Remembering the brilliant career of Stiller & Meara
Stiller and Meara together in 1970. Photo: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Jerry Stiller has passed away at the age of 92. Today he is probably best known for his work as Frank Costanza on Seinfeld, Arthur Spooner on King of Queens, or perhaps Maury Ballstein in the Zoolander films, but his comedic career goes back into the 1950s. The comedy team of Stiller & Meara was famous across the nation, appearing on all of the major variety shows of the day.
Stiller and Meara were near fixtures on The Ed Sullivan Show, perhaps the most important variety show of the time, often making appearances mere months apart. The clip above comes from June 14, 1964, their fifth appearance on the show and an excellent example of the basic structure of the routines they would perform in nightclubs and, eventually, on records.
Along with Sullivan, the other hot show broadcasting from New York City in the late 1960s was, of course, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Stiller and Meara made the occasional guest appearance with Johnny as well, but perhaps not so prescient as the above performance about a couple who is meeting for the first time after being matched by a computer.
The Carol Burnett Show offered Stiller & Meara an opportunity to try something a little different. They still performed comedy in their classic duo style, such as this piece on Richard Nixon visiting China, but the pair often appeared in sketches alongside the regular cast members of the show. In the segment above, Burnett and Harvey Korman play a pair of upper-crust snobs meeting Meara and Stiller, the low-class parents of their son’s bride-to-be.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jerry Stiller, Funnyman of 'Seinfeld' and Stiller & Meara Fame, Dies at 92Stiller portrayed the cranky and combustible Frank Costanza, a former salesman who speaks fluent Korean, on more than two dozen episodes of Seinfeld, and in 1997 he received his lone Emmy nomination for his work on the show
Read more »
Jerry Stiller, Funnyman of 'Seinfeld' and Stiller and Meara Fame, Dies at 92Jerry Stiller was best known for playing George's father Frank Costanza on the sitcom Seinfeld
Read more »
Everything you need to know about Jerry Stiller's late wife Anne MearaThe couple had a super successful comedy career together.
Read more »
Inside Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara's Bond Onstage and at Home: ‘We Were an Unlikely Couple’Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were married from 1954 until her death in 2015
Read more »
Everything you need to know about Jerry Stiller's late wife Anne MearaThe couple had a super successful comedy career together.
Read more »
Jerry Stiller, comedian and 'Seinfeld' actor, dies at 92Veteran comedian Jerry Stiller has died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced. The longtime actor, known for iconic roles on 'Seinfeld' and 'King of Queens,' first emerged on the comedy scene alongside his wife Anne Meara.
Read more »