HOWARD P. HOUSE - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/22/1980 - HFSID 270491

HOWARD P. HOUSE
TLS: "Howard", 1 page, 6x8. Los Angeles, California, 1980 December 22. On sheet imprinted with his name to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, Los Angeles, California. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "It was so nice to receive your card of the ship and a new way to dry my sheets! I was most pleased to receive your invitation to your Open House and will look forward to being there. Your lovely Christmas card was also received and I appreciate so much the sentiments it conveyed. I would like to take this opportunity to wish for you many healthy and happy new years and lots more of the good life. It is indeed a privilege for me to be counted as one of your many, many admiring friends. Sincerely yours". With original typed, metered mailing envelope. Stamped "'So All may hear'/Support/Ear Research/Institute" on front, imprinted return address and ink note (unknown hand) on back flap. HOWARD P. HOUSE (1908-2003), who had been a doctor in Los Angeles as early as 1930, was a talented and renowned otologist who founded the House Ear Institute, a private non-profit hearing research and educational facility, in Los Angeles in 1946. The Institute, which began as a one-person office, now occupies a five story building and employs 180 staff members. Under House's leadership, the Institute led the way in defining and treating hearing and balance disorders, improving medical and surgical procedures and developing prosthetic devices. 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 fold, not at signature. Light paperclip impression at upper margin. Fine condition.