Actress and comedian Anne Meara has died at 85 years old. Meara is best known for her comic work with husband Jerry Stiller that spans a 60-year career in film and TV. She is also comedian and actor Ben Stiller's mother.
The Stiller family released a statement announcing that the actress died on Saturday; no other details were provided, according to the New York Daily News.
"She is survived by her husband and partner in life Jerry Stiller," the family statement said. "The two were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long."
Meara was born on Sept. 20, 1929, and started her career in so-called summer stock theater, according to MSN. She was seen on the short-lived NBC soap opera "The Greatest Gift" in 1954.
The couple was seen as Stiller & Meara on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and other programs in the 1960s. The couple won awards for the radio and TV commercials they made together. At the same time, Meara appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including a role on "All My Children," and appearances on "Rhoda," "ALF," "Sex and the City" and "The King of Queens." Meara and Stiller also co-starred with their son Ben in several movies, including "Heavy Weights," "Highway to Hell," "The Independent" (which also featured daughter Amy) and "Zoolander," according to E!. Ben directed Meara in the classic "Reality Bites," in which Meara played a newspaper editor. In 2006, she appeared together with her son in the movie "Night at the Museum."
Meara received two nominations for an Emmy Award for her supporting role on "Archie Bunker's Place," plus three other Emmy nominations, the most recent of which was in 1997 for her guest role on "Homicide." She won a Writers Guild Award for co-writing the 1983 TV movie "The Other Woman."
Aside from husband Jerry and son Ben, Meara is survived by her daughter Amy and several grandchildren.
"Anne's memory lives on in the hearts of daughter Amy, son Ben, her grandchildren, her extended family and friends, and the millions she entertained as an actress, writer, and comedienne," the family statement further said.
