MIRIAM (MRS. JACK) PAAR - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 270500

MIRIAM PAAR (MRS. JACK PAAR)
ALS: "Miriam", 2 pages, 6x4½. No place, no date. On inside and back cover of notecard imprinted "Miriam Paar" on front to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Dear Phyllis". In full: "How good of you to send the pictures to us! They are very precious to me and will be placed in Andrew's album. Andrew is our only grandchild. Gosh, Yes!!! How times have changed - but then that was thirty five years ago! And what fun we did have. I wish it could happen all over again however, we do have our memories, don't we? Jack and I miss seeing you very much. Don't you ever come to N.Y.? Please keep in touch with us and thank you again for your kindness. Love". "Paar" written in unknown hand beneath signature. 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). Paperclip impression at blank area on front and inside cover. Fine condition.