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Obit: Phyllis Diller Dead at 95

RIP to a wonderful comedian. She will be missed.

-crainbebo
 
Being from the Bay Area, I have to mention that Phyllis Diller was a suburban Bay Area housewife. Though she worked at San Francisco radio station KSFO in the early 50s, she didn't do her first stand-up until she was in her late 30s- at SF clubs like the Hungry Eye and the Purple Onion - clubs usually associated with the likes of Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl - though it's worth noting that Bill Cosby and Barbra Streisand are 2 others that found early success in these North Beach clubs.
 
vchimpanzee said:
The photo of her on Wikipedia is actually quite attractive.
Click to expand...

She had a lot of "work done" as they say - and didn't shy away from talking about it - even incorporated it into her comedy for awhile, kind of like Joan Rivers.
 
Lkeller said:
She had a lot of "work done" as they say - and didn't shy away from talking about it - even incorporated it into her comedy for awhile, kind of like Joan Rivers.
Click to expand...

She, Rodney Dangerfield and Henny Youngman made an art form of laughing at one's self.
 
Phyllis Diller's very first television appearance was on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life and wow I don't think she's ever looked attractive.
Funny lady for sure but she never was a stunner.

At least she's with her husband Fang again. :)
 
Yes - "Fang" was her comedy husband. She had married and divorced at least 2 others. I'm going to bungle her punchline about that, but it was (paraphrasing) ,"Fang is permanent. My real husbands are temporary."
 
I was mad at the lack of coverage of this at least on the radio. Was it better on TV? I was listening to the newsradio stations and they reported on Rosie O'Donnell's heart attack, and that producer guy who jumped off a bridge and even Scott "San Francisco" MacKenzie but left out Phyllis Diller.

I know when a 95 year old lady, who dies peacefully in her sleep isn't shocking but she was a break through comic.
 
TV did a good job covering Diller's death. Local news and the morning show had a piece and so did NBC Nightly News. They also covered Scott McKenzie's death and had a story about the film director as well. Tough when three people all go at once.
 
I was always under the impression that "Fang" was her first husband,
Sherwood Diller (her birth name was Phyllis Driver), but apparently I'm
wrong. She was also married to nightclub singer Warde Donovan.

In Groucho's memoir "The Secret Word Is Groucho," Phyllis talked about
how she got on "You Bet Your Life." George Fenneman, who was from
San Francisco, caught her act at the Purple Onion and invited her on the
show. She often said she wasn't as funny as she could have been; it was
her first national appearance and she felt intimidated by Groucho (something
shared by a lot of people, whether they were on the show or not).

Does anyone remember her 1966 ABC sitcom "The Pruitts Of Southampton,"
about a wealthy Long Island family that has spent its entire fortune; the IRS
agrees not to publicize it, fearing it will cause a financial panic, but Phyllis has
to pay Uncle Sam all the taxes she owes. Each week she'd take a different job,
and it seemed that ABC was trying to make her into another Lucy; she kept telling
the network folks that physical comedy was not her thing. At midseason the title
and format changed: "The Phyllis Diller Show" had her taking in boarders and what
a collection: Paul Lynde, Marty Ingels, John Astin, Richard Deacon, and Billy DeWolfe.
I would have killed for the chance to sit in on a rehearsal for that show.

Phyllis was really at her best in small doses, such as the occasional appearance on
shows such as Ed Sullivan's and "The Hollywood Palace." But I always looked forward
to those appearances and I, too, say rest in peace.
 
Mark said:
I was mad at the lack of coverage of this at least on the radio. Was it better on TV? I was listening to the newsradio stations and they reported on Rosie O'Donnell's heart attack, and that producer guy who jumped off a bridge and even Scott "San Francisco" MacKenzie but left out Phyllis Diller.

I know when a 95 year old lady, who dies peacefully in her sleep isn't shocking but she was a break through comic.
Click to expand...

TV coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area was decent - perhaps because she lived here in the 50s and 60s, was quoted as saying she loved living here, and got her stand-up start at a famous local nightclub that is still in business - the previously mentioned Purple Onion.
 
And Phyllis was competing, sort of, with Carol Doda on Broadway (SF) and Sausalito dancer and mayor Sally Stanford.
 
I remember several local companies in the Pacific Northwest hired Phyllis to do commercials. It was always fun to see Phyllis hawking local food brands along with some great jokes while I grew up!!! RIP, Phyllis, you made us smile over and over again!
 
bpatrick said:
In Groucho's memoir "The Secret Word Is Groucho," Phyllis talked about
how she got on "You Bet Your Life." George Fenneman, who was from
San Francisco, caught her act at the Purple Onion and invited her on the
show. She often said she wasn't as funny as she could have been; it was
her first national appearance and she felt intimidated by Groucho (something
shared by a lot of people, whether they were on the show or not).

Does anyone remember her 1966 ABC sitcom "The Pruitts Of Southampton,"
about a wealthy Long Island family that has spent its entire fortune; the IRS
agrees not to publicize it, fearing it will cause a financial panic, but Phyllis has
to pay Uncle Sam all the taxes she owes. Each week she'd take a different job,
and it seemed that ABC was trying to make her into another Lucy; she kept telling
the network folks that physical comedy was not her thing. At midseason the title
and format changed: "The Phyllis Diller Show" had her taking in boarders and what
a collection: Paul Lynde, Marty Ingels, John Astin, Richard Deacon, and Billy DeWolfe.
I would have killed for the chance to sit in on a rehearsal for that show.
Click to expand...
I was surprised that Groucho kept quiet while Phyllis told her jokes. His smile showed his approval. I wonder if they ever were on camera in the future?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnzT46uTQ0s

As far as the "Pruitts of Southampton," they were "too big to fail" before their time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--fk7HzTipI&feature=related
 
I don't know if Groucho did anything to buttress Phyllis's career
after her appearance on his show, but he did recognize talent.
About two months before she was on, Groucho had a Pakistani
med student, Kuldip Rae Singh, who had a romantic singing voice,
and when he sang "A Woman In Love" to his partner, the audience
went wild. Groucho approached the record companies, most of whom
would have been glad to sign up Kuldip, but Kuldip had no interest in
a singing career. Maybe just as well, since rock 'n' roll was in by then,
and Kuldip was more a middle-of-the-road singer. (BTW, Groucho kept
calling him "cool cat" during the interview segment.)
 
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