Anne Meara, half of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara, dies at 85

Anne Meara, a four-time Emmy nominee who made up half of the '60s comedy duo Stiller and Meara, died on Saturday (May 23) at the age of 85.

Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Meara married Jerry Stiller in 1954 and they performed together as part of The Compass Players, the Chicago-based improvisational comedy company that would evolve into The Second City. 

As Stiller and Meara, the couple turned details from their own relationship into a wildly successful comedy pairing that made them variety show, late night and game show favorites through the '60s and '70s. More than a few of their bits related to his Jewishness and her Irish Catholic upbringing, though she converted to Judaism in 1960.

While Meara's 1975 CBS drama “Kate McShane” was short-lived, it earned her the first of her Emmy nominations, followed by nods for “Archie Bunker's Place” and a guest spot on “Homicide: Life on the Street.” In recent years, Meara has made frequent TV guest appearances, including multi-episode turns on “Sex and the City” and “The King of Queens,” which co-starred Jerry Stiller. On the big screen, she appeared in “The Boys From Brazil,” “The Daytrippers” and “The Fish in the Bathtub.”

Stiller and Meara also starred together in a Yahoo web series executive produced by son Ben Stiller.

Check out a couple of Stiller and Meara skits and appearances below:

From “The Carol Burnett Show”

Recalling their first “The Ed Sullivan Show” appearance:

Appearing a mystery guests on “What's My Line”:

And while YouTube is really lacking in classic Stiller and Meara material, here are a couple jokes from one of their albums:

×