Ben Stiller Was A Scene Stealer In His Appearance On An '80s Crime Thriller Series

As the son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, one of the greatest comedy duos of the 20th century, it is probably tempting for people who can't spot genuine talent to write off Ben Stiller as a nepo baby. But he was always so much more than that. A 22-year-old Stiller left an impression on media-savvy folks in 1987 when he turned in small, but memorable performances in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun," an "American Playhouse" broadcast of John Guare's Tony Award-winning masterpiece "The House of Blue Leaves," and a hilariously high-energy performance on a season 4 episode of "Miami Vice."

When the episode in question, "Amen... Send Money," aired on NBC on October 2, 1987, "Miami Vice" was struggling in the Nielsen ratings. The writing, performances, and directing were still miles above most shows on network television. Major character actors were still booking roles on the show — indeed, the aforementioned episode featured heavy-hitting portrayals of rival, corrupt televangelists from Brian Dennehy and James Tolkan (best known as the slacker-hating Vice Principal Strickland from "Back to the Future"). But the once widely emulated fashions of Don Johnson (Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Ricardo Tubbs) had lost their luminous luster. Again, the writing was still superb, but the show had been sold on its style, and the majority of the show's viewership had grown tired of the eye candy.

So it helped when the series played to its pulp strengths and found an audaciously talented actor who could walk on and try to crack the seen-everything facade of Crockett and Tubbs. Ben Stiller gave it his all in his episode of "Miami Vice" (a show without which we would not have "The Golden Girls").

As motor-mouthed con man Fast Eddie Felcher (I was old enough to get a naughty kick out of that last name in 1987), Stiller dominates his big scene by trying to snow Crockett and Tubbs. Unfortunately for Eddie, the detectives are well-acquainted with his criminal past; they know he pulled off a brazen land fraud scheme by selling motor home lots in the Gulfstream. He did 18 months in the pokey for his clumsy sins, but, now that he's in the illicit business of ripping off religious zealots, the detectives figure Eddie could provide value on a satellite broadcast dispute between Dennehy and Tolkan's crooked holy men.

Stiller is spectacular in the scene, which probably helped him find his way to "Saturday Night Live," and, a year later, the brilliant "The Ben Stiller Show." As far as movies went, I don't think Stiller really found his footing until his lead performance in David O. Russell's uproarious "Flirting with Disaster." Two years later, he starred in "There's Something About Mary," at which point he cemented his status as an A-list movie star. I think Stiller's a terrific actor, but I might prefer him in supporting roles where he can run off with a scene and dip out once his spectacular work is done. And it didn't have to be a comedic part, as he proved in the Brat Pack drama "Fresh Horses."