The Cackling Comedienne is Silenced

Everybody has been talking about the sad news- that the hilarious Phyllis Diller has passed away at the age of 95. I would hope some of our younger viewers would be familiar with the garish gal who broke down a lot of barriers in the comedy world… she started out as a housewife and an advertising writer, and her husband, one Sherwood Diller- later to be christened “Fang” (though she admitted the character was actually fictionalized, and not truly based on her husband)in her act- encouraged her to be a comedienne. I am pretty sure my folks saw her do her act when she was first breaking in- and, if you see reruns of the old Groucho Marx show “You Bet Your Life”, she shows up on there as a contestant. She hit upon the idea of the bizarre appearance, with teased ratty hair , and weird outfits- along with purposely trying to make her legs look as skinny as possible. Her self-depreciating humor- and brash laugh that she used to emphasize her punchlines- brought her into the forefront of stand-up comedy at a time when women weren’t really featured as comics in mainstream entertainment. She’d hit the late night talk shows often, like Jack Paar, along with other contemporary male stand-ups. Bob Hope was a big advocate of Phyllis, and featured her in his TV specials and movies. I recall her sitcom, “The Pruitts of Southampton”- in which she played a once-wealthy aristocrat whose money was taken by the IRS, and had to keep up pretenses that she was still wealthy! With my memory for old TV theme songs, I recall all too well the show’s theme- the bridge of which went “The Pruitts of Southampton- are like the richest folks- but one thing the folks don’t is that- the Pruitts are flat broke!” Horror fans who feel that, with her hairdo, she could qualify as the Bride of Frankenstein, no doubt know that she did play the Monster’s mate in the Rankin-Bass stop-motion animated film ”Mad Monster Party”- which also featured Boris Karloff as the voice Baron Von Frankenstein- whose animatronic visage certainly resembles the King of Horror! Phyllis’ career spanned a long time period- from her first stand-up at the Purple Onion club in San Francisco- through the talk and variety shows of the 60s and 70s, doing everything from the Johnny Carson “Tonight” show to Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-in” to game shows- and on to soap operas like “The Bold and the Beautiful” (a typical Phyllis gag would be “guess which one I am!”)- and all manner of guest shots on shows like “Drew Carey” and even “Family Guy”. It was always a surprise when, on a talk or variety show, she’d sit down at a piano and play beautifully, having been trained as a pianist- and she was also a singer! She was a funny and creative lady, who opened the doors for other female stand-ups. That laugh of hers, actually, was for real- she really did laugh that way! Sadly, the laugh has been silenced- though some suspect it’s being overheard through the Pearly Gates… Another reminder that you will be able to come meet me at Bill Jacobs Auto in Joliet- this Saturday from noon to two pm! Yes, we’ll have pictures to autograph ,and we’ll be happy to take a photo with you-and you can take advantage of their Backyard sales event, with huge discounts on new and used cars! It looks like the weather will be beautiful- so make plans to come see me!