Ben Stiller Calls Mother Anne Meara an 'Extraordinary Person' Following her Death
Ben Stiller took to Instagram and Twitter on Monday, May 25, to share loving words about his mother Anne Meara's recent death, Time reports.
Stiller thanked those who paid homage to Meara and sent their condolences. Meara was an actress and noted comedian. He described his late mother as an "extraordinary person."
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Meara passed away on Saturday, May 23, at the age of 85. She was famously known as the second half of the praised comedic duo group Stiller & Meara, which she formed with husband Jerry Stiller.
"The two were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long," the Stiller family said in a statement released to THR.
THR describes Meara and Jerry as a "mismatched pair." Jerry was shorter than Meara, and the two had various other differences between them.
The couple used their differences as topics to joke about as a comedy group and their first public appearance was on "The Ed Sullivan Show." While performing together, Meara and Jerry developed their signature characters Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle.
During a 2005 interview with the Archive of American Television, Meara opened up about Jerry's objective for their successful comedy group.
"The uber Jewish guy and the uber Catholic girl ... That was Jerry's idea, to use and plumb the depths of our backgrounds, exaggerate them and have the two differences of the Jewish and the gentile," she explained.
THR reports that Meara and Stiller became breakout stars in the 1960s and has close ties with "The Ed Sullivan Show." They made 36 appearances on Sullivan's show alone. By the end of the '60s, Meara and Jerry were known as the No. 1 couple in comedy.
Meara is survived Jerry Stiller, son Ben Stiller, daughter Amy and several grandchildren.
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