Phyllis Diller fan, Anne, shares many things with Examiner.com about Ms. Diller. One of them is that the amazing comedienne and actress, who resides in Los Angeles, California, turned 95 on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Happy Birthday Phyllis Diller!
What Phyllis Diller Is Best Known For
Phyllis Diller, according to Wikipedia, created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes self-deprecating jokes about her age and appearance, her terrible cooking, and a husband named “Fang.” She would do all this while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder.
Let us not forget Ms. Diller’s signature – her unusual laugh!
Real Life for Ms. Diller
In the beginning, Ms. Diller’s “real life” was that of being a housewife, mother and an advertising copywriter.
Ms. Diller’s Entertainment Beginnings
In the mid-1950s Ms. Diller made appearances on “The Jack Paar Show.” She was also a contestant on Groucho Marx’s quiz show “You Bet Your Life.”
Not unlike her huge fan, Anne, she has made her career in comedy, and she also studied piano for many years.
Ms. Diller As Pianist
Due to Ms. Diller hearing her piano teachers and mentors play with much more ability than she thought she could achieve, she decided against music as a career. However, she still plays in her private life and owns a custom-made harpsichord.
Ms. Diller As A Comic
Ms. Diller first appeared as a stand-up comedienne at The Purple Onion on March 7, 1955. She remained there for 87 straight weeks. She also appeared on “Del Courtney’s Showcase” on KPIX television on November 3, 1956.
Fame
This talented lady’s fame grew when she co-starred with Bob Hope in 23 television specials and three films in the 1960s: Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, Eight on the Lam, and The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell.
Bob Hope
Ms. Diller also performed with Mr. Hope and his USO troupe, in Vietnam in 1966, during the height of the Vietnam War.
TV
Throughout the 1960s Ms. Diller appeared regularly as a special guest on many television programs, such as “What’s My Line?,” “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” and many others.
Joke
A typical Phyllis Diller joke scenario would be about her running after a garbage truck pulling away from her curb.
“Am I too late?” she’d yell. The driver’s reply: “No, jump right in!”
Film
Though Ms. Diller’s main claim to fame is her stand-up comedy act, she has also appeared in additional films. They include a cameo appearance in Splendor in the Grass (1961), Mad Monster Party (1967) and more. Her voice is used in The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972), The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002) and Family Guy (2006).
Later TV Appearances
Ms. Diller was/is no stranger to television either. She was cast in the sitcom “The Pruitts of Southampton” (later retitled “The Phyllis Diller Show”) from 1966-1967, and the variety show “The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show” in 1968.
More recent television appearances for Ms. Diller have included at least three episodes between 1999-2003 on the long-running family drama “7th Heaven,” and a 2002 episode of “The Drew Carey Show,” as Mimi Bobek’s grandmother.
Other Talents
Ms. Diller is not only an actress and comedienne, but she, too, excels at art/painting and is an author as well! Examiner.com has not discovered the exact genre of her art, but is guessing it is pop art. No matter what category her art is, it is all wonderful, unique and her!
Author
Ms. Diller’s autobiography, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse, was written in 2005. There is also a direct-to-DVD version of the project, complete with early live clips of Ms. Diller plus interviews with her showbiz colleagues including Don Rickles, among others.
In addition to painting, comedy, acting and writing, Ms. Diller also enjoys cooking and gardening.
Fans
Examiner.com and her fans could go on and on about Ms. Diller, her wonderful talents, her past work, her current work and her future endeavors! Obviously being 95 does not seem to slow her down.
Pardon the cliche, but thank you Ms. Diller for being you, we love you for it, and from your fans and Examiner.com we wish you a very happy 95th birthday with many more to come!
A fan shares more about Ms. Diller:
“I just sent a birthday email to her (Phyllis Diller) last night!
I did what she wrote about in her book Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse – look up the title…. I LOVED that book. It was her biography, but also somewhat of a comic bible for me. In that book, she wrote down what she wanted in life, her wish list to achieve, and she did! That impressed me SO much, so I’ve done the same. And you know what? So far, its happening!
I was at her home a few years back, and I must say, she still has her sharp, snappy sense of humor. And that LAUGH!!!! OMG – it’s one sound that takes me right back to my childhood remembering my parents laughing at her on TV. They absolutely loved Ms. Diller, and I adore her…. my comic idol!” – Anne Kissel