Monday, August 20, 2012

Phyllis Diller Is Dead at 95

Posted By on Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM


Oh man, that laugh.

From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Phyllis Diller, the housewife turned humorist who aimed some of her sharpest barbs at herself, punctuating her jokes with her trademark cackle, died Monday morning in her Los Angeles home at age 95.

"She died peacefully in her sleep and with a smile on her face," her longtime manager, Milton Suchin, told The Associated Press.

She was a staple of nightclubs and television from the 1950s — when female comics were rare indeed — until her retirement in 2002. Diller built her stand-up act around the persona of the corner-cutting housewife ("I bury a lot of my ironing in the back yard") with bizarre looks, a wardrobe to match (by "Omar of Omaha") and a husband named "Fang."

"I was one of those life-of-the-party types," Diller told The Associated Press in 1965. "You'll find them in every bridge club, at every country club. People invited me to parties only because they knew I would supply some laughs. They still do."

As one of those young folks who was born in the '80s, I've never seen any of her stand-up — most of my knowledge of her comes from the reruns I often watched of The Match Game, as well as her many voice-over appearances she did in her later years. In honor of that, here's the one that sticks out the most in my mind, from when I watched Cartoon Network far too often.

Hope you like your humor dark; this one takes a harsh turn.

Good times.

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