Phyllis Diller: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Phyllis Diller turned a suburban Ohio housewife's desperation into machine-gun one-liners, hitting San Francisco's Purple Onion in 1955 at age 37 and inventing a template for the American female stand-up. This mix traces the vaudeville and radio comics she studied, the self-help book she credited with pushing her onstage, her Bay Area scene-mates, and the women who inherited her cackle.

The Kynda mix for Phyllis Diller

• Key Influence · The Jack Benny Program by Jack Benny (1950). Diller built her act on radio-era timing, and Benny was the master of the self-deprecating persona — the vain cheapskate whose jokes all land on himself. Diller's routine ran the same trick with gender flipped: the ugly wife, the failed cook, Fang the useless husband. Benny's pauses and Rochester-style running characters gave her the architecture of a recurring comic family long before she filled clubs.
• Influencia Obscura · The Jean Carroll Show by Jean Carroll (1953). Before Diller there was Jean Carroll, the Bronx-raised vaudevillian who did stand-up in a cocktail dress on Ed Sullivan, joking about her husband and daughter without a costume gimmick. She is the missing link almost nobody names: a woman telling first-person marriage jokes to a mainstream audience in the early fifties. Diller's Fang routines run on the same domestic grievance engine.
• Local Roots · The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce by Lenny Bruce (1959). Diller's break came at Enrico Banducci's Purple Onion in North Beach in 1955, the hub of San Francisco's new comedy — the same small circuit of basement rooms and the hungry i that made Bruce a name. The Bay Area's tolerance for unpolished, personal, non-joke-book material is exactly what let a 37-year-old mother of five walk on with no vaudeville pedigree and stay for 89 weeks.
• Beyond the Medium · The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol (1948). Diller repeatedly credited this book of positive-thinking exercises with giving a broke Alameda housewife the nerve to try stand-up at 37; she handed copies out for decades. Its visualization drills shaped both her onstage self-invention and her relentless work ethic. A mail-order metaphysics manual is an unlikely source text for one of comedy's hardest joke-writers, and it is the real one.
• Peer · The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters by Jonathan Winters (1960). Another Ohioan who broke nationally at the same moment through club dates, LPs and variety television, Winters shared Diller's character-driven, high-velocity approach and her habit of building a whole populated world out of voices and faces. They circulated through the same Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan bookings, the era's proving ground where an act had six minutes to register with the whole country.
• From the Canon · Phyllis Diller Laughs by Phyllis Diller (1961). Her debut LP, cut live for Verve, is the act at its rawest and fastest — Fang, the mother-in-law Moby Dick, the housekeeping catastrophes, punctuated by the cackle she engineered as a way to cover audience laughter. It documents the Purple Onion material that took her from Alameda housewife to national name, and shows how tightly written the apparent chaos actually was.
• Key Collaborator · Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! by Bob Hope (1966). Hope became Diller's crucial patron, casting her in three features and taking her on USO tours to Vietnam. His rapid-fire monologue style and stable of staff writers were the model for her own joke-file industry, and his endorsement carried her from nightclubs into film and network variety. This comedy pairs them directly, with Diller as the housekeeper stealing scenes from the star.
• Legacy · What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? by Joan Rivers (1983). Rivers named Diller as the woman who proved it could be done, and inherited the whole toolkit: self-mockery about looks, the miserable-marriage running character, punchlines fired without pause. Where Diller hid behind a wig, Rivers dropped the costume and kept the aggression. Their long mutual regard, and Rivers's public acknowledgment of the debt, make this the clearest line of descent in American comedy.

What influenced Phyllis Diller

• Milton Berle. Diller's early comedic influences named. “I had never seen anything, except in what had seen on the days of early television, in black and white, like Milton Berle, Morey Amsterdam, Art Carney; all men.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• The Lockhorns. Diller's 'Fang' character drew from The Lockhorns comic strip. “Diller herself was influenced by comedy books and appropriated from sources like The Lockhorns .” (Wikipedia)
• Jonathan Winters. Diller's early comedic influences named. (also via The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters) “Sid Caesar , Milton Berle and Jonathan Winters were early influences” (Wikipedia)
• Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti. Diller's early comedy routine included a direct parody of Menotti's opera. “I did a parody of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Gian Carlo Menotti and in my version her son had lost all his marbles.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• Sid Caesar. Diller's early comedic influences named. “Sid Caesar , Milton Berle and Jonathan Winters were early influences” (Wikipedia)
• Morey Amsterdam. Diller cites Morey Amsterdam as one of the early TV comics she'd seen before developing her own act. “I had never seen anything, except in what had seen on the days of early television, in black and white, like Milton Berle, Morey Amsterdam, Art Carney; all men.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• You Bet Your Life by Groucho Marx (1950). You Bet Your Life (Groucho Marx) — titan for Phyllis Diller “It was like—'Get a stick and kill it before it multiplies!'" Her first national television appearance was as a contestant on Groucho Marx's quiz show You Bet Your Life in 1958.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Art Carney. Diller cites Art Carney as one of the early TV comics she'd seen before developing her own act. “I had never seen anything, except in what had seen on the days of early television, in black and white, like Milton Berle, Morey Amsterdam, Art Carney; all men.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• The Jack Benny Program by Jack Benny (1950). The Jack Benny Program (Jack Benny) — titan for Phyllis Diller (themoviedb.org)
• The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol (1948). The Magic of Believing (Claude M. Bristol) — culture for Phyllis Diller (openlibrary.org)
• I Love Lucy by Lucille Ball. I Love Lucy (Lucille Ball) — titan for Phyllis Diller (themoviedb.org)
• Yma Sumac. Diller's early act included an impression/parody bit based on singer Yma Sumac.
• Moms Mabley at the UN by Jackie "Moms" Mabley (1961). Moms Mabley at the UN (Jackie "Moms" Mabley) — ghost for Phyllis Diller
• Liberace at the Hollywood Bowl by Liberace (1953). Liberace at the Hollywood Bowl (Liberace) — culture for Phyllis Diller
• The Jean Carroll Show by Jean Carroll (1953). The Jean Carroll Show (Jean Carroll) — ghost for Phyllis Diller
• Anna Russell Sings? Again? by Anna Russell (1953). Anna Russell Sings? Again? (Anna Russell) — ghost for Phyllis Diller

Peers and kindred spirits

• Bob Hope. Bob Hope was Diller's mentor and co-star. (also via Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!) “became famous after co-starring with her mentor Bob Hope , who described her as "a Warhol mobile of spare parts picked up along a freeway."” (Wikipedia)
• Cake (1991). Diller appeared in Cake's music video for 'Love You Madly'. “" Love You Madly " Cake Herself” (Wikipedia)
• The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters by Jonathan Winters (1960). The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters (Jonathan Winters) — peer for Phyllis Diller “Sid Caesar, Milton Berle and Jonathan Winters were early influences, but Diller developed a singular comedic persona — a surreal version of femininity.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Muppet Show by Jim Henson. Diller guest-starred on The Muppet Show. “She also guest-starred in The Mouse Factory , Night Gallery , Love American Style , The Muppet Show , CHiPs and The Love Boat .” (Wikipedia)
• Pink Martini. Diller collaborated with Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale. “she recorded a version of Charlie Chaplin 's song " Smile " with Pink Martini 's Thomas Lauderdale for the album Get Happy .” (Wikipedia)
• Barbra Streisand. Streisand opened for Diller at the Bon Soir. “In the early 1960s, Diller performed at the Bon Soir in Greenwich Village, where an up-and-coming Barbra Streisand was her opening act.” (Wikipedia)
• St. Louis Walk of Fame. Diller was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. “Diller lived in St. Louis with her family from 1961 to 1965 and was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1993.” (Wikipedia)
• Alpha Epsilon Pi. Diller was made honorary house mother at Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, UCLA. “Honorary House mother , Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at UCLA , 1966” (Wikipedia)
• National Museum of American History. Diller donated items to the National Museum of American History. “Diller opened her doors to the National Museum of American History . She offered them some of her most iconic costume pieces” (Wikipedia)
• Smile by Charlie Chaplin. Diller recorded a cover of Chaplin's song 'Smile'. “In January 2012, she recorded a version of Charlie Chaplin 's song " Smile " with Pink Martini 's Thomas Lauderdale for the album Get Happy .” (Wikipedia)
• Selma Diamond. Gross places Diller alongside Selma Diamond as one of the few female comics of the era, prompting Diller's genre distinction. “There were some other women comics. I think there's like Selma Diamond.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• Red Skelton. Diller describes a planned television collaboration with fellow comedian Red Skelton on a Phyllis and Fang sitcom. “Red Skelton, who was a, had become a mad fan of mine, as I was of him all my life, as a child even, he had contracted to do a Phyllis and Fang sitcom with me.” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• The Carol Burnett Show by Carol Burnett (1967). The Carol Burnett Show (Carol Burnett) — peer for Phyllis Diller (themoviedb.org)
• At Sunset by Mort Sahl (1958). At Sunset (Mort Sahl) — geography for Phyllis Diller “[and] the comedians who followed him – Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Dick Gregory, Phyllis Diller, Shelley Berman, Jonathan Winters – were cast in a familiar nightclub mold." == In popular culture == In the September 28, 1960 Peanuts comic s…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce by Lenny Bruce (1959). The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce (Lenny Bruce) — geography for Phyllis Diller (musicbrainz.org)
• Splendor in the Grass by Elia Kazan (1961). Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan) — collaborator for Phyllis Diller (themoviedb.org)
• Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! by Bob Hope (1966). Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (Bob Hope) — collaborator for Phyllis Diller “She was offered film work and became famous after co-starring with her mentor Bob Hope, who described her as "a Warhol mobile of spare parts picked up along a freeway." They worked together in films such as Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Phyllis Diller influenced

• Joan Rivers (1933). States Joan Rivers cited Diller as an influence. (also via Wonderful Wonderful Phyllis Diller, What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?) “other female standups and comedians including Phyllis Diller (a close friend and companion)” (Wikipedia)
• Roseanne Barr (1952). States Roseanne Barr cited Diller as an influence. (also via Roseanne) “credited as an influence by Joan Rivers , Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres , among others.” (Wikipedia)
• Ellen DeGeneres (1958). States Ellen DeGeneres cited Diller as an influence. (also via Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now) “credited as an influence by Joan Rivers , Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres , among others.” (Wikipedia)
• Roseanne by Roseanne Barr (1988). Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) — legacy for Phyllis Diller “Diller was one of the first female comics to become a household name in the United States, credited as an influence by Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres, among others.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Lady Gaga (1986). NYT notes Diller's style echoed in Lady Gaga's concert attire. “A New York Times remembrance noted that Diller's flamboyant look is echoed in Lady Gaga 's concert attire” (Wikipedia)
• Eddie Murphy (1961). NYT compares Eddie Murphy's laugh style to Diller's. “Eddie Murphy also punctuated jokes with a loud laugh, in a style reminiscent of Diller's persona.” (Wikipedia)
• What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? by Joan Rivers (1983). What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? (Joan Rivers) — legacy for Phyllis Diller “Diller was one of the first female comics to become a household name in the United States, credited as an influence by Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres, among others.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now by Ellen DeGeneres (2003). Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (Ellen DeGeneres) — legacy for Phyllis Diller “Diller was one of the first female comics to become a household name in the United States, credited as an influence by Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and Ellen DeGeneres, among others.” (en.wikipedia.org)