Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller was an American comedian and actor of the stage and screen.

Known for playing loud, grumpy, albeit beloved characters, Stiller found great success in the 1960s teaming up with his wife, Anne Meara, as the comedy duo Stiller and Meara. In addition to their popular comedy albums, Stiller and Meara appeared regularly on The Merv Griffin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Stiller went on to guest star in a number of television shows including Rhoda, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote, before landing his arguably most popular role as Frank Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, a part that earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 1997.

He then joined the cast of the series The King of Queens and would appear in all 206 episodes of that show’s run.

Stiller also appeared on the big screen in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Nasty Habits (1977), Hairspray (1988, 2007), and with his son, Ben Stiller, in the films Heavyweights (1995), Zoolander (2001), The Heartbreak Kid (2007), and Zoolander 2 (2016).

Stiller died May 11, 2020, in Manhattan, New York.  He was 92.