Seinfeld actor and Ben Stiller's father Jerry Stiller has died aged 92

(Image credit: Getty)

Jerry Stiller – the iconic comedian best known to many for playing the quick-tempered Frank Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld – has died at the age of 92.

Stiller's son, the actor Ben Stiller, confirmed the news on Twitter. "I'm sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes," he wrote. "He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad."

As well as starring in Seinfeld, Jerry Stiller had played Arthur Spooner in The King Of Queens alongside Kevin James and Leah Remini. The comic also appeared in his son's movies Zoolander, Heavyweights, Hot Pursuit, and The Heartbreak Kid. His final on-screen appearance was in Zoolander 2.

Jerry Stiller and his wife, Anne Meara, first came to fame as a comedy double act, with regular appearances on Ed Sullivan’s talk-show. They later attempted to launch their own sitcom, The Stiller & Meara Show, though only a pilot was made. Stiller went on to appear in various TV roles, though none were as successful as Seinfeld and, later, The King of Queens. 

Stiller also had multiple movie roles, appearing in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Airport, Nasty Habits, and Hairspray – both the 1988 and 2007 versions.

Meara passed away in 2015 at the age of 85. They had two children, including Ben Stiller.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

Latest in Movies
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks to finally bring my anime-inspired dreams of truly active combat to life
Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette in Mickey 17
Although the Mickey 17 cast were at first baffled by the unique way Parasite director Bong Joon Ho works, now they want it no other way
Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
The Monopoly movie from Margot Robbie's production company will be written by the Dungeons and Dragons movie directors
Kathryn Newton in Abigail
Marvel star joins former Scream directors for highly-anticipated upcoming horror sequel
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
After 26 years, a secret Star Wars reference to George Lucas has been uncovered: "We got a new Phantom Menace Easter Egg before GTA 6"
Latest in News
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Starfield
Bethesda breaks silence as Starfield fans hope for an update: "We have a lot of exciting things planned for the game this year"
The Last of Us 2
Naughty Dog has done it: it's remastered the PS5 controller with a Last of Us-themed DualSense announcement 24 hours after Neil Druckmann dashed our hopes for The Last of Us 3
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows reverses roles to show off Naoe's combat and Yasuke's stealth, and I'm suddenly sold on playing Yasuke like a clumsy Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3
Alien Earth teaser
New Alien: Earth teaser introduces us to new cast members and the cutest little cat – and if a Xenomorph eats it, I will be furious
Three RTX 5070 gaming PCs on a purple background
I'm surprised to see some RTX 5070 gaming PCs under $2,000 - these are the three prebuilds I'd buy this week