On May 11, 2020, Jerry Stiller – the father of actor Ben Stiller, and the infamous on-screen father of Seinfeld‘s George Costanza – died at the age of 92.
“He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed,” Ben Stiller wrote on Twitter at the time.
He has spoken about his non-traditional childhood, which saw him visit TV and film sets very young.
"It wasn't the typical family setup," he recalled. "We got to stay up late and go to TV studios. It was like this fun fantasyland. But we had no idea how hard they [his parents] worked."
He then became one of the most recognisable faces of late 90s/early 2000s comedy films, starring in films such as There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Along Came Polly, Starsky & Hutch, and Dodgeball.
In May 2000, Ben married actress Christine Taylor, best known for playing Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie, whom he met while filming the pilot for TV show Heat Vision and Jack.
They appeared in the first of many movies together a year later with Zoolander, and welcomed their first child, daughter Ella Stiller, in April 2002.
In 2005, their second child, son Quinlin, was born in their home city of New York.
In 2016, Ben said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014, but thanks to early detection he received a cancer-free status three months later, after surgery.
"It came out of the blue. I had no idea… At first, I didn't know what was going to happen. It just stopped everything in your life because you can't plan for a movie because you don't know what's going to happen," he said in an interview with The Howard Stern Show.
Earlier in 2016, he told Parade Magazine about the toll of losing his mother Anne in 2015.
"It affects me constantly. You know, you're going through your life, everything is great and then like, Pow! She's not here. It's hard for me… Obviously, my dad is a huge person in my life. I love him. But my mum was the person that I most looked up to for her point of view, her humour," he said.
In 2017, Ben and wife Christine announced their separation after 17 years of marriage.
"With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time," the couple said in a joint statement.
Despite the breakup, the pair continued to have a close relationship, even attending the 2019 Emmys together.
Hours after announcing the death of his father on May 11 local time, Ben returned to Twitter to thank his followers for their kind words and tributes.
"Thanks so much for the incredible outpouring of love and appreciation for Jerry. I know how much it would mean to him."
Feature image: AAP.