JAYNE MEADOWS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED CIRCA 2/1996 - HFSID 270128

JAYNE MEADOWS
The actress thanks Phyllis Diller for condolences upon the death of her sister, actress Audrey Meadows
Autograph Letter Signed: "Jayne", 1p, 6¼x½. No place, no date, but circa February 1996. On inside portion of note card featuring a photograph by A.J. Sheldon on front. ©1994, A.J.S. Productions. To comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Phyllis Dear". In full: "Many belated thanks for your kind words of sympathy. I am comforted by all the out-pouring of love by our pals plus the fact that I was with my dear sister to the end. We had always been so close. Steve had a great time at your party in Florida. I'm sorry I missed it. Much love". Meadows' sister, actress Audrey Meadows (1922-1996) died of lung cancer on February 3, 1996. Reportedly, her last word was "Jayne". Jayne sped to Audrey's bedside and took her younger sister's hand in hers. Audrey squeezed it and slipped into a coma, from which she never recovered. The two sisters, born in China to missionaries, had been extremely close, even giving each other nicknames (Audrey was Sara, Jayne was Elinor). Jayne was also responsible for Audrey going into show business (her younger sister was best known for playing Alice Kramden on "The Honeymooners"). Stage and screen actress Jayne Meadows (1919-2015) began her film career in the mid-1940s as a contract player at MGM. She excelled as cold-blooded "other women", vitriolic divorcees and neurotic murderesses. One popular screen role was as the double- and triple-crossing Mildred Haveland in Lady in the Lake (1946). Meadows has appeared on dozens of variety programs and game shows. Her film credits include Casino (1995) and The Player (1992). Over the course of her career, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards in three different decades. She married multitalented comedian, actor, author and songwriter Steve Allen (1921-2000) in 1954. The two made guest appearances as a couple in a few different television productions until his death. Her sister was fellow actress Audrey Meadows (1922-1996). 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). Slightly creased. Minor surface scratches on cover photograph. Otherwise, fine condition.