RICHARD LEWIS - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED CIRCA 2004 CO-SIGNED BY: PHYLLIS DILLER - HFSID 270622

RICHARD LEWIS and PHYLLIS DILLER
Richard Lewis writes to Phyllis Diller on a press release.
Autograph Note Signed: "Prince", 1 page, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California, circa 2004 April-May. Written at upper portion of a press release from DoubleVision Gallery to comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller. Begins: "Phyllis". In full: "Oh Great Queen! This is my pal - and sooooo great. xx". The press release, in part: "DoubleVision Gallery is very proud to present the first solo exhibition in Los Angeles for New York artist Carl N. Titolo from April 3 to May 9, 2004...Titolo has a very long and established career as an artist and art educator in New York...The paintings, drawings and collages shown in his debut exhibition in LA feature his fascination, exploration and celebration of Italy and its culture...." At lower margin, Diller has written: "from Richard Lewis - Prince of Pain". Comedian and actor RICHARD LEWIS (1947-2024), a former advertising copy writer, won critical acclaim for his 1985 special, The Richard Lewis 'I'm in Pain' Concert. Lewis, who had been performing his own jokes since 1971, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1974, and he has been a fixture on the talk show circuit ever since. He has also been a guest star on a long list of TV shows, including recurring appearances as himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to those appearances, he has been a regular in five TV series, Harry (1987), Anything But Love (1989-1992), Daddy  Dearest (1993), Hiller and Diller (1997, ironically, Lewis played Neil Diller) and Rude Awakening (1998). His film credits include The Wrong Guys (1988), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Game Day (1999) and Cinderella Man (2005) as well as several made-for-TV movies. 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, mid-vertical crease at one word of Lewis' writing and between two letters of Diller's writing. Fine condition.