Jerry Seinfeld Remembers Jerry Stiller In SiriusXM Interview: “He Was So Perfect”

Bruce Haring
·2 min read

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Jerry Seinfeld said he never gave the late Jerry Stiller a note while they were working together on the TV comedy classic, Seinfeld.

Speaking on the SiriusXM Netflix is a Joke Radio channel on the What A Joke With Papa & Fortune show, Seinfeld said he didn’t understand a lot of what Stiller brought in his role of as George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) father, Frank Costanza, but knew better than to touch it.

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“We never gave Jerry Stiller a note,” Seinfeld said. “I never adjusted his performance once. Whatever he did, that’s it. We’re putting that out there. 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 said it was writer and comedian Larry Charles who brought Stiller to his attention for the role. Seinfeld said that he remembered Stiller from his days with the Stiller and Meara comedy team, but there was still one hangup – hair. Stiller wasn’t bald, which made it problematic for him to play George Costanza’s father.

Thankfully, Charles didn’t let up.

““Larry just kept mentioning him and finally we brought him in and he was so perfect.”

And lo, comedy history was born

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