Columnist Joe Delaney: Diller has a long, hilarious history in Las Vegas

Joe Delaney

Friday, Aug. 10, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@lasvegassun.com

Irv Seiders was a New York City entertainment agent ... We were good friends and shared an interest in comedy and comedians ... The year was pre-my arrival in Las Vegas, sometime in the late 1950s, and Seiders called me at home to rave about his latest comedic discovery ... It was a woman, a housewife, mother of five, making her Manhattan debut at the famed Blue Angel nightclub.

"Her name is Phyllis Diller and she's a killer-diller" ... That line almost kept me from going to see her with Seiders ... What I did see was outrageous -- and hilarious ... Nearly four decades later Diller was just as effective last year at age 83, opening for Jack Jones at the Stardust, one of those weeks when Wayne Newton was away ... This weekend she's at the Suncoast through Sunday.

She ranks with Joan Rivers, the late Totie Fields and such current lady stand-up comedians as Rita Rudner and Elayne Boosler ... In fact, Diller achieved headline status in Las Vegas before any of those talented females.

Born Phyllis Ann Driver in Lima, Ohio, on July 17, 1917, she was a working mother, employed as a publicist at a San Francisco radio station when, encouraged by her husband, Sherwood Diller, the model for her "Fang" character, she made her debut at that city's famed Purple Onion nightclub ... The booking was for two weeks; she stayed on for 89.

This led to an appearance on the "Jack Parr Show," forerunner of Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," now helmed by Jay Leno ... Bob Hope also "discovered" Diller. She appeared in three feature films with Hope and on more than 20 television specials. She accompanied him on one of his Christmas trips to entertain the troops in Vietnam.

There are at least two Phyllis Dillers ... One is the "crazy" onstage lady with the raucous laugh, one-liners, self put-downs and the outrageous get-ups ... The offstage lady is quiet, modest, reserved, a successful author, concert pianist, very giving and active in numerous community projects ... We are proud to know both Dillers.

An accomplished pianist, she has appeared in more than 100 concerts with symphony orchestras in the United States and Canada ... Her first screen appearance, in 1961, was as the legendary Texas Guinan in the Elia Kazan film "Splendor in the Grass" ... Diller also had a successful run on Broadway in the lead role in "Hello, Dolly."

We can also attest that she is an excellent cook ... Her recipe for Garbage Soup was a big success on my local television shows in the 1960s and 1970s ... She's irrepressible, still outrageous, and that comedy timing remains impeccable ... Make the Suncoast one of your show stops this weekend.

Weekend wrap-up

Belated happy 20th anniversary bests to "Jubilee" and to everyone involved with the late Donn Arden's classic production at Bally's ... "Jubilee" and the Tropicana's "Folies Bergere" are what remains of a once-proud Las Vegas show tradition ... The Trop show recently celebrated its 40th anniversary ... Arden's dancers were featured at the Desert Inn when it opened in 1951.

The World's Smallest Jazz Band continues, in its second year, 2:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday at Swede's Corner ... Friday's jazz is at Pogo's, and on Mondays it's Don Menza and Friends (Riviera) ... Marv Koral's All-Stars, featuring top trombonist Carl Fontana, play at the Jazzed Cafe on West Sahara Avenue next on Wednesday.

Elvis-A-Rama Museum commemorates "Elvis Week 2001" with a special drawing for an authentic shirt owned by Elvis, valued at $1,000, on Thursday, the anniversary of his death in 1977 ... Presley's estate grosses more money annually than Elvis did during any one year in his lifetime ... See you next Thursday.