When it comes to lớn sitcom dads, Jerry Stiller has played two of the loopiest: Frank Costanza, George’s easily agitated, screwball pop on Seinfeld, và irritatingly loud & delusional Arthur Spooner, Carrie’s dad on The King of Queens.
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The roles would cap a 60-year career that included — besides television — Broadway, film and decades playing one half of the sketch-comedy team of Stiller & Meara, with his wife, Anne Meara. Together they did nightclub gigs and, in the 1960s, were semi-regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show, making 36 appearances.
But it was the role of Frank Costanza on Seinfeld that would bring him the greatest popularity. When that series ended, he became eccentric Arthur Spooner, residing not so peacefully in his daughter and son-in-law’s basement.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Stiller was inspired by comedian Eddie Cantor on radio. He studied acting at Syracuse University, earning a degree in speech & drama.
After he and Meara wed in 1954 (their children are writer-actress Amy Stiller và writer-producer-actor Ben Stiller), the pair teamed up professionally as well.
Meara, who died in 2015, costarred in Archie Bunker’s Place, among other television series. Meanwhile, she and Stiller cowrote and performed witty radio commercials.
Stiller, who celebrated his 90th birthday on June 8, recently chatted with emmy contributor Jane Wollman Rusoff in his Manhattan apartment, which offers an exquisite view of the Hudson River. Soft-spoken và funny, the comedian reminisced about his life in television.
The Ed Sullivan Show (1963–70)
“Ed used to stand on the side of the stage & watch everyone as they were doing their acts. Whenever he laughed, the audience laughed.
“We were on Sullivan so many times that we ran out of sketches. Ed said, ‘Do the old ones.’ So we did. We even performed on the show 11 days after Anne delivered Ben.
“Anne came up with the sketches. She knew what was funny. The big thing with Ed was, the comedy had lớn be something that people would laugh at, but he was afraid of material that was off-color. If anyone wanted to do that, he would nix it.
“He did that with us only once. He got mad at a sketch we wanted to bởi about astronauts being in space a long time và the cleaning lady having to lớn clean up their shit: ‘That sketch is about shit! You can’t vì that on television. You’ll thua thảm the audience,’ he shouted. He made us drop the whole thing. We had to vị what he said, or we’d thảm bại the job.”
Seinfeld (1993–98)
“When you’re an actor, you’re looking for work most of the time. John Randolph dropped out of the role, & I was needy enough to vị an interview to lớn replace him.
“John had played Frank Costanza as a milquetoast, a very quiet nebbish. Frank’s wife Estelle
“The producers thought that because Estelle was so loud và always screaming at Frank, it would be a good contrast for him to be quiet. But I had my own ideas about Frank. During rehearsals for the first episode I was in, I started shouting back at Estelle. I became an overbearing bully. At one point, when George
“At the next rehearsal, Jason said, ‘Hit me again! It’s funny!’ Bam! I slapped him on the head và a roar came up.
“Estelle said, ‘Can I hit him too?’ Larry David <Seinfeld co-creator and executive producer, who was directing the episode> said: ‘Only one person can hit Jason at a time.’
“My version of Frank was very loud and vociferous. In one episode, his doctor was worried about all his mishegas và gave him a tape khổng lồ play when he feels his blood pressure going up: ‘Whenever you get angry và upset, here’s something that will cool you down & control your emotions. Just say, Serenity now, & you’ll be more relaxed.
“So, I started screaming, ‘Serenity now! Serenity now!’ It became the call of the wild.
“In ‘The Rye’ episode, Estelle, George & I went over lớn George’s fiancée’s snooty parents’ house for dinner. As a gesture — to lớn show I was a good guy — I brought them a marble rye bread. It was very long, as marble ryes were in those days. But they never put it on the table. So I stole it back.
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“Shooting that episode, my hip was giving me a lot of pain. Three weeks later, as I was being wheeled into the operating room for surgery, a medical assistant gave me a cassette tape of him doing voiceovers. He asked, ‘Can you get this khổng lồ your agent?’”
The King of Queens (1998–2007)
“What kind of guy was Arthur Spooner? He was a meshugena — a crazy guy. At first, I turned down the role, so they hired the comedian Jack Carter. But it didn’t work out and they asked me again. I was out of work with nothing coming up. Some actors, like me, are insecure. I needed a job, so I decided khổng lồ take this one.
“Jack had played Arthur more laid-back. I played him over the top. Arthur wanted to be an actor, but the rug got pulled out from under him, và he became Arthur Spooner, who lives in his daughter & son-in-law’s basement. He was always romancing the old ladies và hoping to get lucky.”