Anne Meara A True Comedy Trail Blazer (1929-2015)

anne meara

Comedy lost a giant who blazed a trail for generations.  Anne Meara passed away over the weekend.  The news was confirmed to AP press by her son Ben Stiller, and husband Jerry Stiller.y.

While the name Jerry Stiller is well known to younger generations for his TV work, Anne Meara was far more than just his partner on stage and off. Smart, funny, and eccentric all by herself, she had a powerful presence.  She was not only one of the finest comedians and improv artists of her generation, she was truly one of the first to perform in the style that we still see today and places like UCB and Second Cit

Stiller and Meara formed their partnership as members of The Compass Players, the future Second City. The two performed on stage and had regular work on TV for years, including radio ads for Blue Nun Wine. Besides the earlier Burns and Allen and peers Nichols and May, they were one of the best known male-female comedy partnerships. Stiller and Meara may have been the perfect blend of both styles, able to banter with the zippy style of Nichols and May, but always had the affection and love for one another that made Burns and Allen iconic team. But Meara couldn’t have been less like Gracie Allen naive persona.

In the era of Marlo Thomas and Mary Tyler Moore, on her own, she projected a very modern, independent personality to audiences. As a solo performer, the public first took note of that quality when she became a recurring character on Rhoda as a flight attendant. That spark of vivaciousness made her an ideal choice for the short lived, but critically well received Kate McShane as a single lawyer. She (with and without Jerry Stiller) took roles on TV and film throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, while raising two children…actors Amy and Ben Stiller. Son Ben frequently cast Stiller and Meara in his films (Reality Bites, Heavyweights), including a web series in 2010 appropriately titled Stiller & Meara. She also appeared in theater including a leading role in After-Play, Eastern Standard, Love Loss and What I Wore, and a Tony nomination for Anna Christina.

One of her best known roles in the 80s was as the committed, strict teacher in the long running series Fame. The passion she showed as a teacher on TV was sincere and personal, teaching acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio until right up to her death to a whole new generation of actors. Others will remember her for her TV work for shows like Archie Bunkers Place, King Of Queens and film roles like the Daytrippers.

For a true treat, look up the recordings of Stiller and Meara to hear the contribution that she made to comedy and the influence that will be heard in stages all over America today.

Meara is survived by her husband and comedy partner Jerry Stiller, her daughter Amy, her son Ben and several grandchildren.

 

 

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Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.