Giving credit where credit is due! Ben Stiller didn’t miss out on the opportunity to thank his dad, Jerry Stiller, while collecting a win at the 71st annual Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday, February 2.
“This is a dream come true for me. I’ve wanted this since I was 8 years old as a director to be nominated by your guild and peers,” the Meet the Parents star, 53, told reporters in the press room at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles following his win for Best TV Movie/Limited Series Directing for his work on the Showtime show. “Nobody else wanted to take a chance on [Escape at Dannemora].”
Ben then gave a sweet shout-out to his father, adding: “To my dad, Jerry Stiller, the most naturally funny man in the world.”
The Dodgeball star’s sentiment comes a little over three weeks after Jerry was rushed to the hospital in January for a medical emergency. Radar Online reported at the time that the 91-year-old Seinfeld alum was recovering in a Manhattan hospital following the scare.
“Jerry is fine. He had no signs of a stroke,” a source told Us Weekly debunking speculation of the reason he was hospitalized. “He’s 91 – he had an episode and they took him to the hospital to be checked out. He’s completely fine and is resting comfortably. He should be home in a couple of days.”
The father-son duo starred alongside each other on the big screen for the 2001 hit comedy Zoolander. Additionally, Jerry portrayed Carrie Heffernan’s dad, Arthur, on The King of Queens from 1998 to 2007.
Jerry’s late wife, Anne Meara, died at age 85 in 2015. The couple had been married for 61 years at the time of Meara’s death and also shared daughter Amy.
With reporting by Amanda Champagne
