Actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara have been married for more than 60 years, and although at first, they had nothing in common, they overcame all the obstacles that came their way. Stiller is the son of a Jewish bus driver who fled Eastern Europe to New York with his family, and Meara is the daughter of an Irish Catholic lawyer. The only thing they have in common is that they both grew up in Brooklyn.
Jerry passed away on May 11, 2024, at the age of 92, and Anne passed away in 2015 at the age of 86.
They met in 1953 in New York City when they were actors at the beginning of their careers. Anne had a meeting with Jerry’s agent from which she burst into tears after the agent chased her around the table. Jerry waited in front of the office. They went for coffee, and the rest is history. A year later, they got married and became one of the longest-lived couples in the world of showbiz. They had two children, Amy is 58 today, and Ben is 54.
At first, they did not complement each other professionally. Anne wanted to be an actress on Broadway, but the agents had other plans. She did not like the idea of working with her husband, but in the end, she agreed. In numerous roles, they played almost themselves together with all the shortcomings.
Six years after the wedding, Anne became a Jew. Not because her husband persuaded her, but because she wanted her children to grow up in such a family. “I wanted my kids to know who they were,” Anne said on one occasion. After Jerry and Anne appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, their careers took an upward trajectory. At that time, they were already functioning great on stage and in private life.
By the time he was offered a role in the TV series “Seinfeld”, Jerry already thought his career has over. He excelled in the role of Frank Costanza and often improvised. Colleagues from the series adore him, just like colleagues from the “The King of Queens” set, a series in which he started acting when he thought he was going to retire.
Jerry Stiller passed away at the age of 93, and the sad news was announced by his son, also a famous actor, Ben Stiller.
