MARGARET CHASE SMITH - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/09/1992 - HFSID 270283

MARGARET CHASE SMITH
Letter to her friend, comedienne Phyllis Diller, reminiscing a vacation spent together.
Typed letter signed: "Margaret Chase Smith", 1 page, 7¼x7½. Neil Hill, Skowhegan, Maine, 1992 December 9. On letterhead imprinted with her name to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "You are most thoughtful to remember me, and I deeply appreciate your message. I am fine as far as health is concerned; my eyes are giving me a little problem, but generally speaking, I am doing very well and hope one of these days we can exchange thoughts. I have most pleasant memories of your visit at my home in Skowhegan. You looked so beautiful and were so delightful that I have hoped you would get back again. Thank you for remembering and happy holidays to you. Fondly". 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, light diagonal fold at the upper loop of the "C". Fine condition.