Phyllis Diller

• Birthplace: Lima, Ohio
• Birthday: July 17, 1917

A groundbreaking pioneer in American comedy, comedienne Phyllis Diller represented the face of the female stand-up comic for a generation of baby-boomers. Predating Roseanne Barr’s seminal “Domestic Goddess” shtick by more than two decades, Phyllis Diller shot to stardom playing a semi-autobiographical alter ego of herself in the mid 1950’s. Her signature character – an eccentric, strangely attired housewife with a homely kisser and a head of frazzled hair became a national sensation. Essentially an ugly duckling who did not seem to r…more