PHYLLIS DILLER - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH 1984 - HFSID 36473

PHYLLIS DILLER
Black and white publicity photograph shown wearing a clown outfit.
Photograph signed: "Phyllis/Diller/1984". B/w, 8x10 overall, image 6½x9¼ (one surface). In the year she signed this photograph, Diller appeared in a Bob Hope special, Unrehearsed Antics of the Stars, and in archival footage on the specials The Great Standups and TV's Funniest Gameshow Moments (Diller had received her first national exposure on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life and appeared on What's My Line? in 1953). 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). Slightly soiled at blank margins. Fine condition.