Comedian Phyllis Diller Dead at 95
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David Livingston/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Pioneering comedienne Phyllis Diller has died, her manager confirms to ABC News Radio. She was 95.
Diller was known for her appearance as well as for her routines about her “husband,” “Fang,” her signature cigarette holder, her trademark laugh and her many plastic surgeries.
Diller was a 38-year-old mother of five when she started her career as a stand-up comedian. Her first gig was in 1955 at a San Francisco club called The Purple Onion, where she was a hit. That led to a Tonight Show appearance and many TV spots over the years. She co-starred with Bob Hope in more than a dozen TV specials, and also performed with him in Vietnam in 1966; she credited him with much of her success.
In addition, Diller appeared in a number of movies, including The Sunshine Boys, Splendor in the Grass and Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, and appeared on Broadway in Hello Dolly!
Diller’s career continued throughout the decades: she appeared on The Drew Carey Show and Boston Legal, and contributed her distinctive voice to animated TV shows and movies like A Bug’s Life, Family Guy and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
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