Comedic legend Phyllis Diller passed away Monday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 95 years old.
TMZ reports that the actress died in her sleep – surrounded by family. Diller, who get her start in 1955 when the owner of San Francisco’s now-defunct Purple Onion nightclub let her fill in a stand-up spot, rose to fame with TV specials in the 1960s.
The mother of six was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show, The Flip Wilson Show, and Laugh-In; and was widely regarded as a trailblazer for female comedians.
“She was a true pioneer,” Fred Wostbrock told MSNBC. “The first female stand-up comedian. She paved the way for everybody. She paved the way for Joan Rivers, Ellen DeGeneres, Chelsea Handler. Phyllis was the first of the first. The first female to play Vegas … she was on Broadway, she made movies. She did it all.”
In 1999, Diller suffered a heart attack and was later fitted with a pacemaker. TMZ also reported that she had fallen recently, hurting her wrist and hip — but her rep says the injury had nothing to do with her death.
In memory of this spunky and sassy lady, here are five of our favorite Phyllis Diller quotes:
5. “We Californians are constantly accused of not having seasons, but we do. We have fire, flood, mud, and drought.”
4. “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?”
3. “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.”
2. “If your house is really a mess and a stranger comes to the door greet him with, ‘who could have done this? we have no enemies!'”
1. “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
