Jerry Stiller, Ben Stiller's father and a veteran comedian, who has appeared in Seinfeld and other shows, has died of natural causes at the age of 92, his family revealed. He was known for playing frantic and angry, yet contemplative and sympathetic characters.
Ben took to Twitter and wrote,
Jerry was married to Anne Meara, with whom he had two children, with Amy, an actress being the other child apart from Ben. Anne died in 2015, after suffering multiple strokes, at the age of 85. Jerry, a multitalented performer, was an alumnus of Syracuse University.
His autobiography, "Married to Laughter," about his 50-plus year marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara was an instant bestseller. He earned a 1997 Emmy nomination for his performance in Seinfeld.
Speaking of how he had landed the role of Frank Costanza, father to Jason Alexander's neurotic George in the sitcom, he had recounted in a 2005 interview, that he wasn't the first choice but slowly convinced the makers around for reincarnation as an over-the-top crank who matched his wife scream for scream. As they say, the rest is history!