Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller died today in her Los Angeles home. She was 95 years old.
Diller worked in TV and radio a little before starting a career as a stand-up in 1955, when she booked a gig at the famous Purple Onion that lasted 87 weeks. By the 1960s, Diller had become a star by appearing in 23 TV specials with Bob Hope and performing with him during USO tours. She was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh In and continued to perform comedy and make both television and film appearances on and off for the entirety of her career.
Known for her loud, signature laugh and outlandish personality, Diller helped pave the way for generations of female comics by finding success without compromising herself.
TMZ, who broke the story of Diller's passing, reports that the comedian had recently suffered a fall that injured her wrist and her hip, but that those injuries did not play a part in her death. Diller has been in hospice care at her home in L.A. Reports are that she died in her sleep, in the company of her family.
Everyone should have a life as long and as full as Phyllis Diller's. Let's say goodbye to one of the greats.
Photo by The Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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