy Stiller
• Seinfeld
• The King of Queens

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Movie Database
• The Stiller and Meara Show at Internet Movie Database
• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jerry Stiller at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Festivus: The website for the rest of us – Website for Festivus Book to which Stiller wrote foreword, includes Festivus movies, songs, forum and grievances
• Jerry Stiller – Internet Accuracy Project
• Exclusive Jerry Stiller Interview at TrulyHollywood.com (March 21, 2007)
• Stiller and Meara article at talkingcomedy.com