Thursday, August 23, 2012
HEROINE
Not the drug. The woman.
Phyllis Diller, Sassy Comedian, Dies at 95
I don't want you to think I only collect heroes (men I admire who live to be 90+).
Diller has been a companion through life. There were some years when I missed out on the old girl but there was always the memory which could be conjured very quickly. I thought she was hilarious.
I only saw her work clean. Television. I can only imagine her being blue.
It was all one liners and, while she wrote her own stuff, she hired some writers who had the format down and the rhythm she used to keep it going. She modeled her act on Bob Hope. The one liner, then a followup, then a build up to a grand finale on the same theme.
She was a good looking woman and fit as a fiddle most of her life. She had to use costumes and hair to make her look as freaky as she needed to be to support the laughs.
I admire anyone whose business is to make people laugh. Some more than others. Today, only Louis Black comes to mind. Same deal. One liners, buildup. Black is gloriously blue.
