Archie Bunker's Place

Background:

Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress, comedian and playwright Anne Meara first gained success with the popular comedy duo Stiller and Meara, which she co-founded with husband Jerry Stiller in 1962. They performed in a number of TV shows, including CBS' hit “The Ed Sullivan Show” (30 episodes, 1963-1971), and in cabarets and wrote, produced and recorded numerous TV and radio advertisements through their production company. Meara received her Emmy nominations for her starring role in the short lived TV series “Kate McShane” (1975), her role in the Carroll O'Connor comedy series “Archie Bunker's Place” (1979-1982, as cook Veronica Rooney) and as a guest star on “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1996). She also received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the spin-off sitcom “Rhoda” (1976-1977, as stewardess Sally Gallagher). More recently, Meara is known to TV audiences for her recurring roles in the TV series “Sex and the City” (2002-2004, as Mary Brady) and “The King of Queens” (2003-2007, as Veronica) and for guest starring in popular series like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Oz” and “Will & Grace.” The mother of comic actor Ben Stiller and actress Amy Stiller, she has also acted in countless motion pictures, including “Fame” (1980), “My Little Girl” (1986), “Reality Bites” (1994), “Heavyweights” (1995), “The Daytrippers” (1996), “A Fish in the Bathtub” (1999), “The Independent” (2000), “Zoolander” (2001), “Night at the Museum” (2006) and “Another Harvest Moon” (2009). Meara took home an Obie award for her work in “Mädchen in Uniform” (1955) and a Tony nomination for a revival of “Anna Christie” (1993). On the writing front, Meara won a Writers Guild of America Award for her work in the TV film “The Other Woman” (1983). She is also known as the writer of the successful off-Broadway play “After-Play” (1994-1995).

Ben Stiller's Mom

Childhood and Family:

Anne Meara was born on September 20, 1929, in New York City. Her parents, Mary and Edward, were immigrants from Ireland. When Anne was 11 years old, her mother committed suicide. Anne underwent therapy to help her cope with the loss.

On September 14, 1954, Anne married comedian and actor Jerry Stiller (born on June 8, 1927). They have two kids, actor and comedian Ben Stiller (born on November 30, 1965) and actress Amy Stiller (born on August 9, 1961). Anne is the grandmother of two (from her son Ben, whom is married to actress Christine Taylor).

Raised Catholic, Anne converted to Judaism six years after marrying her husband. Her husband commented, “Being married to Anne has made me more Jewish.”

After-Play

Career:

Anne Meara kicked off her career in summer stock in New York in 1950. Making her off-Broadway debut in “A Month in the Country” in 1954, she won an Obie for her dramatic performance in the production “Maedchen in Uniform” the following year. She also played the nurse in the 1957 New York Shakespeare Festival's production of “Romeo and Juliet,” a role she reprised in a 1988 production, and appeared in the successful off-Broadway production of “Ulysses in Nighttown” (1958), which starred Zero Mostel. Meara branched out to the small screen in 1954 when she landed a regular role on the short lived NBC soap “The Greatest Gift.” She then made guest appearances in the series “The Philco Television Playhouse” (1954) and “The DuPont Show of the Month” (1959).

In 1959, Meara and husband Jerry Stiller joined the improvisational theater The Compass Players (which later became The Second City). The couple did not hit the big time, however, until they formed the comedy team “Stiller and Meara” in 1962. Largely based on their real life, their comedy style was a hit in the 1960s and 1970s thanks largely to steady appearances on television variety shows such as “The Ed Sullivan Show.” They also formed their own production company and wrote and performed in many radio and TV commercials. In 1975, they picked up a Clio Award for “Dining Alone,” a Blue Nun Wine radio ad. The pair's popularity, however, gradually dropped when the variety shows became scarcer in the late 1970s.

Meara made her Broadway debut in the award winning play “The House of Blue Leaves” in 1970 and her feature film acting debut in Neil Simon's “The Out-Of-Towners,” which starred Jack Lemmon. She then appeared in “Lovers and Other Strangers” (1970, starred Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia and Michael Brandon), “Irish Whiskey Rebellion” (1972, as Goldie Fain), “Nasty Habits” (1977, played a nun named Geraldine) and the Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier mystery “The Boys from Brazil” (1978).

During the 1970s, Meara also worked in a number of TV projects. Besides appearances with her husband in episodes of “The Courtship of Eddie's Father,” “The Paul Lynde Show” and “Love, American Style,” she costarred as Jennifer in the short lived comedy “The Corner Bar” (1973) and had the title role in the series “Kate McShane” (1975), which became the first network dramatic series to feature a woman lawyer. For her acting in the latter, she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Meara joined the cast of the sitcom “Rhoda,” a spin-off of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” during the 1976-1977 seasons in the role of divorced airline stewardess Sally Gallagher, one of Rhoda's best friends. The role brought her a 1977 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress - Television.

In 1979, Meara landed the role of Veronica Rooney on the CBS sitcom “Archie Bunker's Place,” which starred Carroll O'Connor. She appeared periodically throughout the show's third season and left the show in 1982. Meara collected two Emmy nominations (1981 and 1982) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series for her work in the series.

Back to film after nearly two years, Meara offered a memorable supporting portrayal of a spirited teacher, Mrs. Sherwood, in the Academy Award winning drama “Fame” (1980), which was directed by Alan Parker. Three years later, she co-wrote (with Lila Garrett) and starred as Peg Gilford in the made-for-TV film “The Other Woman” (1983), where her husband Stiller also played the supporting role of Mel Binns. She was handed a Writers Guild of America for Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology for her outstanding writing on the show.

In 1986, Meara was reunited with her husband to star in the sitcom “The Stiller and Meara Show.” The series, however, was canceled within a few weeks. The same year, Meara appeared in the independent comedies “The Longshot,” “The Perils of P.K.” and “My Little Girl” (costarred with James Earl Jones, Geraldine Page, and Mary Stuart Masterson). She was reunited with her husband for the 1989 comedy “That's Adequate.” Meara then portrayed the recurring role of Dorothy Halligan in the NBC sitcom “ALF,” which was created by and starred Paul Fusco (1987 to 1989). She also wrote the episode “Break Up to Make Up,” which was broadcasted on November 20, 1989.

Meara was next cast with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in the Penny Marshall directed movie “Awakenings” (1990), which earned Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. She then appeared with her husband and children in the comedy “Highway to Hell” (1991) and “Reality Bites” (1994). In the Judd Apatow produced “Heavyweights” (1995), which starred Ben Stiller as a fitness guru named Tony Perkis, she and her husband were cast as the original owners of Camp Hope. Meara also appeared in the films “Kiss of Death” (1995), “The Daytrippers” (1996), “The Thin Pink Line” (1998), “Southie” (1998), Eric Mendelsohn's “Judy Berlin” (1999), “Brooklyn Thrill Killers” (1999), “The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man” (1999) and “A Fish in the Bathtub” (1999). The decade also saw the actress in a string of television programs. She was a member of the ABC soap “All My Children” from 1992 to 1999, played Robert Pastorelli's mother, Reena Bernecky, in two episodes of the CBS long running, but now defunct, comedy series “Murphy Brown,” (1994) and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for portraying Donna DiGrazi in the episode “Hostage: part 2” (1996) of “Homicide: Life on the Street.” Other TV credits included a performance in the TV films “Jitters” (1997) and guest spots in such shows as “American Playhouse” (1991) and “Murder, She Wrote” (1993).

Meanwhile, on stage, Meara earned recognition as Marthy in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's “Anna Christie” (1993), where she was handed a Tony nomination in the category of Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for her performance. She also worked off-Broadway as a playwright with the hit dramatic comedy “After-Play” (1994-1995, also starred in). Her next effort, “Down the Garden Paths,” premiered at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey in 1999. It was also produced off-Broadway the following year with Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson in the cast. Unfortunately, the play was not well received by the critics.

Meara continued to appear in such films as Stephen Kessler's “The Independent” (2000, starred husband Jerry Stiller), Steven Burrows' “Chump Change” (2000), “What Makes a Family (2001, TV), Ben Stiller's “Zoolander” (2001), Justin McCarthy's “Get Well Soon” (2001, starred Vincent Gallo and Courteney Cox), John Schultz's “Like Mike” (2002), “The Yard Sale” (2002), “Crooked Lines” (2003), Ben's “Night at the Museum” (2006) and “The Shallow End of the Ocean” (2007), where she voiced Ellen. She also played Mary Brady in episodes of “Sex and the City,” a role she portrayed from 2002 to 2004, and Veronica in several episodes of “The King of Queens” from 2003 to 2007. She also guest starred in TV series such as “Ed,” “Will & Grace” (both 2001), “Oz” (2002), “Good Morning, Miami” (2003) and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2004).

Recently, in 2009, Meara played Ella in the dramatic film “Another Harvest Moon,” which won the Grand Prize for Audience Choice Award and Best Original Score at the 2009 Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Violet Arlotta in the 13 minute comedy “The Queen of Greenwich Village,” opposite daughter Amy. She also portrayed Estelle Thalberg in an episode of the NBC drama “Mercy” called “The Last Thing I Said Was.” She will portray Marion Corrado in the movie “When the Evening Comes” (2009), which was directed by Craig Geraghty and written by Leo Marinello.

Awards:

• Writers Guild of America: Original/Adapted Comedy Anthology, “The Other Woman,” 1984 (shared with Lila Garrett)

• Obie: “Mädchen in Uniform,” 1955