CHARLES "BUDDY" ROGERS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 270271

CHARLES "BUDDY" ROGERS
Rogers writes a letter to actress Phyllis Diller asking her to join them for dinner at Les Dames Dinner
Autograph Letter signed: "Buddy & Beverly" by Buddy Rogers, 1 page, 6¼x4¼. No place, no date. On blue bordered card imprinted "Chas. Buddy Rogers" to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "Please be our guest at Les Dames Dinner. Hope you aren't busy - we will have much more fun if you join us! You can bring an escort of your choice. We love you". CHARLES "BUDDY" ROGERS (1904-1999) played with a California-based swing band in the 1930s, but was better known for his films. He debuted in the silent film Wings (1927), which won the first-ever Oscar as best picture. That same year the actor who would be known at the peak of his popularity as "America's Boyfriend" was paired with "America's Sweetheart", Mary Pickford, in My Best Girl. In 1937, Rogers became Pickford's third and last husband. In later years he would often act as spokesman for his increasingly reclusive wife. Rogers' other films include Abie's Irish Rose (1928), Young Eagles (1930), Golden Hoofs (1941) and his last starring role, An Innocent Affair (1948). Comedienne PHYLLIS DILLER (1917-2012), known for her outrageous appearance, zany outfits, distinctive laugh and a stand-up act that featured frequent references to her fictional husband, "Fang", and zingers about her sex appeal and numerous plastic surgeries, got her big break in March 1955 (at age 37), when she debuted at San Francisco's Purple Onion club. A subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar launched her national career, which got a big boost after Bob Hope saw Diller in a Washington, D.C. club. A favorite of the comedian, Diller would appear in three of Hope's films and 23 of his TV specials. Diller, who recorded her first comedy record album in 1959, took her groundbreaking "funny hausfrau" act to nightclubs and television variety shows and specials and she also appeared on the big screen. Her feature film credits include Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Fat Spy (1966), Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), The Sunshine Boys (1975) and The Silence of the Hams (1994), and she provided the voice of the Queen in A Bug's Life (1998). By 2000, the comedienne, who had trained as a concert pianist before her marriage (1939-1965) to Sherwood Anderson Diller, had appeared as a piano soloist with 100 symphony orchestras across the U.S. Despite retiring from nightclub/stage tours in May 2002 at the age of 84, Diller continued to make films (Motorcross Kids, 2004; Forget About It, 2005) and occasionally appear on TV programs, including two episodes of 7th Heaven (2002, 2003) and a guest shot on The Wayne Brady Show (2004). Fine condition.