Comedian and ‘Seinfeld’ actor Jerry Stiller, father of Ben Stiller, dies at 92 of natural causes.
NEW YORK — Comedy veteran Jerry Stiller, who launched his career opposite wife Anne Meara in the 1950s and reemerged four decades later as the hysterically high-strung Frank Costanza on the smash television show « Seinfeld, » died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday. He died of natural causes, his son – a comedy star himself – said in a tweet. Jerry Stiller was a multi-talented performer who appeared in an assortment of movies, playing Walter Matthau’s police sidekick in the thriller « The Taking of Pelham One Two Three » and Divine’s husband Wilbur Turnblad in John Waters’ twisted comedy « Hairspray. »He also wrote an autobiography, « Married to Laughter, » about his 50-plus year marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara, who died in 2015. And his myriad television spots included everything from « Murder She Wrote » to « Law and Order » – along with 36 appearances alongside Meara on « The Ed Sullivan Show. »Stiller, although a supporting player on « Seinfeld, » created some of the Emmy-winning show’s most enduring moments: co-creator and model for the « bro, » a brassiere for men; a Korean War cook who inflicted food poisoning on his entire unit; an ever-simmering salesman controlling his explosive temper with the shouted mantra, « Serenity now! »Stiller earned an 1997 Emmy nomination for his indelible « Seinfeld » performance.
