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Quick Facts
- NAME: Phyllis Diller
- OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Comedian, Pianist
- BIRTH DATE: July 17, 1917
- DEATH DATE: August 20, 2012
- EDUCATION: Chicago's Sherwood Music Conservatory
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Lima, Ohio
- PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
- Originally: Phyllis Ada Driver
- AKA: Dame Illya Pillya
- AKA: Phyllis Diller
Best Known For
First noticed as a contestant on Groucho Marx's game show in 1955, Phyllis Diller went on to become a successful comedian, actress and author.
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Beverley Mitchell, Mark Curry, Donovan Leitch, Phyllis Diller - Preview (Celebrity Ghost Stories) (1:43)
Phyllis Diller - A Lady Ghost
Phyllis Diller comes face to face with the ghost of her childhood muse.
Beverley Mitchell, Mark Curry, Donovan Leitch, Phyllis Diller - Preview
Beverley Mitchell uncovers the evil past of an abandoned insane asylum. Mark Curry awakens an angry spirit. Donovan Leitch unearths an uninvited guest. Phyllis Diller comes face to face with the ghost of her childhood muse.
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Play NowPhyllis Diller. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:09, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308.
Phyllis Diller. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308 [Accessed 23 May 2013].
"Phyllis Diller." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 09:09 http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308.
"Phyllis Diller," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308 [accessed May 23, 2013].
"Phyllis Diller," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308 (accessed May 23, 2013).
Phyllis Diller [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308.
Phyllis Diller, http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308 (last visited May 23, 2013).
Phyllis Diller. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/phyllis-diller-9542308. Accessed May 23, 2013.
In the late 1960s, Diller focused her creative efforts toward television. She created two poorly received television series: the sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton in 1966, and the variety show The Phyllis Diller Show two years later, in 1968.
In addition to her comedic talents, Diller could boast that she was both an accomplished concert pianist and author. Over a 10-year period, from 1972 to 1982,
under the pseudonym "Dame Illya Pillya," Diller performed as a solo pianist throughout America, with more than 100 symphony orchestras. She published five best-selling books throughout her career, including 1963's Phyllis Diller Tells All About Fang, 1966's Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1967's Phyllis Diller's Marriage Manual, 1969's The Complete Mother and 1981's The Joys of Aging and How to Avoid Them.
In 1992, Diller received the American Comedy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Diller died on August 20, 2012, at her home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, where she had briefly served as honorary mayor. She was 95 years old, and was survived by three children and several grandchildren. According to an Associated Press article, Diller's longtime manager, Milton Suchin, said that Diller "died peacefully in her sleep, and with a smile on her face."
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