Ben Stiller opens up about his late father Jerry Stiller's final weeks, ongoing ‘Seinfeld’ legacy
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Ben Stiller spoke candidly about the last few weeks of his late father Jerry Stiller’s life as well as the enduring memories he has of him.
On May 11, Ben revealed to the world that the late "Seinfeld" and "King of Queens" actor died of natural causes at age 92. It wasn’t long before his fans and co-stars shared condolences as well as their fond memories of Jerry’s work. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Ben opened up about his father’s final days, revealing he maintained his trademark comedy the entire time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Yeah. My sister and I were able to be with him. And, just due to the fact that he didn’t have a coronavirus-related illness, and he had been ailing for a while, we were able to be with him, which I’m very, very grateful for," the 54-year-old actor told the outlet.
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Ben continued: "He was just slowing down a lot, and he was dealing with a lot of issues. And so the last week or two were tougher for him. But he went peacefully, and he had a sense of humor, for sure, until the end. I hesitate to call it a sense of humor. He was just funny, and so he was always himself. He was almost ninety-three, and I think his body was kind of at that point where it was time."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ben Stiller spoke candidly about the last weeks of his late father, comedian Jerry Stiller's, life. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
Stiller, who started his career in the 1950s alongside his wife Anne Meara, had a resurgence in the 90s with his iconic character, Frank Costanza on the TV show "Seinfeld."
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He was known as the high strung father of George Constanza and was often seen bullying his TV son. Speaking to the New Yorker, Ben noted that he enjoyed the Frank Constanza character because it was drastically different form the way his dad parented him in real life.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza in "Seinfeld." (NBC)
"We had a small service for him, and I was talking to the rabbi about him, because I hadn’t had a chance to meet him. And the rabbi was talking about his character on ‘Seinfeld.’ And I said, ‘He never once raised his voice to me, ever, as a kid. Ever.’ So I watch that and I laugh, because I’m, like, ‘Who is that person?’ Because that really was not him, but I think he was unleashing something that I think was suppressed in his real life."
Ben explained that his father was happy about the fact that his legacy would largely include his "Seinfeld" character, but noted that he believes his dad would have liked if more people acknowledged the many years of work in comedy he did alongside Meara, who died in 2015.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think the only thing that might have bothered him a little bit was that he wanted people to remember his work with Anne, because he loved my mom so much. I think that would be the only aspect of it. He would be, like, ‘But, Anne—Anne is amazing.’ And I can understand that, because they did such incredible work together over the years. But I don’t think he was one of those actors who was, like, ‘I have to be known for something else,’" he concluded. "I think he was grateful for the success. And I think that comes from where he came from—he didn’t have an ego about those sorts of things. He so loved being a part of that show, and he embraced it fully."