Age, Biography and Wiki

Phyllis Diller (Phyllis Ada Driver) was born on 17 July, 1917 in Lima, Ohio, USA, is an actress,soundtrack,make_up_department. Discover Phyllis Diller's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 95 years old?

Popular As Phyllis Ada Driver
Occupation actress,soundtrack,make_up_department
Age 95 years old
Zodiac Sign Cancer
Born 17 July 1917
Birthday 17 July
Birthplace Lima, Ohio, USA
Date of death 20 August, 2012
Died Place Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 17 July. She is a member of famous Actress with the age 95 years old group.

Phyllis Diller Height, Weight & Measurements

At 95 years old, Phyllis Diller height is 5' 1" (1.55 m) .

Physical Status
Height 5' 1" (1.55 m)
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Phyllis Diller's Husband?

Her husband is Warde Donovan (7 October 1965 - 12 May 1975) ( divorced), Sherwood Anderson Diller (4 November 1939 - 3 September 1965) ( divorced) ( 6 children)

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Warde Donovan (7 October 1965 - 12 May 1975) ( divorced), Sherwood Anderson Diller (4 November 1939 - 3 September 1965) ( divorced) ( 6 children)
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Phyllis Diller Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Phyllis Diller worth at the age of 95 years old? Phyllis Diller’s income source is mostly from being a successful Actress. She is from United States. We have estimated Phyllis Diller's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Actress

Phyllis Diller Social Network

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Timeline

1917

She was born Phyllis Ada Driver on July 17, 1917 in Lima, Ohio to Perry Marcus and Frances Ada (Romshe) Driver. A student at Lima's Central High School, she went on to study for three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory in Chicago, before transferring to Bluffton (Ohio) College where she served as the editor of the school's more humorous newspaper articles. She was a serious student of the piano but was never completely confident enough in her performance level to try and act on it as a possible career.

1939

She wed Sherwood Anderson Diller at age 22 in November 1939 and had six children (one of whom died in infancy). On the sly, she was an advertising copywriter. During World War II, the family moved to Michigan where her husband had found work at the Willow Run Bomber Plant. A natural laugh-Getter, she began writing household-related one-liners and the feedback from the fellow wives greatly encouraged her. When the family moved to California for job-related reasons, Diller became a secretary at a San Francisco television station. By this time, she had built up the courage to put together a nightclub act.

1940

She had six children with Sherwood Anderson Diller: Peter Diller (1940-1998), Sally Diller (born 1944), Perry Diller (born 1945, but only lived for two weeks in a neonatal incubator), Sue Diller (born 1946), Stephanie Diller (1948-2002), and a second Perry Diller (born 1950).

1950

She was a contestant on Groucho Marx's popular quiz show You Bet Your Life (1950).

1955

The local television hosts at the station (Willard Anderson and Don Sherwood) thought her act was hilarious and invited her on their show in 1955. Not long after, at age 38, Diller made her debut at San Francisco's Purple Onion nightclub. What was to be a two-week engagement was stretched out to more than a year and a half. The widespread publicity she received took her straight to the television talk and variety circuits where she was soon trading banter with Jack Paar, Jack Benny and Red Skelton, among others, on their popular television series.

1960

Throughout the 1960s, audiences embraced her bold and brazen quirkiness.

Diller formed a tight and lasting relationship with Bob Hope, appearing in scores of his television specials and co-starring in three of his broad 1960s comedy films (Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), Eight on the Lam (1967) and The Private Navy of Sgt.

1961

Back in 1961, interestingly enough, she made both her stage and film debuts in the dramas of William Inge.

Her theatrical debut came with a production of "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" and she appeared first on film in the highly dramatic Splendor in the Grass (1961), lightening things up a bit with a cameo appearance as larger-than-life nightclub hostess Texas Guinan.

1965

She separated from and eventually divorced Sherwood in 1965, who had, by this time, become a favorite topic and target of her act in the form of husband "Fang".

1966

Diller joined Hope in Vietnam in 1966 with his USO troupe. Her celebrity eventually took its toll on her marriage.

Her first television series, The Phyllis Diller Show (1966), had her pretty much pulling out all the stops as a wacky widow invariably scheming to keep up a wealthy front despite being heavily in debt. She had the reliably droll Reginald Gardiner and cranky Charles Lane as foils and even Gypsy Rose Lee, but to little avail. Revamped as "The Phyllis Diller Show", several of comedy's best second bananas (John Astin, Paul Lynde, Richard Deacon, Billy De Wolfe, Marty Ingels) were added to the mix, but the show was canceled after a single season.

1967

Her cackling vocals have enhanced animated features, too, what with Mad Monster Party (1967) and A Bug's Life (1998).

1968

O'Farrell (1968).

That same year, she married singer, film actor and television host Warde Donovan who appeared with her in the slapstick movie Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968).

A second try with The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show (1968), a comedy/variety show that had the zany star backed by none other than Rip Taylor and Norm Crosby, lasted only three months. Seldom did she manage or receive offers to take her funny face off long enough to appear for dramatic effect.

1969

Diller later impressed with her harridan role in the film The Adding Machine (1969) opposite Milo O'Shea. Diller enjoyed a three-month run on Broadway in "Hello, Dolly!", co-starring Richard Deacon and appeared in other shows and musicals over time: "Wonderful Town" (she met her second husband Warde Donovan in this production), "Happy Birthday", "Everybody Loves Opal" and "Nunsense".

1973

Diller's career was highlighted in "The Slapstick Queens", by James Robert Parish, published by A. S. Barnes (1973).

1975

They divorced in 1975. By this time, Diller was everywhere on the small screen.

1977

A special guest on hordes of television series and comedy specials and, especially on such riotfests as Laugh-In (1977) and the Dean Martin celebrity series of roasts, she became a celebrity on the game show circuit as well, milking laughs on such established shows as The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965) and The Gong Show (1976). She published best-selling comedy records to her credit and humorous anecdotes to pitch that made it to the bookstore shelves, such as "Phyllis Diller Tells All About Fang". However, stand-up remained her first love. Her forays on television in her own series were, regretfully, unsuccessful.

1990

She was set to return on her 90th birthday in July but a back injury forced her to cancel.

1992

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 137-139. New York: Facts on File (1992). ISBN 0816023387.

1993

In 1993, Diller was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

1996

Had a ten-year affair with lawyer Robert Hastings (whom she described as "the love of my life") until his death on May 23, 1996.

1998

Aside from the baby who died in infancy, Diller was also predeceased by her eldest son, Peter (who died of cancer in 1998) and her daughter, Stephanie Diller (who died of a stroke in 2002). Her surviving children are Sally Diller, Suzanne Sue Diller and Perry Diller.

1999

It took a heart attack in 1999 to finally slow down the comedienne and she eventually announced her retirement in 2002.

2001

She was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California on March 8, 2001.

2002

Retired from acting and stand-up routine in 2002 at age 84, due to ill health. Continued to lend her voice to animated characters in movies.

2003

She attended a Las Vegas function on invitation of Wayne Newton, to help celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Stardust Hotel and Casino. [July 2003]

2004

Somewhat more straightforward roles came later on episodes of Boston Legal (2004) and 7th Heaven (1996).

2005

Diller put out an autobiography in 2005 in her late 80s, and entitled it "Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse", which pretty much says it all when recalling the misfit life and career of the fabulous, one-of-a-kind Phyllis Diller. It may inspire all those bored, discouraged and/or directionless housewives out there to know that the one-time 37-year-old chief bottle washer and diaper disposer of five started out writing comedy routines for her fellow female laundry mates as a sort of reprieve from what she considered her everyday household doldrums. Little did she know she would wind up an entertainment legend who would share the biggest comedy stages with the likes of Bob Hope, George Burns and Jack Benny. They said it couldn't be done back then (to be a successful lady comic, that is) but the doyenne of female stand-up did just that -- opened the doors for other odd-duck funny girls who dared to intrude on what was considered a man's profession. Initially, the comedienne whipped up an alter-ego that could have only been created with the aid of hallucinogens. Boldly facing the world as a scrawny, witchy-faced, flyaway haired, outlandishly costumed, cigarette-holding, magpie-cackling version of "Auntie Mame", Diller made a virtue out of her weird looks and cashed in on her wifely horror tales and her own idiosyncratic tendencies. Her solid fan base has been thriving now for over five decades.

2007

As late as January 2007, she made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992).