Ben Stiller had rather big shoes to fill when he decided to pursue a career in acting. The son of award-winning actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, he caught the acting bug early, and dropped out UCLA Film School during his freshman year, in order to return to New York to focus on auditioning and securing an agent. His acting career quickly took a backseat to his short filmmaking career, and after his short, "The Hustler of Money", caught the eye of the "Saturday Night Live" team, he was invited to write for the popular program, as well. However, his relationship with "SNL" was short-lived, and he went back to producing his own short films. Then MTV came calling, and he was invited to create his own show called, "The Ben Stiller Show". The series was centered around his comedic short films, and only lasted a season. It was snapped up by the Fox Network in the early 90s, and aired for one more season, winning an Emmy for "Outstanding Writing", before being cancelled once again. He directed his first feature film, "Reality Bites", in 1994, and finally became a household name with his comedic turn in 1998′s "There's Something About Mary". Since then, he has gone back and forth between directing and acting work, and has proven to be a consistently successful box office draw. Some of his projects have included, "Meet the Parents" and its sequels, "Zoolander", "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Starsky and Hutch", "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy", "Along Came Polly", "Night at the Museum" and its sequel, and "Tropic Thunder". All of his success has allowed him to amass a very nice real estate portfolio. However, last year, he and his wife put their house in Manhattan on the market, and they recently sold it, at a significant loss.
Ben Stiller's house is 4,000 square feet and has five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. The beautiful, two floor apartment was formerly the home of Ann Zabar of "Zabar's" Jewish deli fame. The apartment features gorgeous views of the nearby river, floor-to-ceiling windows, fireplaces, hardwood floors, and high ceilings. The house also contains an eat-in kitchen with two dishwashers, maid's quarters, a wet bar, and a private screening room. The building itself has its own laundry facility. He purchased the house in 2008 for $10 million. Unfortunately, selling it in the current economy proved to be difficult, and some lucky family snagged the luxury home for only $8.995 million.
Read more: Ben Stiller's House: His Home Proves Less Easy to Sell Than His Movies