Patton Oswalt Pens Heartfelt Tribute To ‘King Of Queens’ Co-Star Jerry Stiller: ‘A For-Real Comedy Legend’
Patton Oswalt posted a tribute to Jerry Stiller following the comedy legend’s death at age 92 of natural causes.
In a series of emotional Twitter posts, Oswalt recalled playing Spence Olchin on The King of Queens opposite Stiller’s cantankerous character, Arthur Spooner, for nine seasons on the CBS sitcom that also starred Kevin James and Leah Remini.
In his tribute, Oswalt captioned two photos of him and Stiller by calling the late actor a “for-real” comedy legend. He admitted that it was “humbling” to share scenes with his co-star and noted how the Stiller and Meara alum could get a laugh just by walking in a room.
Oswalt also recounted Stiller’s backstage tales about his days on the comedy circuit with pals such as fellow icon Lenny Bruce, and how he once barked at him in his “best Frank Costanza voice” after playing the character on Seinfeld.
“I’m going to miss every single thing about you, Jerry,” Oswalt wrote. “You’re such a perfect example — along with Fred Willard and Michael McKean and Andrea Martin — that super-nice, un-messed-up people can be BRILLIANTLY funny.”
The actor also shared a famous blooper scene from Seinfeld as he added that he was “so glad” someone captured on film how Stiller was able to reduce his castmates to tears “with the smallest line reading.”
#RIPJerryStiller. You were a for-real comedy legend, and it's humbling to think about sharing scenes with you. You were on a Yoda-level of comedic skill — I saw you get a laugh just walking into a kitchen and saying, "Hello, Douglas!" pic.twitter.com/mcgZYpQxTD
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 11, 2020
In comments to the actor’s Twitter tribute post, fans recalled the hilarious King of Queens scenes with Oswalt and Stiller.
“I’m going to be real with you. The Patton and Jerry dynamic was the only reason I watched this show,” one fan wrote.
“I loved the scenes between Arthur and Spence. Thinking of the one where they try to write a new holiday tune,” another added.
Indeed, Oswalt shared many scenes with Stiller on The King of Queens as their characters cooked up money-making schemes, pretended to be father and son to score a discount at a shoe store sale, and relied on each other for various favors during the show’s nine-season run.
In a 2012 interview with the AV Club, Oswalt recalled working with — and learning how to act from — amazing comedic actors such as Stiller and James on The King of Queens. In the interview, Oswalt called Stiller “an old pro” and noted how he would fake out the rest of the cast during rehearsals for the sitcom, which aired on CBS from 1998 to 2007.
“He would go over the lines a million times like he thought he wouldn’t get it, but then he would nail it every f*cking time,” Oswalt said of his longtime King of Queens co-star.
