Jerry Seinfeld Remembers Late Costar Jerry Stiller: 'He Had the Most Amazing Comedic Stuff'
Jerry Seinfeld is remembering his late Seinfeld costar Jerry Stiller, who died on Monday at the age of 92.
On Thursday's episode of What a Joke with Papa & Fortune on SiriusXM's "Netflix Is a Joke Radio," Seinfeld opened up about what it was like to work with Stiller, who played Frank Costanza — the father of Jason Alexander's character George Costanza — on the hit comedy series.
"You know, there was a writer on the show, Larry Charles, who came up with the idea — it was his thinking ... 'Who should we get to play George's father?' And he kept saying, Jerry Stiller, Jerry Stiller. I remember Stiller and Meara from the '60s, but I hadn't seen Jerry in a while and I just didn't — and I thought, well, but he's not bald," Seinfeld, 66, said in reference to Alexander.
"But Larry just kept mentioning him and finally we brought him in," Seinfeld recalled.
Seinfeld went on to share that Stiller was "so perfect" for the role and brought "amazing comedic stuff" to the show.
"Those packages of just Jerry Stiller bits on my show are so unbelievably funny. What I loved about him is he so completes the George story. When you meet the father, you go, 'Oh, now I understand why he's like that,' " Seinfeld said.
"It was the perfect finishing of the painting of George Costanza was Frank Costanza. He had the most amazing comedic stuff," said Seinfeld.
Seinfeld revealed that sometimes "we didn't know if he was planning it or it just came out that way, or he couldn't remember the line, or we didn't know what it was."
Instead of interfering, Seinfeld said the TV crew "did not want to disturb it in any way."
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"We never gave Jerry Stiller a note. I never adjusted his performance once. Whatever he did, that's it. We're putting that out there," Seinfeld continued.
"I don't know why he did it like that. I don't know why he screamed on that line. It doesn't matter. It's funny. So funny. I am such a dedicated believer in if it's funny, don't touch it. I don't care why it's funny. I don't care what the line was supposed to be. He said it that way, we're doing it that way," Seinfeld added.
Stiller's death was confirmed by his son Ben Stiller, who shared that his father "passed away from natural causes."
After the news broke, several other Seinfeld stars paid tribute.
Alexander, 60, called his television father "a great actor, a great man, a lovely friend."
"Such sad news that my beloved friend, Jerry Stiller, has passed. He was perhaps the kindest man I ever had the honor to work beside," he wrote. "He made me laugh when I was a child and every day I was with him. A great actor, a great man, a lovely friend. #RIPJerryStiller I Love you."
Seinfeld also shared a tribute, posting a photo of himself holding Stiller and wife Anne Meara's 1967 comedy album The Last Two People in the World.
"Jerry Stiller's comedy will live forever," he later tweeted.
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Seinfeld producer George Shapiro recalled the countless laughs he and the cast shared with Stiller during the show's run.
"So sad that Jerry Stiller left us at the young age of 92. There was no one sweeter than Jerry," he wrote. "He was a joy to work with and brought countless laughs to the set of 'Seinfeld'. One memory was so vivid with him & Julia breaking each other up doing 'You want a piece of me' bit."
And Julia Louis-Dreyfus knew exactly the moment Shapiro was referring to, posting a blooper reel from that scene.
In the clip, Louis-Dreyfus and Alexander struggle to maintain their composure as Stiller delivers his lines.
"The truth is that this happened all the time with Jerry Stiller," she wrote. "He was so funny and such a dear human being. We loved him. RIP Jerry Stiller."
Stiller — also famous for his role on King of Queens — lost Meara in 2015 after she had suffered multiple strokes. She was 85 at the time of her death. In addition to son Ben, the couple also shared daughter Amy.
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Married in 1954, the spouses performed together as Stiller & Meara on sketch shows throughout the 1960s, most notably, The Ed Sullivan Show. Stiller later wrote about their partnership and marriage in his autobiography, Married to Laughter.
During his run on Seinfeld, Stiller was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.
He also appeared opposite his son in Zoolander, as well as Ben's films Heavyweights, The Heartbreak Kid and Hot Pursuit.
