Phyllis Diller Died

[lvdkeyes]

Phyllis Diller, the veteran TV comedian who made an art of self-deprecation, has died, according to The Associated Press. She was 95.

"The world has lost a true trailblazer, a gracious and kind woman, beloved by all," according to a statement posted at Hollywoodreporter.com and attributed to her manager, Milt Suchin. "She died peacefully in her sleep and with a smile on her face," at 9:30 a.m. Monday at her Los Angeles home, Suchin said.

Diller's career began exactly 50 years ago on radio, but a segue to TV shortly thereafter yielded some classics, notably her frequent appearances on "Laugh-In" and a long association with Bob Hope that yielded nearly two dozen television specials and numerous visits to Vietnam as part of his USO tour.

Diller also had a brief Broadway run in "Hello, Dolly!" in 1969. There was a famed big-screen role, as "Texas" Guinan in 1961's "Splendor in the Grass."

Diller, a native of Lima, Ohio, was a frequent guest of TV variety shows and starred in her own sitcom, "The Pruitts of Southampton," which aired on ABC for one season (1966-67).

She made dozens of cameos on shows like "Love, American Style," "Blossom," "7th Heaven" and "The Bold and the Beautiful." She also voiced characters in the 1998 film "A Bug's Life" and in the TV series "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" and "Family Guy," as Thelma, Peter Griffin's mother.

[Gaybutton]

Around 1970 I saw her live in a road show version of a short-lived Broadway musical comedy called "Hello, Sucker" in which she reprised her role as "Texas" Guinan. There was a scene in which she sits down on a man's lap. It was obvious that she slightly tripped and landed a little too hard on his lap - right where a man doesn't want anybody to land hard. The guy really winced and it was obviously accidental and unintentional - not part of the act. She turned and ad-libbed, "Awwww, did I hurt you honey?" That brought down the house.