Tributes pour in for Jerry Stiller who passed at 92

Celebrities flock online to share heartfelt memories.
May 11, 2020 10:02 a.m. EST
May 12, 2020 12:30 p.m. EST
arrives at the HELP HAITI - Urban Zen HHRH & The Stiller Foundation Honoring Sean Penn at the Urban Zen Center At Stephan Weiss Studio on February 11, 2011 in New York City. arrives at the HELP HAITI - Urban Zen HHRH & The Stiller Foundation Honoring Sean Penn at the Urban Zen Center At Stephan Weiss Studio on February 11, 2011 in New York City.
Whether you knew his robust standup, helped him to celebrate Festivus on Seinfeld, or ever had the chance to see him on Broadway, odds are you’re familiar with Jerry Stiller and his long, impressive resume. Sadly the actor’s journey came to an end on May 10, as his son Ben Stiller revealed the man had passed away from natural causes at the age of 92.“I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes,” Ben wrote. “He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.” It only took seconds for the tributes to start pouring in. Right away celebrities like Ricky Gervais, Morgan Fairchild and Parry Shen shared their condolences on Stiller’s post, while plenty of others shared their own sweet tributes and memories of the man who taught us all about the powers of serenity now. (In fact, not only was Jerry Stiller trending on Twitter following the news, but so was “festivus” and “serenity now.”)

Plenty of fans knew Stiller from his work as Frank Costanza, father to George (Jason Alexander) on Seinfeld, or as the often cranky Arthur Spooner on King of Queens. But his career went back a lot further than that. He and his wife, Anne Meara, were a brilliant comedy duo who performed together on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and Johnny Carson. Stiller was also a regular fixture on Broadway who appeared in both film versions of Hairspray. And he appeared onscreen more than once with his son Ben in films like The Heartbreak Kid, Hot Pursuit, and Zoolander. He was nominated for an Emmy for Seinfeld, and got a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy nod in 2001 for Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara.

Meara passed away in 2015 at the age of 85 following multiple strokes. It was only a little over a year ago that Stiller himself had a medical scare that landed him in the hospital, but he returned home shortly afterwards, a source told People at the time. Although the actor has been mostly out of the public eye for the last little while, he definitely lives on through syndicated reruns of King of Queens and of course, Seinfeld.

"I'll never forget, on the first day of the shoot in front of the audience, Julia Louis, Larry, Michael Richards, and the whole cast surrounded me, wishing me well,” Stiller once recalled of his Seinfeld days to the Television Academy. “They were rooting for me. They were protecting me from the fear, 'cause this was something. From that day on, those were the best years of my life as an actor.”

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