HELEN GURLEY BROWN - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/30/1996 - HFSID 270155

HELEN GURLEY BROWN
She thanks actress Phyllis Diller, a close friend, for a Christmas Card. Dated in 1996.
Typed letter signed: "Helen" as Editor, 1 page, 7¼x10½. New York, New York, 1996 December 30. On letterhead of "Cosmopolitan" to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, Los Angeles, California. Begins: "Phyllis dear". In full: "Every weekday I gaze at my Phyllis Diller frame which holds a picture of David Brown on the set of JAWS...it's his best photograph (I have it at the office) and the frame is worthy, as benefits its generous bestower. Phyllis, David and I don't send Christmas cards - it's a miracle we get any - but I'm glad one of the 'miracles' is from you. Please have the happiest next year and much love from us both." DAVID BROWN (1916-2010) was the movie producer to whom Helen had been married since September 25, 1959. He produced Jaws in 1975 and Jaws 2 in 1978. The bestselling author of Sex and the Single Girl (1962), HELEN GURLEY BROWN (1922-2012) took the helm of "Cosmopolitan" magazine in 1965 and created the "Cosmo Girl". During her 32-year tenure as Editor in Chief, the magazine introduced the male centerfold and greatly influenced ideas about women's independence and sexual freedom. 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). Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Light type transference at lower margin. Fine condition.