Inside Late Jerry Stiller's Relationship with His Famous Son Ben Stiller

Popular actor Ben Stiller and his late father Jerry Stiller had an excellent father-son relationship. Here is a look into their relationship up until Jerry's death.

It is common for children to look up to their parents in life and even decide to choose a career path similar to that of their parents. While some might later switch careers, parents and children often bond over sharing similar things as they get older.

Growing up, Ben Stiller wanted to take after his parents acting career. As a young boy, Ben and his sister Amy often heard their parents rehearsing their lines, and this piqued his interest in acting and comedy.

While his dad, Jerry Stiller, had gone on to have a successful run on television as a comedic actor, Ben soon followed in his father's steps and established himself as one to be looked out for in the industry.

Ben reportedly opened up about certain things he learned from his mother and father. One of which was:

"never to change who you are just to please other people."

He also expressed that his parents taught him never to take one's self too seriously as they did not like people who felt they were too important.

Sometime last year, Ben mentioned that he was trying to put some clips and pictures together to create a documentary for his parents as he believed their lives needed to be seen by others in a way they had not been viewed before.

The two had a great father-son relationship that would be missed.

Although Ben lost his mother, Anne Meara, in 2015 at the age of 85, he acknowledged that it was his father who felt it the most as the couple had been married for 61 years before her death.

Sadly, on May 11, 2020, Ben announced that his father had also passed away from natural causes. Taking to Twitter to share the news, the actor had this to say of his father:

"...He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years..."

Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara, who waited almost a decade before giving birth to their children — Amy and Ben — were one of the famous hilarious couples back in the days.

The duo often performed together and even appeared more than 30 times on the "Ed Sullivan" show when they initially started out.

Although they had to split up careerwise, to focus on what each person wanted, they ensured that they took care of their children and never allowed the job to come between being parents.

Ultimately, while Ben and his father enjoyed some onscreen time together in the movie "Zoolander," the two had a great father-son relationship that would be missed following Jerry's death.