MIRIAM (MRS. JACK) PAAR - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 06/14/2003 - HFSID 270503

MIRIAM PAAR (MRS. JACK PAAR)
ALS: "Miriam", 1 page, 7¼x10½. Greenwich, Connecticut, 2003 June 14. On stationery imprinted "Mrs. Jack Paar" to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis:". In full: "I know that you will not believe this - however, I think of you every day and I'll tell you why! When we first moved into this house, you gave us a tree! We planted it outside a large area just off the sitting area of our kitchen. The sitting area has large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the garden area where 'your' tree is planted! So - you see, there is the memory of you! Incidentally, we enjoy the tree as much as we have always enjoyed and loved you! The health and future of Jack's life is in question. He is hospitalized and I have 'around the clock' nurses for him. He cannot speak or move (except for his left hand). We encourage him to try to help himself however pathetic it is! I go to him every day (will leave after this note) and I take him for rides in a wheelchair. I do believe that he wants his life to end! I will write more later and often - I promise - and in the meantime, send me a few 'lines'!!! My Love". Jack Paar, who had undergone triple bypass heart surgery in 1998, suffered a mild stroke in March 2003. He died seven months 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). Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Fine condition.