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Ben Stiller’s ‘Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost’ Opens in Theaters as Newly Unearthed Tapes Reframe His Parents’ Story

The film uses secret recordings found after Jerry Stiller’s death to reexamine how performance pressures, addiction, fame and love shaped the marriage.

Overview

  • The documentary premiered at the New York Film Festival and is in limited theatrical release ahead of Apple TV+ streaming on October 24.
  • Stiller draws on boxes of recordings his father secretly made, including a candid exchange about Anne Meara’s drinking, to challenge his childhood assumptions.
  • The film probes the blurred boundary between the couple’s stage act and their private life, highlighting Jerry Stiller’s drive and Meara’s struggle to find fulfillment.
  • Ben Stiller confronts his own patterns through on-camera conversations with his children, reflecting on fame’s pull and his admitted parenting mistakes.
  • Contextual history underscores the pair’s fame as a 1960s–70s comedy team, including 36 Ed Sullivan Show appearances and later television work.