Phyllis Diller.

Phyllis Ada Driver was born on July 17, 1917 in Lima, Ohio to Perry Marcus and Frances Ada Romshe Driver. Attending Lima Central High School, she then studied piano for three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory in Chicago before transferring to Bluffton College, where she edited the school’s humorous newspaper articles. At age 22, she married Sherwood Anderson Diller in November 1939 and had six children, one of whom died in infancy.

During World War II, the family moved to Michigan where Sherwood worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant. She began writing one-liners about household life, which she shared with fellow wives. After the war, the family relocated to California, where she took a job as a secretary at a San Francisco television station. Encouraged by local TV hosts, she built the courage to create a nightclub act.

In March 1955, Diller made her professional debut at San Francisco’s Purple Onion nightclub at age 37, a two-week engagement that stretched to over eighteen months. She then appeared on television with Jack Paar, Jack Benny, and Red Skelton. In 1961, she made her film debut in Splendor in the Grass as Texas Guinan and her stage debut in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

She formed a close partnership with Bob Hope, appearing in 23 of his television specials and three films: Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! 1966, Eight on the Lam 1967, and The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell 1968. In 1966, she joined Hope on a USO tour of Vietnam. She also starred in her own TV series: The Pruitts of Southampton 1966, later retitled The Phyllis Diller Show, and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show 1968. She performed on Broadway in Hello, Dolly! and appeared in Wonderful Town, where she met her second husband Warde Donovan.

She voiced characters in animated films including Mad Monster Party? 1967 and A Bug’s Life 1998. She retired from stand-up in 2002 after a heart attack in 1999, but continued voice work until 2007.

She married Sherwood Anderson Diller on November 4, 1939. They had six children: Peter 1940-1998, Sally born 1944, Perry died in infancy, Sue born 1946, Stephanie 1948-2002, and a second Perry born 1950. Her husband Sherwood became the target of her comedy routines as Fang. The couple separated and divorced in 1965.

In 1965, she married singer and television host Warde Donovan; they divorced in 1975. She had a ten-year affair with lawyer Robert Hastings, whom she called the love of her life, until his death on May 23, 1996. Despite her wild stage persona, she was a lifelong nonsmoker; the cigarette holder was a prop.

Phyllis Diller opened doors for female comedians like Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television on January 15, 1975, at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard. Other honors include the Lucy Award, the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, and a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame 1993.

Her autobiography Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse 2005 details her life. She died of heart failure on August 20, 2012 in her Brentwood home at age 95. She is remembered for her self-deprecating humor, her trademark cigarette holder, and proving that a housewife could become a comedy legend.