JEFFREY BIEGEL - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/22/1993 - HFSID 270400

JEFFREY BIEGEL. ALS: "Jeffrey Biegel", 2p, 8½x11. Valley Stream, New York, 1993 November 22. On his imprinted letterhead to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, Los Angeles, California. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "It was such a pleasure to talk with you recently - I love 'Phyllis' Fugue!' It's so musical and 'contrapuntally cohesive.' Sorry we missed one another during my L.A. concerts, but I hope your performances brought you and your audiences great joy. I missed your L.A. date 11/20 by a few days. It would be great fun to meet you & play for you (as I did for Lucille Ball 5 years ago). If you're ever in New York, please let us know - we live 5 minutes from J.F.K. airport & my Steinway 'B' would enjoy your touch! While in Santa Barbara, the symphony manager, Jim Wright, told me about your fabulous version of Beethoven's First Concerto! - I'd love to hear it. You know, I worked several years ago with Victor Borge, a truly gorgeous pianist (beautiful sound). But because he noticed my ability as a serious artist, he declined to hire me as his sidekick - a wise gesture on his part. We've stayed in touch, however. In closing, I wish you happy holidays, days of laughter & music & Godspeed. Hope to meet you soon! With warmest wishes". Handwritten postscript: "P.S. Enjoy the Leroy Anderson Concerto which has been inactive for nearly 40 years. He also wrote 'Syncopated Clock,' 'Sleigh Ride,' & everything else you've heard but didn't know was an Anderson tune." Biegel gave the New York premier of Leroy Anderson's Concerto in C in 1995 with the New York Pops and also performed the work with the Boston Pops; the piece will be recorded in 2006 with the BBC Concert Orchestra. By 2000, Diller, 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. JEFFREY BIEGEL, considered one of the most versatile pianists on stage today, had made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1992, the year before this letter, and released his debut CD in 1994, the year after this letter. A popular performer with some of the world's leading orchestras, he is known for his electrifying technique, warmth and artistic maturity, and Biegel has often been compared to Van Cliburn and Vladimir Horowitz. He has performed a number of works written especially for him, including Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Also a composer and musical transcriptionist, Biegel has accomplished a number of "firsts" in his career, including the first live Internet recitals in New York and Amsterday (1997 and 1998), enabling him to be heard and seen by a global audience. He has also created over 400 downloadable ring tones (ranging from the Baroque Period through the 21st century) and 60 holiday ringtones for an United Kingdom-based based firm. 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 folds, light vertical fold nicks the "l" of Biegel. Stapled at upper left blank corners. Fine condition.