PHYLLIS DILLER - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/16/1998 - HFSID 270125

PHYLLIS DILLER
The comedienne "Catches Up" with Lucie Arnaz
Typed Letter Signed: "Phyllis", 1 page, 8½x11. No place, 1998 September 16. Draft of a letter to Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Typed on verso of a photocopied 1995 letter from the Fund for Senior Services. Begins: "Dear sweet Lucie". In full: "It was such a pleasure hearing from you. You are right; we have a great deal of catching up to do. I met Warde in WONDERFUL TOWN when he played the editor; 1960. Married him in 1965. Remember when we were teamed at the Laughlins for doubles, missing every shot, and you claimed it was because you were head-over-heels in love with Luckinbill. We could devote at least 20 minutes to the Laughlin saga. The place now houses its 4th show-biz couple, Marcy Carsey. Built by Pat O'Brian (wife Shirley) - then John Anglund and Cloris Leachman - then the Laughlins (Dolores something) and now the Carseys. Some history isn't it? Jimmy Stewart's home raised (sic, razed), across the street from your family home. O.J.s hovel raised (sic) at the other end (thank god) of my street. Do ;et (sic, let) me know when you're in town and we'll fill this in. You are one beautiful person and I'm so proud of your marriage, life-style, family and grand career. Love". Handwritten postscript: "P.S. - Not to mention Jim Bailey." At upper margin, Diller has written: "Clip Put a copy of my letter - YOUR COPY - of my letter in writing file". At lower margin, Diller has written: "Copy of this in my writing file w/note - To Lucie Arnaz". With completed typed transcript, unsigned, 2p, 8½x11, separate sheets. On stationery imprinted "Phyllis Diller" and picturing a rose. 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). LUCIE ARNAZ (born Lucie Desiree Arnaz in 1951), the daughter of early TV comedy legends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, had married her second husband, stage, screen and television actor LAURENCE LUCKINBILL, in 1980, the year she appeared in The Jazz Singer as Molly Bell and in the made-for-TV movie, The Mating Season, with Luckinbill. The couple, who would have three children, welcomed their first son, Simon, on December 9, 1980. Their other children include another son, Joseph, and a daughter, Katharine. Arnaz had previously (1971-1977) been married to actor Phil Vandervort. Lucie had made her television debut (along with her brother, Desi, Jr.) on the last half-hour I Love Lucy episode in 1957. She had bit parts in her mother's subsequent The Lucy Show (beginning in 1963), and played full supporting parts in Here's Lucy (1968-1974). Making her Broadway debut in 1978, Arnaz won the Theatre World Award that year for her performance in They're Playing Our Song. She has also starred in several feature films, including Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), in two of her own TV series, The Lucie Arnaz Show (1985) and Sons and Daughters (1991), and in made-for-TV movies, including the acclaimed Who is the Black Dahlia? (1976), and she has made guest appearances on numerous TV shows and series.Lightly creased with folds, lower horizontal fold at the descender of the "y" in Phyllis. Stray ink blot at lower right margin. Fine condition.