Jerry Seinfeld has revealed that he left the late Jerry Stiller to his own devices while working on Seinfeldtogether.
Stiller, who died this week at the age of 92, earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the sitcom as Frank, the father of George Costanza (Jason Alexander), from 1993 until 1998.
Speaking on SiriusXM’sWhat a Joke With Papa & Fortune show, Seinfeld reminisced about his time working with Stiller and admitted that the actor could always be trusted to get the character right.
“He had the most amazing comedic stuff,” the comedian said. “We didn’t know if he was planning it or it just came out that way, or he couldn’t remember the line, or we didn’t know what it was, but we did not want to disturb it in any way.
“We never gave Jerry Stiller a note. I never adjusted his performance once. Whatever he did, that’s it. We’re putting that out there.”
He continued: “I am such a dedicated believer in if it’s funny, don’t touch it. I don’t care why it’s funny. I don’t care what the line was supposed to be. He said it that way, we’re doing it that way.”
The news of Stiller’s death was confirmed by his son, Zoolander actor Ben, who wrote on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes.
“He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.”
