MARGARET CHASE SMITH - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 08/16/1980 - HFSID 270286

MARGARET CHASE SMITH
TLS: "Margaret Smith", 1 page, 5¾x7¾. Skowhegan, Maine, 1980 August 16. On letterhead imprinted with her name to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, Los Angeles, California. Begins: "Dear Phyllis Diller". In full: "By this time you must be back at your lovely home which must be a welcome change from your tour with its many, many Diller worshippers. I personally feel most grateful that you would find the time to drop in to see me as I am one of those fans. There were so many things I would have liked talking with you about but it did not seem the time that afternoon, your talents, your many experiences and the many changes since that night of the Steve Allen show about which I was thrilled. I do hope you will get back here again and that both of us will have more time of our own. Until then, my many thanks, my best wishes for good health and your continued willingness to entertain us." With original typed, stamped envelope. Republican MARGARET CHASE SMITH (1897-1995) was Maine's U.S. Representative (1940-1949) and U.S. Senator (1949-1973) and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican Party Presidential nomination (1964, when she became the first woman nominated at a major party's convention). A visiting professor for the Woodrow Wilson National Scholarship Foundation (1973-1976), Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989. 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. Two light paperclip impressions and stains at upper margin. Fine condition.