It's Stiller time
Beloved TV favorite set for performance at Toms River temple
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

Jerry Stiller

Consider it

a Festivus for the rest of us.

The creator of the faux holiday, actor Jerry Stiller - through his Frank Costanza character from television's "Seinfeld" - will entertain local residents at an upcoming fundraiser.

On June 4 at 5 p.m. at Congregation B'nai Israel, 1488 Old Freehold Road, Toms River, the 21st annual Hilda Lubcher Memorial Lecture will benefit the scholarship fund of the Solomon Schechter Academy of Ocean and Monmouth Counties, Howell. Tickets will be available at the door and will cost $38 for adults, $28 for senior citizens and $13 for students.

In a telephone interview on May 26, Stiller said he is looking forward to the event.

"I've been doing [performances] for a year-and-a-half," he said. "I do a free association [with the audience]. They seem to take an interest."

Stiller made sure to note "it's not an evening of stand-up."

He said his performances touch on his life, his experiences and the business of acting. Those in attendance can also ask questions.

"It's funny about being an actor - you're amazed by what people say when they watch you," he said. "I try to make it interesting."

The 78-year-old actor's stints on "Seinfeld" and "The King of Queens" (as Arthur Spooner) have cemented Stiller as the portrait of a short-fused, quick-witted and often neurotic father that millions have come to revere.

But before abusing TV son George Costanza (Jason Alexander) and pestering TV daughter Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), Stiller played Broadway and toured the small screen in a variety of roles.

All his life, he knew what he wanted to do.

Stiller explained how the seeds of his adoration for acting were planted from vaudeville acts during the Depression.

"[Acting] seemed to be an easy way out," he said. "If you were a kid, you were so aware of [the Depression], you were almost wounded by it. It affected every family. But people were able to laugh when things were so terrible. If [an actor] could change people's lives and laugh, it was a way to influence. These guys were having fun up there. The comedians and entertainers took you away from real life and put you into a fantasy."

Stiller was most recognized when he teamed up on stage with his wife, Anne Meara. Taking their act to the "Ed Sullivan Show" and the "Tonight" show allowed the pair's popularity to soar.

Showing compassion and affection rarely demonstrated by his character counterparts, Stiller speaks warmly about the people who have helped him and, most importantly, his wife.

"We never had a plan, but we were in the rowboat together," he said. "Life as an off-Broadway actor meant you didn't know where your next job was coming from, but we did what we loved."

The pair tried to stretch social boundaries by centering their act around Stiller's Jewish heritage and Meara's Irish background. When they performed at the Blue Angel in New York City, the duo was "revealed in the newspapers," Stiller said.

"We played and suddenly we were somebody. We were really off the wall in a very new way with our ethnic tinge," he said.

After years of touring the late-night circuit and playing guest roles on television shows, Stiller was thrust into an even brighter light - "Seinfeld." Anyone who didn't already know Stiller came to know him in 1993 when he debuted as George Costanza's eccentric dad.

But it almost never happened.

"I turned down 'Seinfeld,' " Stiller said, explaining that he had an obligation to a theater show and planned to see it through.

After all, according to Stiller, he "never even knew who Jerry Seinfeld was."

When Stiller's show closed, though, Larry David, the co-creator, writer and producer of "Seinfeld" called back.

Stiller went to Hollywood this time.

While there, Stiller was presented with an image of what Frank Costanza was supposed to be.

"Larry told me the character should be meek," he said. "It would be a contrast to my wife, Estelle Costanza (Estelle Harris), on the show."

Stiller planned to go along with the characterization, but during rehearsal when Harris started yelling, he decided to jump right into the fray.

"If I didn't do something to break the mold, it wouldn't happen for me," he said. "We got huge responses."

Now as he plays another father on "The King of Queens," Stiller often evokes memories of his time on "Seinfeld."

But his fathering does not end there. Stiller is also the real-life dad of actors Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller.

As a real father, Stiller is no Frank Costanza or Arthur Spooner.

Intelligent, gracious and eloquent - a far cry from his zany characters - Stiller prefers to recount tales of yesteryear, recognize the scores of people he has met and reflect on his career.

"There's probably some part of me dying to get out all of these years, but I don't know where they are," he said. "I've always learned more about myself than learned about acting. You have to trust that something inside of you will come out in certain situations. When that curtain goes up, you can be anything you want to be. That permission gives you insight. That's the magic of being an actor."

And now area residents will have a chance to see the magician perform.

It's a holiday not to be missed.

For information on the June 4 appearance by Jerry Stiller in Toms River, contact the Solomon Schechter Academy at (732) 370-1767.