Comedienne Anne Meara, Mother of Ben Stiller, Dies at 85

Anne Meara | Photo Credits: Corbis

Anne Meara, who formed one-half of the comedy duo Stiller & Meara with her husband Jerry Stiller, died Saturday, The Associated Press reports. She was 85 and the cause of death was not made public.

She and Jerry Stiller were married for 61 years. Meara is also the mother of Ben Stiller.

Born in Brooklyn, Meara began doing improv comedy with Stiller in the mid-1950s. They later became regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show.

See other celebrities we've lost this year

She also had a recurring role on the sitcom Rhoda and went on to star in her own series, Kate McShane, which debuted in 1975 and was canceled after 10 episodes.

Meara's other TV credits include Archie Bunker's Place (for which she received two Emmy nominations), ALF, Sex and the City, Homicide and The King of Queens. She also won a Writers Guild Award for co-writing the TV movie The Other Woman (1983).

In 2010, she and Stiller began starring in a Yahoo! digital series called Stiller & Meara, and taught acting classes up until her death.

Meara is survived by her husband, son, a daughter and several grandchildren.