Case Study: Ben Stiller. Note to future actor/director/screenwriter hyphenates - the road to stardom is not a short one. Despite having talented showbiz parents Jerry Stiller (Jerry's dad on Seinfeld) and Anne Meara (everyone's favorite English teach in Fame), a showy supporting role in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Empire of the Sun, a cast member/writing job at star-launching comedy show Saturday Night Live, receipt of a Emmy award for an MTV comedy show and mega-star Jim Carrey as the star of his second directorial effort it still takes TEN years and a girl named Mary to turn him into a full-fledged star. There's definitely something about Ben and we'll get to the bottom of it in our Tribute to Ben Stiller.