Ben Stiller has been a Hollywood powerhouse for decades. Whether you prefer his comedic work like Zoolander and Dodgeball, inspiring dramas like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or mind-boggling television series likes Severance, Ben Stiller’s reputation as an impeccable actor, producer and director has been earnt through years of consistent hard work and smart creative choices.
But before the 59-year-old was a household name, it was his parents — Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara — who delighted audiences with their own comedy prowess. Now, Ben is paying tribute to his their legacy in a documentary entitled Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost.
In a candid conversation with TV WEEK, the actor and director says he took on the project as a way to “connect” with his parents.
“After my dad passed in 2020, I knew I wanted to do something,” Ben, 59, explains. “COVID was happening, so we didn’t have the ability to have a memorial service for them and I felt this need to document the apartment we grew up in because we were going to be selling it.”
Who are Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara?
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were comedians who met in a casting agent’s office in 1954. According to The Washington Post, Anne was upset after the casting agent made a pass at her so Jerry asked her out to coffee. At the restaurant, she cheered up when Jerry offered to steal the cutlery she was admiring for her apartment.
The pair started dating, and with an instant connection, they were married just two months after their very first date. They had their daughter Amy in 1961 and Ben in 1965. While they were just a regular family living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Jerry and Anne were performing as a comedy duo named Stiller & Meara.
Anne was the quick witted wise-cracker, while Jerry leaned into a doofus character. But Jerry’s perfectionism and Anna’s off-the-cuff talent clashed at times, and neither could leave work behind. Anna would often ask: “Where does the work end and the marriage begin?”
“It was a different time in the ’70s and ’80s,” Ben says. “For us as kids, we loved it, but we felt the stress of them having to perform together and be successful to keep the family going.”
Their fame quickly grew and they became quite the name in the American comedy scene. Eventually, balancing life in the public eye with a marriage and a young family became too much for the duo.
Sadly, Anne passed away in 2015 and Jerry followed in 2020.
In a way to pay tribute to his parents, Ben has sought to chronical his their life — including their difficulties navigating fame, family and love — by using home footage, personal anecdotes and interviews to create a very vulnerable, self-reflective documentary.
Ben admitted that at first, he felt uncomfortable about putting himself into the project., but once he started, he realised his own perspective was paramount in capturing the whole story, unfiltered.
It’s here where Ben exposes his own marriage and shortcomings, finding parallels between his parents’ union and his own life with wife Christine and their two children. The Zoolander star met Christine in 1999, with the couple marrying shortly after, in 2000. In 2017 they separated – a time that Ben describes as being disconnected – but they are now back together.
“It was important to look at my own issues, which makes it more personal, but I wanted to show how my parents reflected us and, in turn, how our marriage reflects on my kids,” Ben explains. “You have to be willing to be honest.”
Along with Ben’s own perspective, he’s shared candid interviews with his sister Amy, his wife Christine Taylor and his children Ella and Quin. He is also joined by fellow Hollywood powerhouses Stephen Colbert and Christopher Walken.
But underneath everything, the documentary is simply about a man who just wanted to know his parents better.
“The second I started working on this film, I was like, ‘Why didn’t I interview them?’” Ben says with a laugh. “When they were alive, I didn’t think about it and life gets in the way. But my questions would be about their relationship – were there times when they really didn’t know if they’d make it? How close did they get? Things like that.”
There’s seemingly always more to say and, yes, Ben might wish he found out more. But perhaps he did. Maybe, through this process, he has found closure. And, for anyone who’s lost a loved one, it’s a worthwhile discovery.
Is there a trailer for Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost?
Yes, there is! You can check it out below.
When is Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost coming out?
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost will hit cinemas on October 17.
A week later on October 25, the documentary will be released on Apple TV+.
We can’t wait!
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