She was 95 so the obit writers had plenty of time to prepare, and the Times doesn’t disappoint. When I was a little kid, I remember thinking she was the funniest person on TV, probably because she had a bit of the clown in her (her outfits just kept getting more over-the-top) and because her humor was a little transgressive by the button-down standards that were still in operation on network TV of the late 60’s and early 70’s.
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moonbat
I loved her. Who else could handle a husband named Fang?
She also had a joke where she bragged on her poor housekeeping…”How else do you think my cats learned to walk on two legs?”
Shawn in ShowMe
She’s a first-ballot inductee in my TV hall of fame of people I’d love to have as neighbors. What a sweet and kooky lady. A few years ago, I heard her do one of those radio call in shows where you had to guess the celebrity. That glorious laugh gave her away.
c u n d gulag
If I heard that she, Rodney Dangerfield, or Mel Brooks, was going to be on Carson, I’d fake sleeping, sneak down to the family room at 11:30, and sit by the TV with my ear to the speaker, with my hand over my mouth to suppress my laughter.
Too often, I gave myself away by laughing out loud anyway, hard as I tried not to.
She was awesome!
WAY better than Joan Rivers, who was pretty good herself.
And Lord, do I miss Johnny Carson!
ArchTeryx
And she finished out her career in fine style – doing voice acting gigs for kid’s cartoons, including a fine capstone as the Queen Ant in Pixar’s second movie, A Bug’s Life.
She was as crazy and funny there as in everything else she did. RIP, Phyllis. Keep ’em laughing on the Other Side.
Rich2506
It’s funny, I have a Facebook buddy who comments on Hollywood and pop culture people and happenings. We often remember very different things. He remembered Phyllis Dillers’ voice-work on Scooby-Doo and I remembered her acting in Love, American Style and other comedy shows. He remembered Barbara Stanwyck’s work in a scary film where she overhears an incriminating conversation, I remembered her in a show about burlesque dancers.
donnah
Phyllis Diller was born and raised here in Ohio and they still love her here. I remember her stand-up routines and how she used to wear outrageous caftans with feathery boas, and her hair! Oh, she was delightful. I think of her as Erma Bombeck on crack.
YellowJournalism
@Rich2506: Scoot Doo introduced me to her, but her comedy made me love her.
WereBear
One of those “follow the dream” people who did it for real.
Patricia Kayden
She certainly could laugh at herself. RIP Phyllis.
Dennis SGMM
She not only made us laugh, she also broke the barriers that kept square-peg women out of stand up comedy. RIP
1badbaba3
Fang Dilla; represent!
evap
I, too, loved her as a kid. She once said she always serves chocolate cake for dessert because it doesn’t show the dirt :)
RedKitten
RIP, Phyllis. May that raucous laugh of yours live on for generations.
Is it just me, or does it feel like we’ve lost a lot of sharp, smart, funny women lately?
WereBear
@RedKitten: There’s never enough sharp, smart, funny women, that’s for sure.
Scott S.
That NYTimes obit is really, really excellent — a lot more details about her life than I ever knew…
Elizabelle
Loved Phyllis Diller. Very classy woman who pretended that she was not.
Librarian
William Windom also died yesterday. “My World and Welcome To It” was one of the greatest shows in TV history and one of my favorite shows when I was a kid.
geg6
@Dennis SGMM:
THIS. She was a true trail blazer. There are no current comediennes who don’t owe her a huge debt.
Kathy Griffin did a whole show with Diller on her reality show a few years ago. Diller had invited her over for dinner and drinks and it was just great to watch. Griffin was obviously in awe, but Phyllis put her at ease, they got drunk, and it was wonderful.
RIP, Phyllis. I loved you.
Paul Gottlieb
If someone lives long enough, people tend to forget how fresh and innovative the were when they first hit the scene. Diller was a tremendous pioneer–really the first woman to do true stand up comedy. And she had a wonderful knack of slipping some real truth into her act.
c u n d gulag
@Librarian:
OMG!
Now THAT was a GREAT show!
RIP, sir.
Can you imagine anyone trying to make a show based on Thurber now
Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind at all if someone tried “Far Side” or “Calvin and Hobbes” shows.
PurpleGirl
@Librarian: In his long-term work as Dr. Seth Hazlett in Murder, She Wrote he was the perfect foil for Angela Lansbury. He was Commodore Decker in a Star Trek show The Doomsday Machine. He was a very fine actor who left his mark throughout TV’s history. He did a bunch of Twilight Zones, too.
Amir Khalid
I remember, as a kid, seeing her make guest appearances on TV variety shows of the 1960s and 70s. Liked her that little bit more because of my parents’ prim disapproval of her not exactly ladylike routine. The NYT obit reveals that she, David Hasselhof and I share a birthday — July 17.
PurpleGirl
Phyllis Diller was a joy to hear as a kid — kooky, funny, self-deprecating in a good way.
gbear
I read a very old interview with her this summer and was amazed at how incredibly hard she worked to get recognition and respect for what she did. She was absolutely driven and would taka any job offered to her. If she bombed she never seemed to be humiliated by the situation but took it as a learning experience and just kept improving her skills until she knew how to work with it. She never stopped working hard because she never knew when the work would stop. I was really surprised by the interview because she came off as a very serious person in the best possible way. I’m sad to see she’s gone but she did live her life to the very fullest. RIP.
Villago Delenda Est
@RedKitten:
We still have Betty White and Cloris Leachman.
But Phyllis Diller pioneered women in standup. She was a member of the “rat pack” of comedians back in the 60’s.
Classy, funny, and delightful. Now the other side has her, and their sides are splitting.
Bill in Section 147
@Librarian: Have to add, at the risk of OT, I really did love that show too.
Back on Diller, watched her every chance I got, Mike Douglas Show, Merv Griffin Show, etc. and as a kid Boy did I get a wrong Number was a favorite.
I was delighted to hear her in A Bug’s Life, gave my children a chance to experience her talent without focusing on her age.
Also, she is such an icon that her persona and voice style and laugh are a cartoon cliche…like a black ball with a fuse.
AliceBlue
@moonbat:
Another housekeeping joke: “I had a little grease fire in the kitchen yesterday–in the sink.”
Ncombs
I had the fortunate experience of having Phyllis Diller hit on me last year. Funny lady and sharp as a tack.
gogol's wife
This thread may be over, but I just recalled that every once in a while she would play a classical piece on the harpsichord on a talk show. Am I hallucinating? It was very sweet even if it seemed out of character.
Comrade Mary
She was an accomplished musician, so no, you aren’t hallucinating.
Polish the Guillotines
@c u n d gulag: Nice. Could’ve written it myself.
Also, William Windom — that’s Commodore Matt Decker to Star Trek fans.
What a shame.