NEWSPhyllis Diller, Famous Comedian, Dies at 95
Aug. 20 2012, Published 7:08 a.m. ET
Comic Phyllis Diller passed away at her Los Angeles home today. She was 95.
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Most well-known for her wacky stage antics and thriving stand-up show, Phyllis was discovered in the 50s on a series of shows like Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. After seeing audiences respond so favorably to her antics, Phyllis was then offered her own show, which ran until 1968.
Aside from stand-up, she kept busy filming movies, made a stint on Broadway in Hello, Dolly! and continued to make appearances and cameos on T.V.
Phyllis suffered a heart attack in 1999 and then a series of falls that left her with a broken back and other ailments.
Twitter lit up today with stars remembering the funnywoman and spreading their condolences.
"A true original has died. Phyllis Diller There was NOOne like her, no 1looked like her sounded like her. A FUNNY FUNNY. Classy& Smart RIP," tweeted Whoopi Goldberg.
Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that "we lost a comedy legend today. Phyllis Diller was the queen of the one-liners. She was a pioneer."
Meanwhile, Joan Rivers was "beyond saddened" by her death.
"We were friends - Melissa and I had a wonderful time with her at lunch just a month ago....The only tragedy is that Phyllis Diller was the last from an era that insisted a woman had to look funny in order to be funny."
Larry King, meanwhile, wrote: "I adored Phyllis Diller - she was a great guest, a terrific lady & certainly one of the funniest people ever."
