Father’s Day: Comedians and their funny fathers
June 19, 2022 Mike Seigel Features, Lists
There have been a lot of comedians and funny people who take after their father. In some cases, their father happens to be famously funny themselves. In recognition of Father’s Day, here are three examples of famous funny fathers with famous funny children.
JERRY STILLER AND BEN STILLER
Jerry Stiller may be best known for playing George Costanza’s abrasive father Frank on Seinfeld, but he is also the real-life father of actor and comedian Ben Stiller. Prior to Seinfeld, Jerry Stiller was part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with another funny member of the Stiller family – his wife, Anne Meara.
The duo were popular throughout the 60s through to the 80s. In 1986, they had their own sitcom titled The Stiller and Meara Show. Of course in 1993, his role in Seinfeld brought his comedic talents more attention than ever.
Jerry’s son Ben grew up in the show business environment that parents Jerry and Anne were a part of, and took an early interest in comedy. Ben Stiller got himself a spot on Saturday Night Live (although he quit four episodes in) and eventually a show of his own, The Ben Stiller Show.
Now, Ben Stiller is known as a major movie star, acting, writing and directing in a string of successful comedies. Jerry and Ben have worked together on several projects, notably in Zoolander.
EUGENE LEVY, DAN LEVY, AND SARAH LEVY
Americans probably know Eugene, Dan and Sarah Levy best from the show Schitt’s Creek. Siblings Dan and Sarah Levy and father Eugene Levy all starred in the show, and Dan and Eugene additionally created the show and served as executive producers.
Eugene Levy, however, has been well known in Canada for quite some time. He was a longtime performer on the Canadian sketch comedy Second City Television (SCTV).
Prior to the success of Schitt’s Creek, he was best known to American audiences through his collaborations with Christopher Guest (Best In Show, Waiting For Guffman) and from his role as the father in the American Pie franchise.
Dan Levy was also known better to Canadian audiences prior to the success of Schitt’s Creek. Following his father into entertainment, he co hosted MTV Liveand presented several shows for MTV Canada.
Sarah Levy rose to fame through her role in Schitt’s Creek, acting alongside her brother and father.
CARL REINER AND ROB REINER
Carl Reiner is known to mainstream audiences today for his role in the Oceans movies. But back in the 1960s, he was a prominent comedian and comedy writer.
In the early years of his career he collaborated frequently with his close friend and fellow comedian Mel Brooks. Together they created the long-popular 2000 Year Old Man sketch. He also created, wrote and starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
He continued to write popular comedy movies throughout the next several decades, including The Jerk. He managed to cultivate a following on Twitter from 2012 till his death in 2020. At the time of his death, he was the oldest celebrity actively using Twitter.
Carl Reiner’s son Rob started off in small acting roles in a variety of comedy shows throughout the 1960s. He notably played Michael “Meathead” Stivic in All in the Family, a role for which he won two Emmys.
However, he is now far better known as a director for a number of iconic movies, including comedies This is Spinal Tap…, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, along with many others.
