You hear the stories of some of these actors that are still around, regardless of year. You're amazed. Abe Vigoda for a long time until 2016. Betty White is almost 100. Kirk Douglas until this year. And now, the passing of Jerry Stiller, who a lot will remember from two different eras.
The guy was involved in comedy for a very long time. You look at television early on, doing acts with his wife, Anne Meara. Just before writing this, I didn't know they were both spokespeople and did commercials promoting seat belt safety in the 60s. But plenty of ads and other types of products. I can't imagine him being the type to lead the way. At least he wasn't typecast. I'm sure most remember that part of his career.
Then you have people like me and a little older group in their 30s that know him from Seinfeld and The King of Queens. Tributes from actors that were on the shows paying their respects. Stiller wasn't even the first choice for Frank Costanza, who was introduced in the fourth season and he replaced the other actor the following season. He played that loud boisterous father figure and you can see why George is a bit nutty in life. Off the rails and often funny, when the show had episodes involving the Costanzas, you knew you were in for a treat considering how the writers gave them adequate screen time. Can't comment much on his King of Queens character, Arthur Spooner, but it is a toned down version of Frank, which isn't a bad thing. They knew when to let him loose and be funny.
You don't see many people that old get chances to shine. Especially for something like Seinfeld, which some of their older guest stars, including Stiller, get recognized very well for their appearances. I know he's done a lot more than a couple shows, but I am curious to see what other stuff he did. Some of the best actors are ones that don't have cameras shoved in their faces 24 hours a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment