Will hopefully be cracking up the angels now, if such exist. Younger people probably don’t know of her, but she was very funny in her heyday. She was one of the original queens of the one liners. Here’s a sampling.
She was also a great example of recreating yourself at mid life. She started out as a budding starlet, then became a housewife, and then a very successful comedienne (and a talented pianist).
Now let’s see, first Tony Scott, then her. Following the rule of three, who’s next?
[Update a few minutes later]
Here’s her first television appearance, with Groucho, before she honed her act.
[Update a while later]
And her final performance, not that long ago, at age 94.
The delivery is, unsurprisingly given her age, a little subdued, but she seemed sharp to the end. She was at her peak in the sixties and seventies, along with Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, etc.
Watching her act once she got it the way she wanted it, you can see a lot of Bob Hope’s influence.
The “alligator shoes” gag is hilarious. What a great talent
…now she and Fang can be together in Eternity.
She was an original for sure. I used to like the crazy outfits she wore on Sullivan or The Smother’s Brothers.
Jack Benny’s peak was The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny, which ran from October of ’34 to ’42. During those years he was absolutely at the top of his form and his popularity on radio — these were the years of Senator Claghorn, Titus Moody, and the Allen-Benny Feud. He never lost his audience or ratings, however, not even when the show transitioned to TV, and in the end (1965) the show went dark because he simply didn’t want to do it anymore. And after 32 straight years on the air, who could blame him?
I liked the Jack Benny shows, but for my money Fred Allen was funnier.
The last time I visited DC, the American History Museum had a special exhibit on Phyllis Diller with her complete joke catalog (an old library-style card catalog) and personal memorabilia.
Didn’t know she was still alive.
Oooh, FLO’s gonna need some aloe vera for that burn…
I’ll always have fond memories of the three-way I had with Ms. Diller and Totie Field.
Nahh . . . just testing. I sent a comment yesterday and the computer I was using wouldn’t send it. Don’t know if it was something going on here in the Comments section, or with the computer I was using.
Biliwick, that would have made you not just a freak, but a YOUNG freak! Totie’s been gone for 35 years.
She was featured in the Penn Jillette film ‘The Aristocrats’ and IMHO was probably the funniest part of it. She didn’t really say much, but her expressions were priceless…
Rickles is still going strong, and as funny as ever. He’ll be the last of the great old school comedians who don’t give a flip about being PC.