"Zoolander 2" actor Ben Stiller, who recently lost his mother, actress Anne Meara, turned to social media to express his gratitude for all the people who have been honoring her. The veteran comedienne, who was the other half of the Stiller and Meara duo from the 1960s, died on May 23, 2015, at the age of 85.
In his message to the public, Stiller simply wrote, "Thank you so much for all the kind words about Anne. All of us in our family feel so lucky to have had her in our lives," on his Twitter account. His social media account has been swamped with plenty of messages of condolences, from both fans and celebrities alike, which is a testament to how much his mother was well-loved in the industry.
Meara, who started her acting career in the '50s, met comedian Jerry Stiller, who suggested that they should team together to do improvisational comedy. The two would eventually marry after a few years of working together, and would set forth to do stage, television and movies as a team.
They were regulars on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show," and even came out with their own comedy album. But by the '70s, the team would break up, citing that their work was affecting their marriage.
Meara then charted a separate career from her husband and even pursued writing for stage. But once in a while, they would still team up to do their usual bits when a show asked for it. Recently, the couple banded together to do the web series "Stiller and Meara" for Yahoo. It was produced by their son, Ben.
Upon her death, the family issued a statement from Jerry Stiller's reps, which was released to news outlets. It read: "The Stiller family is deeply saddened to share the beloved Anne Meara passed away last night at the age of 85. She is survived by her husband and partner in life Jerry Stiller. The two were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long. 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."
Ben had been in Rome filming his latest movie when news about hois mother broke. He was seen with his wife walking around the city, after posting his message of thanks on Twitter, as posted on E Online.
