Jerry Stiller's Quotes

During the Great Depression, when people laughed their worries disappeared. Audiences loved these funny men. I decided to become one.

I don't think my judgment is that good. I don't know what is funny.

Never go for the punch line. There might be something funnier on the way.

We managed to hang in there. Today when people get married there's a tendency to run away when things get tough. There is a lot of strength in hanging together.

Anne hated the idea of putting me down in front of the audience.

Anne is very forgiving. She doesn't care about money, being rich, or clothes. We never argued about finances.

Being on a sitcom stops me from getting Alzheimer's.

Creative comedy is like growing geraniums in a mine field.

Hollywood never knew there was a Vietnam War until they made the movie.

I loved the idea of touching base with an audience.

I shave without using shaving cream.

I've been around the block a lot and I've had a merry trail for 55 years.

It can make you sad to look at pictures from your youth. So there's a trick to it. The trick is not to look at the later pictures.

Money is sensual.

My father and mother - I figured if I could make them laugh, they'd stop fighting. I stole all their material.

Some of the routines come back very easily. We do it off the top of our heads.

The worst thing in this business is to be thought of as a no-talent.

I ask myself why I do it. Maybe it's to prove I'm still around. It takes a lot out of my body. I'm not an NBA player anymore. At my age, very few people can handle it.