Happy Birthday to Jerry Stiller!

Archive Interviewee Jerry Stiller celebrates his 84th birthday today. We interviewed Jerry back in 2005 along with his wife, Anne Meara. The full interview with Jerry and Anne can be viewed online.

In this clip, Jerry discusses how he came to be cast as "Frank Costanza" on Seinfeld. He talks about how initially, Frank's character was to be a meek man in a bald cap, subservient to Estelle Harris's "Estelle Costanza"; but Jerry's "Frank" wound up shouting back at her, just as loudly. And we thank him for it!

About this Interview:
Jerry Stiller was interviewed for three-and-a-half hours in Los Angeles, CA, consisting of two parts: over one hour with wife and comedy partner Anne Meara, and over two hours alone. Stiller and Meara described how they met as working actors in New York City. They talked about getting together as an act and their many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. They described their comedy routines and the interaction that they had with Ed Sullivan himself. Stiller talked about his notable work in such long form productions as Seize the Day. He then spoke in detail about the role for which he is most associated, “Frank Costanza” on Seinfeld,as well as his regular appearance as “Arthur Spooner” on The King of Queens. For these series he gave his impressions of working with the regular cast members and for Seinfeld he talked about such notable epsiodes as “The Doorman,” “The Fusilli Jerry,” and “The Strike.” The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on December 12, 2005. Scroll upScroll down