Beautiful Stories Of Jerry Stiller And Anne Meara's 61-Year Matrimony

May 13, 2020 by apost team

After passing away at the dear old age of 92 on May 11, Jerry Stiller's life and career are being celebrated widely. While some may know him as George Costanza's father on Seinfeld or as Ben Stiller's dad in real life, Jerry had a long career behind him, and a special part of that was his relationship both on-screen and off with his wife of nearly 62 years, Anne Meara.

Here, we look at how they met, and their work and life together.

Writing to Twitter, Ben Stiller announced on May 11 that his father Jerry had passed away from natural causes. He 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."

Anne, who passed away in 2015, was not only Jerry's wife and mother to his children, but also his acting partner for much of their careers. Known professionally as Stiller and Meara, the two met in the spring of 1953, when Meara was exiting a theatrical agent's office in tears. According to Stiller's 2000 memoir Married to Laughter, he then took her out for coffee and listened to her vent about the lecherous men of New York, as reported by the LA Times.

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The rest as they say is history—the two were married the following year, and soon after began working together as a comedy duo. Speaking with People magazine in 1977, Jerry Stiller talked about how their vast differences as a couple—he's Jewish and she's Irish Catholic; she's funny and bubbly, he's mocking and intense; and physically she's two inches taller than him—was fodder for their comedy routine. He said: "It occurred to us that we were an unlikely couple. People would say to Anne, 'Heh, you're married to him?' I thought we could use it."

Their material obviously worked with audiences, and Stiller and Meara were a success all throughout the 1960s. They even appeared on the famed Ed Sullivan Show 36 times in total. But by 1970 they'd split up professionally and focused on their personal relationship, after having two children together—Amy and Ben Stiller, who are both actors and comedians.

It sounds like it was for the better, since they both discussed this in the same 1977 People interview, with Jerry saying: "I love Anne, but if I had depended on her in my professional life I would have lost her as a wife. We felt like two guys." Anne added, "I didn't know where the act ended and our marriage began."

And although their careers individually would be just as successful, if not more so, they would reunite as a comedy pairing later on. Jerry went on to become known for his roles in Seinfeld and King of Queens, as well as his son Ben's film Zoolander, while Anne was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in Rhoda, and worked on the sitcom Archie Bunker's Place. 

It was in Archie Bunker's Place and King of Queens that they reunited, both times playing a romantic pairing or a couple that were formerly married, in a nod to their comedy duo days. 

Their relationship ended when on May 23, 2015 Anne died, presumably from natural causes. According to Country Living, Jerry later said: "I miss her. There were no walls between us in any way. We both knew what the other was thinking even when we weren't listening." What a remarkable nearly 62-year relationship that transcended both personal and professional areas of life.

Are you familiar with Stiller and Meara's comedy routine? What do you think of their incredible 61-year marriage? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this on to your loved ones!