Brian Damage
02-07-2009, 02:13 AM
You've got to figure that at 81, with two very successful sitcoms currently in worldwide syndication, actor Jerry Stiller probably doesn't need to work.
"I'm living in the Upper West Side of New York, in the lap of luxury, and I don't have to do anything if I don't want to," Stiller says, sounding quite content.
Clearly, there's something more powerful than the lure of money that keeps pulling the veteran actor back to the stage. It's a force that's possessed him since he was a child growing up in Depression-era New York, when his father, an unemployed cab driver, took him to vaudeville shows.
"There's still this need in me to perform, which doesn't seem to want to leave me," he offers in a very candid admission. "I guess it keeps my brain alive, but more than anything else, I think (performing) gives me the affection that I'm still looking for in my life."
Just so we're clear and no rumors get started, that's audience affection he craves. He still gets plenty of affection at home from Anne Meara, actress, author, playwright and Stiller's wife of 54 years -- and his former comedy-team partner. With 36 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" during the 1960s, Stiller and Meara were one of America's hottest comedy teams for 20 years, although each also pursued solo projects.
A classically trained actor who went through Syracuse University on the G.I. Bill, Stiller moves easily among stage, film and television and deftly switches between drama and comedy. Stiller gained a big following in 1994 when he began a five-year run as Frank Costanza, the loud, irascible, excitable father of Jerry Seinfeld's best friend George on "Seinfeld." When that series ended, Stiller, who wasn't interested in going right into another sitcom, finally gave in to Kevin James' endless begging. He agreed to play Arthur Spooner on "The King of Queens," a role he played until the show ended in 2007. Both "Seinfeld" and "The King of Queens" are currently in global syndication.
"I'm doing fine for a guy nobody told to be an actor," he says. "At this point in time, I'm amazed at how lucky I've been, if you want to call it luck."
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090116/LIFE07/901160305/1044/ENT
"I'm living in the Upper West Side of New York, in the lap of luxury, and I don't have to do anything if I don't want to," Stiller says, sounding quite content.
Clearly, there's something more powerful than the lure of money that keeps pulling the veteran actor back to the stage. It's a force that's possessed him since he was a child growing up in Depression-era New York, when his father, an unemployed cab driver, took him to vaudeville shows.
"There's still this need in me to perform, which doesn't seem to want to leave me," he offers in a very candid admission. "I guess it keeps my brain alive, but more than anything else, I think (performing) gives me the affection that I'm still looking for in my life."
Just so we're clear and no rumors get started, that's audience affection he craves. He still gets plenty of affection at home from Anne Meara, actress, author, playwright and Stiller's wife of 54 years -- and his former comedy-team partner. With 36 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" during the 1960s, Stiller and Meara were one of America's hottest comedy teams for 20 years, although each also pursued solo projects.
A classically trained actor who went through Syracuse University on the G.I. Bill, Stiller moves easily among stage, film and television and deftly switches between drama and comedy. Stiller gained a big following in 1994 when he began a five-year run as Frank Costanza, the loud, irascible, excitable father of Jerry Seinfeld's best friend George on "Seinfeld." When that series ended, Stiller, who wasn't interested in going right into another sitcom, finally gave in to Kevin James' endless begging. He agreed to play Arthur Spooner on "The King of Queens," a role he played until the show ended in 2007. Both "Seinfeld" and "The King of Queens" are currently in global syndication.
"I'm doing fine for a guy nobody told to be an actor," he says. "At this point in time, I'm amazed at how lucky I've been, if you want to call it luck."
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090116/LIFE07/901160305/1044/ENT