Anne Meara

Anne Meara
Meara in 1975
Born	Anne Therese Meara (1929-09-20)September 20, 1929 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	May 23, 2015(2015-05-23) (aged 85) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian
Years active	1948–2015
Spouse(s)	Jerry Stiller ​ (m. 1954)​
Children	Amy Stiller, Ben Stiller

Anne Meara Stiller (September 20, 1929 – May 23, 2015) was an American actress and comedian. Along with her husband Jerry Stiller, she was one-half of a prominent 1960s comedy team, Stiller and Meara. Their son is actor Ben Stiller. She was also featured on stage, in television, and in numerous films, and later she became a playwright.

During her career, Meara was nominated for four Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, and she won a Writers Guild Award as a co-writer for the TV movie The Other Woman.

Early years

Meara was born in Brooklyn, New York,^[1] the daughter of parents of Irish descent,^[2] Mary (née Dempsey)^[3] and Edward Joseph Meara, a corporate lawyer for American Standard.^[4] An only child, she was raised in Rockville Centre, New York, on Long Island. When Anne was 11 years old, her mother committed suicide.^[1]

When she was 18, Meara spent a year studying acting at the Dramatic Workshop at The New School and at HB Studio^[5] under Uta Hagen in Manhattan. The following year, 1948, she began her career as an actress in summer stock.^[1]

Career

Comedy team

Meara met actor-comedian Jerry Stiller in 1953, and they married in 1954. Until he suggested it, she had never thought of doing comedy. "Jerry started us being a comedy team," she said. "He always thought I would be a great comedy partner."^[1] They joined the Chicago improvisational company The Compass Players (which later became The Second City), and after leaving, formed the comedy team of Stiller and Meara. In 1961, they were performing in nightclubs in New York, and by the following year were considered a "national phenomenon", said the New York Times.^[1]

Their often improvised comedy routines brought many of their relationship foibles to live audiences. Their skits focused on domestic themes, as did Nichols and May, another comedy team during that period from the Chicago Compass Players project. "They were Nichols and May without the acid and with warmth," notes author Lawrence Epstein.^[6] They also added a new twist to their comedy act, he adds, by sometimes playing up the fact that Stiller was Jewish and Meara was Catholic.^[7] After Nichols and May broke up as a team in 1961, Stiller and Meara were the number-one couple comedy team by the late 1960s. And as Mike Nichols and Elaine May were not married, Stiller and Meara became the most famous married couple comedy team since Burns and Allen.^[8]

After some years honing the act, Stiller and Meara became regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show, with 36 appearances,^[8] and other TV programs, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. They released their first LP in 1963, Presenting America's New Comedy Sensation: Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara Live at The Hungry I, which became a hit. By 1970, however, they broke up their act because it was affecting their marriage: "I didn't know where the act ended and our marriage began," complained Meara in 1977.^[8] Stiller agreed, fearing, "I would have lost her as a wife."^[8]

Television, stage, film, video

During the 1970s, Meara and Stiller wrote and performed many radio commercials together for Blue Nun Wine. She had a recurring role on the sitcom Rhoda as airline stewardess Sally Gallagher, one of the title character's best friends. She also had a small role as Mrs. Curry opposite Laurence Olivier in The Boys from Brazil (1978).

In 1975, she starred in her own series, Kate McShane, on CBS. She was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1976, however, the show was cancelled after 10 episodes.^[9][10][11]

Also in the 1970s, Meara provided narration for segments of the educational television series Sesame Street, consisting of scenes from silent films.

Meara costarred with Carroll O'Connor and Martin Balsam in the early 1980s hit sitcom Archie Bunker's Place, which was a continuation of the influential 1970s sitcom All in the Family. She played the role of Veronica Rooney, the bar's cook, for the show's first three seasons (1979–1982). During that time, she acted in the movie Fame (1980), in which she played English teacher Elizabeth Sherwood.^[12] She also appeared as the grandmother in the TV series ALF in the late 1980s. The Stiller and Meara Show, her own 1986 TV sitcom, in which Stiller played the deputy mayor of New York City and Meara portrayed his wife, a television commercial actress, was unsuccessful. From 1999 to 2007, Meara guest starred on The King of Queens (where her husband played Arthur Spooner), first as Mary Finnegan, then as Veronica Olchin (mother of Spence, who was played by Patton Oswalt). Veronica and Arthur were married in the series finale.

Starting in October 2010, Meara and Jerry Stiller began starring in a Yahoo! web series called Stiller & Meara produced by Red Hour Digital, a production company owned by their son Ben Stiller.^[13][14]

She accepted a role in the off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Minka Kelly, and B. Smith.^[15] She taught a technique and scene study class at HB Studio until her death.^{[citation needed]}

Writing and consulting

In 1995, Meara wrote the comedy After-Play, which became an off-Broadway production.^[1][16] In her later years, she portrayed recurring roles on the television shows Sex and the City (as Mary Brady) and The King of Queens (as Veronica Olchin). During the 2004–05 season, she appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

She was the consulting director of J.A.P. – The Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, a 2007 off-Broadway production that featured live stand-up routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s: Totie Fields, Jean Carroll, Pearl Williams, Betty Walker, and Belle Barth.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Meara wrote her personal life reflections in a New York-focused online blog, titled Mr. Beller's Neighborhood -- New York City Stories. In it, Meara recalled her mother's death and her childhood experiences at Catholic boarding school.^[17]

Personal life

Religion

Meara was born, baptised and raised a Roman Catholic. She converted to Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.^[18][19] She insisted that she did not convert at Stiller's request, explaining, "Catholicism was dead to me". She took her conversion seriously and studied the Jewish faith in such depth that her Jewish-born husband quipped, "Being married to Anne has made me more Jewish".^[20] They discussed how they met and their early career during a guest appearance on the TV game show What's My Line? in 1968.^[21]

Children

Together, Meara and her husband had two children, Amy (born 1961) and Ben (born 1965).

Death

Meara died on May 23, 2015, at her home in Manhattan at the age of 85, having suffered multiple strokes.^[22]

Filmography

Film

Sources: TCM;^[23] AllMovie;^[24] Film Reference^[25]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	The Out-of-Towners	Woman in Police Station
1970	Lovers and Other Strangers	Wilma
1972	Irish Whiskey Rebellion	Goldie Fain-Follies Star
1977	Nasty Habits	Sister Geraldine
1978	The Boys from Brazil	Mrs. Curry
1980	Fame	Mrs. Sherwood
1984	In Our Hands		Documentary
1986	The Longshot	Madge
1986	The Perils of P.K.
1987	My Little Girl	Mrs. Shopper
1989	That's Adequate	Charlene Lane
1990	Awakenings	Miriam
1992	Through an Open Window		24-minute short
1992	Highway to Hell	Medea
1993	So You Want to Be an Actor	Herself	Short subject
1994	Reality Bites	Louise
1994	The Search for One-Eye Jimmy	Holly Hoyt
1995	Heavyweights	Alice Bushkin
1995	Kiss of Death	Bev's Mother
1996	The Daytrippers	Rita Malone
1998	The Thin Pink Line	Mrs. Langstrom
1998	Southie	Mrs. Quinn
1999	The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man
1999	Judy Berlin	Bea
1999	Brooklyn Thrill Killers		29-minute short
1999	A Fish in the Bathtub	Molly
2000	Amy Stiller's Breast	Herself	Short subject
2000	The Independent	Rita
2001	Zoolander	Protestor	Uncredited
2001	Keeping It Real: The Adventures of Greg Walloch		Documentary
2001	Get Well Soon	Linda
2002	Like Mike	Sister Theresa
2002	The Yard Sale		19-minute short
2003	Crooked Lines[26]	Hard Boiled
2004	Chump Change	Casting Director
2006	Night at the Museum	Debbie
2007	The Mirror
2007	The Shallow End of the Ocean	Voice of Alice	28-minute short
2009	When the Evening Comes	Marion Corrado
2009	The Queen of Greenwich Village		13-minute short
2009	Another Harvest Moon	Ella
2014	Simpler Times		33-minute short with Jerry Stiller
2014	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Winnie	Voice

Television

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Sources: Film Reference;^[25] TV.com^[27]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1954–55	The Greatest Gift	Harriet	219 episodes
1954	The Philco Television Playhouse	Betty Blake	Episode: "Man on the Mountaintop"
1959	The DuPont Show of the Month	Performer	Episode: "Oliver Twist"
1960	Ninotchka	Anna	ABC TV movie	[28]
1964–65	Linus! The Lion Hearted	Voice	Animated TV series, 3 episodes
1971	Dames at Sea	Joan	Television Special	[29][30]
1971-72	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Bunny Sterling Annie Dempsey	2 episodes
1971-73	Love, American Style	Various roles	2 episodes
1973	The Paul Lynde Show	Grace Dickerson	3 episodes
1973	The Corner Bar	Mae/Jennifer Bradley	Cast member, 7 episodes
1974	Medical Center	Rose Miller	Episode: "The Enemies"
1975	Kate McShane	Kate McShane	Cancelled after 10 episodes
1976–77	Rhoda	Sally Gallagher	7 episodes
1977–78	Take Five with Stiller & Meara
1979-83	Love Boat	Various roles	3 episodes
1979–82	Archie Bunker's Place	Veronica Rooney	52 episodes
1979–82	HBO Sneak Previews		Costarred with Jerry Stiller
1983	The Other Woman	Peg Gilford	TV movie (CBS); Meara co-wrote the teleplay with Lila Garrett	[31][32]
1986	The Stiller and Meara Show	Performer	Co-writer; Canceled after a few weeks
1987	Saturday Night Live	Bartender	Episode: "Charlton Heston/Wynton Marsalis"
1987–89	ALF	Dorothy Halligan	7 episodes
1987–89	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Mrs. Salters	Episode: "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book"
1988-93	Murder, She Wrote	Winnie Tupper Banner Mae Shaughnessy	2 episodes
1990	Monsters	Greta	Episode: "One Wolf's Family"
1991	The General Motors Playwrights Theater	Rose Finker	Episode: "Avenue Z Afternoon"
1991	American Playhouse	Bernice Shapiro	"The Sunset Gang": segment: "The Detective"
1992–99	All My Children	Peggy Moody	5 episodes
1992–99	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Patricia Lennon	Episode: "Love off Limits"
1994	In the Heat of the Night	Roda	Episode: "Poor Relations"
1994	Great Performances: The Mother	Mrs. Geegan	PBS TV movie, Oct. 24, 1994	[33]
1994	Murphy Brown	Reena Bernecky	2 episodes
1996	Homicide: Life on the Street	Donna DiGrazi	2 episodes
1997	Jitters	mother	TV Movie	[34]
1999	After Play		Writer and cast member
1999-02	Oz	Aunt Brenda O'Reily	2 episodes
1999 2003–07	The King of Queens	Mary Finnegan (1999) Veronica Olchin (2003–07)	10 episodes
2001	What Makes a Family	Evelyn Cataldi	TV movie (Lifetime)	[35]
2001	Ed	Barbara Gennacarro	Episode: "The Test"
2001	Will & Grace	Mrs. Friedman	Episode: "Star-Spangled Banter"
2002–04	Sex and the City	Mary Brady	4 episodes
2003	Good Morning, Miami	Claire's Friend	Episode: "The Slow and the Furious"
2003	Charlie Lawrence	Pauline Lawrence	Episode: "If It's Not One Thing It's Your Mother"	[36]
2004–12	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Ida Becker	Episode: "Scavenger" Episode: "Dreams Deferred"	[37]
2006	Four Kings	Ruth	Episode: "Pilot"
2009	Mercy	Estelle Thalberg	Episode: "The Last Thing I Said Was"
2009–10	Wonder Pets!	Granny Ginny	2 episodes
2010	Gravity	Mrs. Talbot	Episode: "Old People Creep Me Out"
2011	Rip City	Myrt	TVLand sitcom pilot that did not sell	[38]

Theatre

Year	Title	Credit(s)	Notes	Ref.
1956	A Month in the Country	Katina the maid	Phoenix Theatre, Off-Broadway	[39]
1956	The Good Woman of Setzuan	Niece		[40]
1957	Miss Loneyhearts	Sick-of-it-All	Music Box Theatre, Broadway	[41]
1958	As You Like It	Audrey	Joseph Papp Public Theater, Off-Broadway	[42]
1958	Ulysseys in Nighttown	Various roles	Rooftop Theatre, Off-Broadway	[43]
1971	The House of Blue Leaves	Bunny Flingus	Truck and Warehouse Theatre, Off-Broadway	[44]
1984	Spookhouse	Performer	Playhouse 91, Off-Broadway	[45]
1984	A... My Name Is Alice	Writer	Top of the Gate, Off-Broadway	[46]
1988	Romeo and Juliet	Nurse	Joseph Papp Public Theater, Off-Broadway	[47]
1988	Eastern Standard	May Logan	John Golden Theatre, Broadway	[48]
1993	Anna Christie	Marthy Owen	Center Stage Right, Broadway	[49]
1995	After-Play	Terry Guteman Playwright	Theatre Four, Broadway	[50]
2000	Down the Garden Paths	Playwright	Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway	[51]
2011	Love, Loss and What I Wore	Performer	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway	[52]

Radio

• I'd Rather Eat Pants, National Public Radio, 2002

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1976	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Television	Rhoda	Nominated	[53]
1976	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Kate McShane	Nominated
1981		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Archie Bunker's Place	Nominated
1982				Nominated
1997		Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Homicide: Life on the Street	Nominated
1984	Writers Guild of America Awards	Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology	The Other Woman	Won
1993	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Anna Christie	Nominated	[54]
1996	Outer Critics Circle Award	John Gassner Award	After-Play	Won

• On February 9, 2007 Meara and Jerry Stiller received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Blvd.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anne Meara.

• Stiller & Meara Yahoo podcast
• Anne Meara at IMDb
• Anne Meara at the TCM Movie Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Broadway Database
• Anne Meara at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Works by or about Anne Meara in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Production: Anna Christie – Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, January 1993
• Anne Meara at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Anne Meara at the Comedy Hall of Fame
• Anne Meara at Find a Grave