QUEEN OF THE CACKLE: Phyllis Diller wasn't the first female standup comedian, explained Gerald Nachman in Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, but she was the first to make it respectable, "to drag female comedy out of the gay bars, back rooms, and low end resorts and go toe-to-toe with her male counterparts in prime clubs." As to her pissed-off, self-deprecating housewife shtick, she once said that "I was saying all the things women were thinking but not saying," and her 50,000+ index cards of jokes are part of the Smithsonian collection.
She passed away today at the age of 95, and they don't make legends quite like that anymore. Here she is on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1969.
Damn right they don't make legends like that anymore. What an amazing career, in terms of both longevity and influence. I love her section of The Aristocrats.
ReplyDeleteShe was a hero to my mother's generation. I can still recall as a kid taking her books off the shelves at my house and my aunt's. I read them, not quite understanding, of course, but recognizing her irreverence and the idea that "grownup things" were quite different from my world. And very funny.
Here is a Phyllis Diller story that is family lore. One of my uncles used to manage a supper club in suburban Chicago. One night when many of my relatives were having dinner, a member brought Ms. Diller as a guest. The whole evening my family watched people approach her table to give their appreciation and to ask for an autograph. She was extremely gracious, never giving the impression that she was in any way annoyed at this imposition. One of my aunts rummaged through her purse for a pen and asked another aunt for a piece of paper. The first aunt scribbled something on the sheet, got up, and headed for the celebrity table. My other relatives were mystified until she got there, looked directly into Ms. Diller's eyes, handed her the scrap of paper, and said, "Hi, I'm Sue Arnold and I thought you might want MY autograph." After a momentary pause, my aunt was treated to one of Phyllis Diller's famous laughs. I love that story and the gracious woman it is about.
ReplyDeleteNothing like some bad Phyllis Diller/Bob Hope 60s comedies on TV to get you through a rainy afternoon.
ReplyDeleteYour aunt sounds like a pretty awesome woman too! Great story.
ReplyDeleteYour aunt sounds like a pretty awesome woman too! Great story.
ReplyDeleteMy dad represented her in a small matter -- she has stationery that says "Phyllis Diller is a Funny Lady."
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much I love this.
ReplyDeleteI believe the key word here is "gracious". I think certain performers of that era knew that their fame and the money was earned and that they weren't entitled to anything in any way.