CLIFTON DANIEL - LETTER UNSIGNED 12/03/1981 - HFSID 270612

[CLIFTON DANIEL]
Unsigned photocopied typed letter with reproduced signature of Clifton Daniel talking about a book that he is compiling of items from Phyllis Diller.
Photocopied Typed Letter with reproduced signature of "Clifton Daniel", 1 page, 7¼x10½. New York, New York, 1981 December 3. On his imprinted letterhead to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "Margaret and I take great delight in the post-cards we receive from you, and they lead me to make a suggestion for a book. I even have a title for it. The book would be called 'Phyllis Diller's Post-Cards,' with an introduction by Margaret Truman. I would offer my services to this project in helping to write the introduction. I envision a thin book, intended for the summer or Christmas trade, with split pages. The pages would be divided into two or three sections. On the front of each section of a page would be a color photograph and on the back of the section would be a color reproduction of the message, the name and address, the postmark and the stamp on the back of the post-card. Margaret and I have kept only two of your recent cards, but there must be somebody who has a fairly full collection of them. If not, I am sure you could soon make a new collection. I think the book could be hilarious. The introduction would tell how you came to start this post-card hobby, how you find the cards, how you make up the comments on the back of them, to whom you send them and so on. The introduction should obviously be light and breezy and funny, as well as highly appreciative of you and your talents both on the stage and at the post-card rack. For the benefit of those few dozen readers who will not have seen or heard you on television or elsewhere, the introduction would include a brief biography or perhaps an autobiography salted and peppered with your own observations about your career and yourself. If this idea appeals to you, may I suggest that you pass it on to your agent and see what happens? Sincerely". Lightly creased. Staple holes at upper left corner, usual black marks from photocopying at lower margin. Accompanied by photocopied Typed Letter, unsigned, 1 page, 8½x11. No place, 1981 December 9. On "Phyllis Diller" letterhead to Mr. Clifton Daniel, New York, New York. Begins: "Dear Clifton". In full: "Lots of people think this should be done, regarding publishing the cards. But you're the only one who has come up with a working idea. I have sent a copy of your letter to my publisher, DOUBLEDAY. My editor is Ferris Mack. Another copy has gone to my manager, Milt Suchin in Los Angeles. I'm all for it. And I thank you. Love". Lightly creased. Staple holes at upper left corner, usual black marks from photocopying at blank areas. Ink note (unknown hand) at lower margin. We could find no record of this proposed book being published, although Diller was the author of several humorous books. She is known for sending postcards with hilarious captions to a long list of friends. Reporter CLIFTON DANIEL (1912-2000) married MARGARET TRUMAN, the only daughter of President Harry S Truman, on April 21, 1956. The couple, who was married for almost 43 years at the time of his death on February 20, 2000 at the age of 87, had four sons. One of them, Clifton Truman Daniel (born in 1957) serves on the Board of Directors of the Harry S Truman Library Institute. The elder Daniel was later an editor for the "New York Times". 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). Two items.