Jerry Stiller, best known for his roles on “Seinfeld” and “The King of Queens,” passed away on May 11th, 2020. He was an Emmy nominated actor, comedian, and author.
He was the father of actor Ben Stiller and husband of the late Anne Meara.
Before “The King of Queens” Stiller only saw himself as a decent actor. That role tested his acting ability more than any other had. He played Arthur Spooner, the father of Carrie Heffernan. The character provided laughs and honestly made the show.
Check out, in no particular order, the top 5 best scenes of Arthur Spooner to remember Jerry Stiller by. Although we would pick them all if we could.
Answering Machine
Doug is trying to listen to his messages on the answering machine. (Remember when we didn’t have cell phones and had to do that?) Arthur keeps picking up the phone when Doug tells him to hang up, but he can’t undo 75 years of habit. Then at the end of the episode, Doug needs Arthur to pick up because he thinks he left the oven on and Arthur is sitting by the phone, not falling for that again, which causes Doug to freak out. This may be one of the best scenes of the entire series.
Arthur Interrupts Doug’s Phone Call (Season 6, Episode 24 )
In this episode, Doug takes a political poll call, which he answers “I don’t know” to every question. Arthur, being totally oblivious, starts dialing the phone to make a call. Doug tells him that he is on the phone already and Arthur yells at him for not knowing the answer to the questions. It is a classic fight between the Father and Son-in-law and provides the audience with a ton of laughs. If you don’t laugh at, “did you tell him you’re enormous?” then what’s wrong with you?
The Ketchup Incident (Season 6, Episode 18)
Doug was already on edge because his best friend, Deacon, became friends with his high school enemy, so when Arthur annoys him with his pronunciation of ketchup, it sets him over the edge. Arthur pronounced it as “catsup,” and claims that how educated people pronounce it. Doug gets fed up and starts putting a ton of ketchup onto his burger and a fight breaks out.
I Want Pizza (Season 5, Episode 24)
Arthur had been on a health kick and Carrie encouraged Doug to do the same. However, Doug tricks Arthur into wanting pizza, resulting in Arthur asking Carrie for it. This continues for numerous nights and Doug winds up getting the food that he wants and a few other things too because Carrie would do anything to make her father happy. The way he screams “I want pizza!” provides a lot of humor to the scene and makes it one of the moments we will never forget.
Bosoms (Season 8, Episode 2)
Carrie is working from home and is using a microphone to type her work out because let’s face it sometimes that is easier. Arthur doesn’t realize that and comes into the room, where she is working and starts talking and making his announcement about putting on a show at the senior center. Carrie tells him that everything he is saying is being recorded and he has some fun. He is amazed by the technology. The icing on the cake is when he says “Bosoms” into the microphone. We lose it every time.
Rest in peace to a legend. Thank you for the laughs Jerry Stiller.
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