Jerry Stiller, a Syracuse University alumnus, comedian and actor known for his role in the television series “Seinfeld,” died Monday morning at the age of 92.

His son, actor Ben Stiller, announced his father’s death on Twitter. Stiller was both a great father and grandfather and a loving husband to his wife of almost 62 years, Anne Meara, he said. Stiller died of natural causes.

“We are so sorry to hear of the passing of a beloved member of our @SUAlums family,” the university said in a tweet. “(Stiller) gave us many laughs for so many years. May he rest in peace.”

Stiller graduated from SU in 1950. He received the George Arents Award, the university’s highest alumni honor, in 1979 for his contributions to the entertainment field.

During his time at SU, Stiller appeared in several student productions, including “The Bourgeois Gentleman,” which he starred in his senior year. He also performed at several comedy clubs around the city of Syracuse, according to The Daily Orange archives.

Jerry Stiller appeared in several SU student productions. Daily Orange Archives

The Boar’s Head Dramatic Society, an SU student group that disbanded in the 1970s, presented Stiller with the Gould Memorial Cup for “outstanding student in drama” during his senior year.

After graduating from SU, Stiller performed in off-Broadway productions of Shakespeare throughout the 1950s, said Eric Grode, director of SU’s Goldring Arts Journalism Program, in an email. Grode interviewed Stiller for The New York Times in 2012.

Stiller went on to form a comedy duo with his wife, Anne. He appeared in several movies and TV shows, including “The King of Queens” and “Zoolander,” and is best known for his role as Frank Costanza on the 90s sitcom “Seinfeld.”

“Sometimes comedians with a distinct persona enjoy shedding it in interviews and showing another, generally classier side. That wasn’t Jerry,” Grode said. “Nobody could live their life at that level of agitation and make it to 92. (H)e was the same chatty, excitable, delightful presence people had adored for decades.”

Published on May 12, 2020 at 12:09 am

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