Anne Meara, the nominated and award-winning actress and comedian who performed individually and, along with husband Jerry Stiller, as a duo throughout the past few decades, died on Saturday. She is survived by Jerry and their son Ben Stiller, who is currently filming the Zoolander sequel abroad. She was 85 years old.
As Variety reports, Jerry and Ben broke the news to the Associated Press on Saturday:
No further details have been revealed. A statement released to the AP said Jerry Stiller was Meara’s “husband and partner in life.”
“The two were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long,” the statement said.
According to IMDB, Meara won a WGA award in 1984 for her work on The Other Woman, and she shares a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with her husband Jerry. She’s also been nominated for four Emmy awards and a Golden Globe.
Despite the global fame of her son Ben, however, Anne held her own with her husband throughout their career as a comedy duo. For a pseudo-futuristic glimpse into the contemporary world of online dating, here’s the pair performing a skit on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:
Meara was a hilarious gem of a performer, as well as a brilliant writer. She will be sorely missed.
UPDATE: Ben Stiller tweeted out his thanks for the outpouring of support.
Thank you so much for all the kind words about Anne. All of us in our family feel so lucky to have had her in our lives.
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) May 25, 2015
(Via Variety)
