Readers share their memories of the late, great Phyllis Diller
Last weekend, I spent my Labor Day holiday in Lima, Ohio to do a downtown book-signing event, which included an exhibit dedicated to Lima’s most famous hometown name, Phyllis Diller.
A comedy icon who helped break the barriers for women to do standup comedy, Diller died at age 95 in 2012, but her name and memories live on. She helped me by collaborating and contributing to all four of my “From the Farm” cookbooks. Diller, born Phyllis Driver, arrived in 1917 and was an only child raised on her family’s farm in Lima.
Lima is also linked to some other famous TV, film and news personalities.
Hugh Downs, co-host of ABC’s “20/20” for decades alongside Barbara Walters, died July 1 at age 99 and originally hailed from Lima. Singer and TV personality Helen O’Connell, who co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants with Bob Barker from 1972 to 1980 also began her roots in Lima. Actress Maidie Norman broke barriers for AfricanAmerican performers, include her key role as a maid in the 1962 film thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane,” which she starred in opposite Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
My Post-Tribune Editor also reminded me of an unhappy infamous footnote in Lima’s history. American serial killer Darren Vann, arrested in Hammond in October 2014 and who confessed to the murders of seven women from Gary and Merrillville, attended Lima Senior High School before enlisting in the U.S. Marines. Today, at age 49, he is currently in prison serving seven life sentences.
My Sept. 5 book signing and Diller exhibit — which included personal correspondence, photos, original paintings from our 25-year friendship as well as wigs, jewelry, costumes and hats from Diller’s estate — drew Lima folks with their own memories and stories to share. When I’ve previously done book signings in Lima in 2004, and also in 2007 — which including a Diller co-signing on the occasion of her 90th birthday — the same was also true.
And readers from Northwest Indiana, seeing the celebration of Diller’s life and career online and on social media, also had their own recollections to share with me.
LuAnne Carnivele-Pezel of Chicago mentioned Diller’s stage career, which included a 1969 Broadway run in “Holly, Dolly!,” explaining: “My Aunt Cookie was Phyllis’ understudy! She even served as her hand double when needed for close-up photos!”
Northwest Indiana entertainment and stage icon Bill Wellman said he booked Phyllis at his BridgeVU dinner theatre in Valparaiso in the early 1970s and found her “delightful” and “easy to work with” but described her second husband, Warde Donovan, as “a B-actor” who was “demanding.”
Debbie Scholz countered with: “We had Phyllis Diller come to Valparaiso in the late 1970s for a United Way campaign charity event and found her not very nice, and kind of a typical ‘celebrity.’ But she was a very funny lady.”
Carol Collins of North Judson said, “We would go to see Phyllis Diller perform in Merrillville at the Holiday Star Theater, and she was always our family’s favorite.”
As I’ve mentioned in my books and columns, Phyllis was a very different person compared to the stage persona she created for stage. Much like the long cigarette holder that she held as her signature stage trademark (and which only contained a painted stick, since she didn’t smoke) paired with her raucous laugh, Phyllis used her humor to create an illusion.
Despite all of the punchlines and jokes about her cooking abilities (“I use a smoke detector as my kitchen timer!), her housekeeping qualities
(”I bury a lot of my ironing in the backyard!) and her entertaining and hostess reputation (“My husband Fang was so drunk at my last dinner party, he squeezed our canary into his cocktail!”), Phyllis was really aces in every one of these departments.
All four of my cookbooks are filled with delicious recipes from Phyllis, and I have a pantry file packed with many more. We shared a few mutual friends of note, including fellow Hoosier Florence Henderson, who will be forever hailed as “Mrs. Brady” from TV’s “The Brady Bunch.” Florence, prior to her death at age 82 in 2016, helped me write my recent book that was published last year. Phyllis made her dynamite recipe for orange roughy in a mustard sauce for Florence years ago on the latter’s “Country Cooking” show on TNN or the Nashville Network in 1987, and it’s still just as scrumptious 30 years later.