Sunday, June 7, 2015

Anne Meara (1929-2015)


While Anne Meara will always be best known for her long comedy partnership with her husband Jerry Stiller, I will always remember her for her recurring role as the mother of Spence Olchin (Patton Oswalt) on the classic sitcom The King of Queens.
 
Although the part was originally played by Eileen Brennan in one episode, Meara made it her own, especially as she was once again playing opposite Jerry, who starred on the show as cantankerous senior Arthur Spooner, father of Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), father-in-law of Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), and the usually unwilling object of Mrs. Olchin's desire.
 
In fact, The King of Queens became quite a family affair for the Stiller-Meara brood, with son Ben Stiller guest-starring in one episode as the father of his father's character (!) and daughter Amy Stiller (Ben's sister) making cameo appearances in several episodes as a flustered coffee store employee continually heckled by Arthur. Sometime after the show ended, Amy appeared in one of Jerry's Capital One commercials.
 
Thanks for the laughs, Ms. Meara.
 
--Raj Manoharan

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