Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara - "The Last Two People on Earth"

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1966, Jerry and Anne discover that they're the last two people on earth, but they have differing views on their obligations as survivors.

Enjoy!

 

  #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Stiller and Meara on President Nixon's Visit to China in 1972

Back in 1972, 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon landed in China. The 1972 visit was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation.

The seven-day official visit to three Chinese cities was the first time a U.S. president had visited China. Nixon's arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries and was the key step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and China. 

The China visit gave an opportunity to the comedy team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara to perform a skit on The Carol Burnett Show. Stiller and Meara played the roles of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and his wife reviewing the trip and their impressions of the Nixons. Hilarious!

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

 #Throwback Thursday        #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara in "Couples Arguing" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1967, Jerry and Anne, as Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, give advice to couples about how to deal with arguments.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

   

     #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara in "Mother's Day" on the Ed Sullivan Show

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1967, Jerry and Anne, as newlyweds Hershey Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, make plans for inviting their Jewish and Irish mothers to spend Mother's Day with them.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

   

   #Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara in "Wrong Phone Number"

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1966, Jerry makes a phone call and the number is off by one digit. Anne answers and the dialogue is classic.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

   

#Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara in "High School Reunion" on the Ed Sullivan Show

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from 1967, Jerry and Anne, as Hershy Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, meet at their high school reunion and reflect on the different paths their lives have taken over the years.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Flashback: Stiller and Meara in "School Protest With Walter Flonkite And Mrs. Mulcahy" on The Ed Sullivan Show

In our search for wacky comedy sketches we rolled the clock back 51 years to 1970 when Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in a skit where Stiller was CBS reporter Walter Flonkite and Meara was a distraught mother appealing to her son to end a high school demonstration that became violent.

As reporter Flonkite (Stiller) calmly reports on the disturbance, Regina Margaret Mary Mulcahy (Meara) aims a volley of hostility at her son, Vincent Francis Xavier Aloysius, and tries to coax him off the ledge outside the principal's office.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara "Jonah & The Whale In Laguna Beach" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Back in 1963, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with a skit about a man named Jonah who washed up on Laguna Beach in California after being entombed alive for 24 hours in the abdominal cavity of a whale.

Stiller played the Brooklyn-accented survivor and Meara played the annoying reporter who interviewed him and kept interrupting him.

All in all, a classic Stiller and Meara skit. Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara Plan Their Interfaith Wedding

When Jerry Stiller died a few weeks ago, we posted the famous skit that he and his wife Anne Meara performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. As Hershie Horowitz and Mary Elizabeth Doyle, they had been matched by a computer program in 1966.

In a later appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, they were back in character a few months after their first meeting. Hershie proposed to Mary Elizabeth and they started planning their wedding. But their religious and ethnic differences presented one problem after another and they realized that this match was not meant to be.

In real life, however, they married in 1954 and Meara converted to Judaism before the birth of their children.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Stiller and Meara on Nixon's Visit to China

Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) were a husband-and-wife comedy duo that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. They made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

In this video clip from The Carol Burnett Show, Stiller and Meara reflect on President Richard Nixon's trip to China. They observe that the press reported widely on the Nixons' view of China and the Chinese, but didn't write about how the Americans were seen by China's Premier Chou En-lai and his wife.  So the comedy duo speculate on conversations between them after the Americans returned home.

Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Stiller and Meara Computer Dating Skit - The Whole Megillah

Last week we remembered the late Anne Meara with what we thought was a funny skit with her husband and comedy partner Jerry Stiller about a computer match gone awry.

We got a lot of likes, but also requests for more. We didn't realize that what we posted was a minute and a half version of the full 8 minute skit. After a bit of web surfing, we found the whole megillah, which is a lot funnier than the opening excerpt that we shared.

So here is the entire skit. We think it's worth watching, and we hope you'll agree.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)  

Remembering Anne Meara With a Video Clip on Computer Dating

Anne Meara, the comedy actress wife of Jerry Stiller and mother of Ben and Amy Stiller, died in Manhattan last Saturday at the age of 85.

As the Irish Catholic half of the comedy team of Stiller and Meara, she made many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and other TV programs.

A lot of their humor focused on their different religious backgrounds, but actually Meara converted to Reform Judaism six years after marrying Stiller.

According to the biographical website NNDB,

She has long stressed that her conversion wasn't at Stiller's request, but because "Catholicism was dead to me", and she simply came to prefer the more "lively" character of Jewish culture. And she took the conversion seriously, studying the faith in such depth that her born-Jewish husband quipped, "being married to Anne has made me more Jewish".

Here is a video clip of Stiller and Meara in a skit about computer dating when it was first introduced.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)  


(A tip of the kippah to Meyer Berkowitz for bringing this to our attention.)