Spring Break
The Daily OrangeStiller bridges gap between generations
By Pete Freedman
Posted: 4/14/04, 2:02 AM EST Section: Feature
Two Syracuse University students sat in the front row of a faux sedan atop the stage in Hendricks Chapel last night. In the backseat, Frank Costanza complained about his lack of legroom.
The students, who pretended to be Estelle and George Costanza, and Jerry Stiller, the actor who played Frank, read from a "Seinfeld" script portraying a typical Costanza family moment.
"Serenity now! Serenity Now!" Frank shouted in order to reduce the stress he felt from the situation, as he did in one of the recurring character's more memorable scenes from the long-running NBC sitcom, "Seinfeld."
Then the 77-year-old Stiller broke character to address the nearly sold-out crowd in front of him. Stiller, a speech and drama graduate from the SU class of 1950, was brought back to campus by Hillel to share stories from his time spent at Syracuse, as well as his experiences from the sets of "Seinfeld" and other acting jobs.
After Stiller was introduced, the audience was shown a number of clips from both his career and that of Anne Meara, his wife of 50 years. The two made a name for themselves traveling as a comedy duo and together they appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" 36 times.
Though it was Stiller's show, Meara remained mic'd throughout the performance, interrupting Stiller here and there to throw in comments of her own, correcting his stories, telling him when he was getting too long-winded and poking fun at his mannerisms.
"Thank goodness Anne was here," Stiller said after the show. "She was the icing on the cake. I didn't know what she was going to say or when she was going to say it. She came in at the wrong time a couple of times, though, ruining the punchlines."
While Stiller and Meara noted that they were old enough to be grandparents to most of the people in attendance, their raunchy and sexual humor still struck a chord with the young audience.
Much of the night dealt with Stiller recounting stories from his first acting jobs and his memories from his time spent at Syracuse. Though Stiller spoke fondly of his time as a student at SU, this was just his fourth time back in Syracuse since his graduation. But instead of celebrating his return, Stiller was more excited about celebrating another momentous occasion.
The students, who pretended to be Estelle and George Costanza, and Jerry Stiller, the actor who played Frank, read from a "Seinfeld" script portraying a typical Costanza family moment.
"Serenity now! Serenity Now!" Frank shouted in order to reduce the stress he felt from the situation, as he did in one of the recurring character's more memorable scenes from the long-running NBC sitcom, "Seinfeld."
Then the 77-year-old Stiller broke character to address the nearly sold-out crowd in front of him. Stiller, a speech and drama graduate from the SU class of 1950, was brought back to campus by Hillel to share stories from his time spent at Syracuse, as well as his experiences from the sets of "Seinfeld" and other acting jobs.
After Stiller was introduced, the audience was shown a number of clips from both his career and that of Anne Meara, his wife of 50 years. The two made a name for themselves traveling as a comedy duo and together they appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" 36 times.
Though it was Stiller's show, Meara remained mic'd throughout the performance, interrupting Stiller here and there to throw in comments of her own, correcting his stories, telling him when he was getting too long-winded and poking fun at his mannerisms.
"Thank goodness Anne was here," Stiller said after the show. "She was the icing on the cake. I didn't know what she was going to say or when she was going to say it. She came in at the wrong time a couple of times, though, ruining the punchlines."
While Stiller and Meara noted that they were old enough to be grandparents to most of the people in attendance, their raunchy and sexual humor still struck a chord with the young audience.
Much of the night dealt with Stiller recounting stories from his first acting jobs and his memories from his time spent at Syracuse. Though Stiller spoke fondly of his time as a student at SU, this was just his fourth time back in Syracuse since his graduation. But instead of celebrating his return, Stiller was more excited about celebrating another momentous occasion.
