MIRIAM (MRS. JACK) PAAR - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 05/23/2003 - HFSID 270502

MIRIAM PAAR (MRS. JACK PAAR)
ALS: "Miriam", 2 pages, 5¾x4½. Greenwich, Connecticut, 2003 May 23. On inside and back cover of monogrammed notecard to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis:". In full: "Just to read your card made me 'giggle' and you can 'Bet Your Boots' that I will have champagne tonight and imagine you beside me telling that filthy story! You are dear to have me in your thoughts! I just returned from being with Jack (he fell asleep). I do believe that he will never speak or walk again! He seems to take his condition calmly (however, he has no choice) and it is so sad to see him so helpless. I spend most of every day with him. I shall call you soon and we will have a talk (However, I usually end up in tears!) Love". Fine condition. Accompanied by original mailing envelope, 6x4½. 37-cent flag stamp affixed, postmarked Stamford, Connecticut, May 23, 2003. Addressed by Mrs. Paar to: "M/S Phyllis Diller, 163 South Rockingham, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049-2513". Embossed return address on verso, which has identifying ink note (unknown hand) at lower margin. Slightly creased, lightly soiled. Fine condition. Jack Paar, who had undergone triple bypass heart surgery in 1998, suffered a mild stroke in March 2003. He died eight months and four days after his wife wrote this letter. MIRIAM PAAR, the former Miriam Wagner, was Jack Paar's second wife. The couple, who were married from 1943 until his death on January 27, 2004, had one daughter, Randy. Jack Paar had begun hosting The Tonight Show in 1957. Renamed The Jack Paar Show in 1958, it became The Jack Paar Program in 1962 (1962-1965). 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). Two items.