FLORENCE HENDERSON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/23/1996 - HFSID 270217

FLORENCE HENDERSON
TLS: "Florence", 1 page, 6¼x9. No place, 1996 February 23. On sheet imprinted with her name to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "It meant so much to me that you came to share my 'star' day. Thank you for your presence, for your dear words and for adding your special touch to make it a day I won't forget. God Bless and Love". Handwritten postscript: "P.S. Tell that darling Bob Hastings how much I appreciated his dear letter & I send him a big hug!" Henderson's star (located at 7070 Hollywood Boulevard) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was unveiled in 1996. That year, Henderson would appear on The Rosie O'Donnell show, on 'Weird Al' Yankovic: (There's No) Going Home (as herself) and on two videos, 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Videos and Bad Hair Day: The Videos (as Amish Paradise in both). The previous year, she had been seen as Grandma in The Brady Bunch Movie, an updated film version of the TV series. FLORENCE HENDERSON (born in 1934), a multi-talented singer, dancer and actress, is best known for her role as Carol Brady in the TV series, The Brady Bunch (1969-1974), and subsequent Brady TV shows and made-for-TV movies. Henderson, who was a Today girl from 1959-1960, was the first woman to host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and she would later co-host the short-lived spinoff series, Later Today (1999-2000). A successful star of Broadway musicals, she has appeared in several feature films, including Song of Norway (1970), and has appeared as a guest on dozens of TV series, game shows and variety programs. 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). 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). Lightly creased with fold. Light horizontal fold touches two lines of postscript (all legible). Fine condition.