Groundbreaking comedian Phyllis Diller died at her L.A. home surrounded by family at 95, TMZ is reporting . She had recently fallen, injuring her wrist and hip and her health had been deteriorating since the incident. Diller received a pacemaker following a 1999 heart attack. She began her long career in 1952, rising to fame with her television specials, starring with Bob Hope in the 1960s. Her signature laugh became a staple of her various appearances. In 1998, Diller provided the voice for the queen in Disney/Pixar’s animated movie A Bug’s Life and in 2005, she was one of the contemporary comics featured in the indie box office hit documentary The Aristocrats (2005). But she’ll be most remembered for her onstage persona. Diller typically combined her wild-hairdos and act as an eccentric housewife as a backdrop to self-deprecating jokes about her age and appearance, terrible cooking, and a husband named “Fang.” She also would don a cigarette she’d pretend to smoke from a long holder. In 2005, she wrote her autobiography titled Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse / A screenplay based on her early years as a stand-up is in pre-production with Patricia Clarkson slated to play Diller, according to Wikipedia. Diller was born Phyllis Ada Driver in Lima, Ohio on July 17, 1917. [ Sources: TMZ , Wikipedia ]
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Comedian Phyllis Diller Dead At 95
