From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jerry Stahl (born September 28, 1953) is an American novelist and screenwriter, He is best known for his memoir of addiction Permanent Midnight. A film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller in the lead role. Stahl has worked extensively in film and television. He has one daughter named Stella, who is a senior at Northwestern University and is studying theater and political science. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Stahl, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.