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Phyllis Diller (born July 17, 1917) is a Golden Globe-nominated American comedienne considered to be one of the pioneers of female stand-up comedy. She created a stage character persona that was a wild-haired, eccentrically-dressed housewife who made jokes about a fictional husband named "Fang" while smoking from a long cigarette holder. Another distinct characteristic is her cackling laugh, one of the best-recognized in comedy. Diller is given credit for opening the doors for the stand-up comedy field to women such as Rita Rudner, Totie Fields, Joan Rivers, Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Joy Behar, Rosie O`Donnell and Roseanne Barr.[1]

Early life
Diller was born on July 17, 1917[2], to Perry Marcus Driver and Frances Ada Romshe, in Lima, Ohio. She attended Lima Central High School, then studied for three years at Sherwood Music Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois. She then transferred to Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, where she met fellow "Lima-ite" and classmate, Hugh Downs. They later joked about some of their past antics on some of his television shows.[citation needed]

Diller was a housewife, mother, and advertising copywriter. In the mid-1950s, she made appearances on The Jack Paar Show and was a contestant on Groucho Marx`s quiz show, You Bet Your Life. Later in the decade, her career took off after sold out San Francisco`s legendary nightclub, The Purple Onion, for 87 straight weeks. This is where she cultivated her talent and perfected her act. In her heyday, Diller achieved a record twelve laughs per minute, a record that still stands today in the Guinness Book of World Records.[citation needed]

Although she has made her career in comedy, Diller studied as a serious piano student for many years. She later decided against a career in music after hearing her teachers and mentors play with much more talent than she thought she`d be able to achieve. She still plays in her private life, however, and owns a custom-made harpsichord which she prizes.


[edit] Career
Residing in the East Bay city of Alameda, California, near the Naval Airbase, Diller began her career as a stand up at San Francisco`s famed "Purple Onion" club. Her one weekend booking was extended to several months. Diller`s fame was expanded when she co-starred with Bob Hope in 23 TV specials and three films in the 1960s: Eight on the Lam, The Private Navy of Sgt. O`Farrell, and Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!. All of these films were failures at the box office, but Hope invited Diller to perform with him in Vietnam in 1966 with his USO troupe during the height of the conflict in that country.

Diller seemed to be everywhere in pop culture in the 1960s. She appeared regularly as a special guest on many television programs during that decade. For example, she did a stint as one of the What`s My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV program. The blindfolded panel on that evening`s broadcast included Sammy Davis, Jr., and they were able to discern Diller`s identity by way of her distinctive laugh in just three guesses. Also, Diller made regular cameo appearances making her trademark brief & pithy wisecracks on Rowan and Martin`s Laugh-In. Self-deprecating to a fault, a typical Diller joke had her running after a garbage truck pulling away from her curb. "Am I too late?" she`d yell. The driver`s reply: "No, jump right in!"

Though her main claim to fame is her stand-up comedy act, Diller also has appeared in o