This week Ann Meara passed away. She began her career as half of the comedy team of "Stiller and Meara" and in the early sixties they would often appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. That is where I first came to know them. They were supposed to be a comedy team, but honestly, how they ever made a living baffles me. They were not remotely funny. Not even a little bit. They could not even garner a smile out of me. But still I liked them. Why? Because they seemed like such real, genuine, and sincere people.
As we found out in subsequent years, the only reason they weren't hysterical back then is because they were totally in the wrong genre. Once they both began acting independently in TV sitcoms, their individual genius emerged. This leads me to believe that they both knew they had something, but just didn't know what it was.
Jerry Stiller is a man of great renown, appearing often on "Seinfeld", and being a regular on "King of Queens", both hits by any account. He still does guest shots in TV and movies and is wonderful every time.
But so did Ann Meara. She did wonderful work on a myriad of TV shows, and in fact got nominated twice for Emmy's for her work on "Archie Bunker's Place" - a follow up of "All In The Family."
I never met the Stillers. I never got to converse with Jerry, or his son Ben, or his daughter. And I never met his lovely bride of 61 years. But somehow I feel like I know them. And I would bet my last dollar that they are loving and adorable people.
Although I never had the privilege of meeting Ann Meara, I'll bet she was a sweet, loving person whose company I would have thoroughly enjoyed. I somehow in my gut just feel like we lost a wonderful lady this week. And I am confident in my estimation that Jerry Stiller is devastated.
So, hey, let's say a little prayer to help the family through this. Jerry, keep your chin up. You had 61 years with a wonderful lady.
