MIRIAM (MRS. JACK) PAAR - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/07/1981 - HFSID 270504

MIRIAM PAAR (MRS. JACK PAAR)
ALS: "Miriam", 1 page, 7¼x10½. New Canaan, Connecticut, 1981 July 7. On her monogrammed stationery to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis:". In full: "We received presents today!!! Your wonderful package and good letter arrived. The guest towels are absolutely exquisite. The trouble is that nothing in my house goes with them - they are too elegant -- and the book - I shall settle down tonight with it and have a goodly number of laughs, I am sure. You say the nicest things in your letter. Let us do it all soon again. Jack and I thank you for the gifts and that Heavenly Godiva chocolate. Much Love". Handwritten postscript: "P.S. We loved Don - a great chap!!!" Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. Paperclip rust stains on verso (minor show-through). Fine condition. Accompanied by original mailing envelope, 7½x4. 15-cent Oliver Wendell Holmes and 3-cent To Cast a Ballot stamps affixed, postmarked Stamford, Connecticut, July 7, 1981. Addressed by Mrs. Paar to: "Phyllis Diller, 163 So. Rockingham Ave, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049". Embossed "Long Barn/Lost District/New Canaan Connecticut 06840" return address on flap on verso, which has ink postal markings at upper portion and light paper clip rust stain at lower left margin. Ink smudged at the "es" of Angeles, ink smeared at postmark. Receipt stamp and "A" label on front. Overall, fine condition. 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.