A groundbreaking pioneer in American comedy, comedienne Phyllis Diller represented the face of the female stand-up comic for a generation of baby-boomers. Predating Roseanne Barr’s seminal “Domestic Goddess” shtick by more than two decades, Phyllis Diller shot to stardom playing a semi-autobiographical alter ego of herself in the mid 1950’s. Her signature character – an eccentric, strangely attired housewife with a homely kisser and a head of frazzled hair became a national sensation. Essentially an ugly duckling who did not seem to realize that she was ugly, Diller presented herself as an ironic underdog, endearing herself to an era of prosperous Americans by amusing them. Puffing smoke from her long cigarette holder, Diller’s trademark style of shooting off rapid-fire punch lines punctuated with a loud, distinctive cackle made her a comic legend for the ages.Brought into this world as Phyllis Ada Driver on July 17, 1917 in Lima, OH, this future queen of comedy landed her big break in 1955 at age 37 at San Francisco's historic Purple Onion Club. Before that, she had found work as a housewife, mother and advertising copywriter. Following an appearance on “The Jack Paar Tonight Show” (NBC, 1957-1962), Diller landed her first major exposure as a contestant on the venerated game show, "You Bet Your Life" (NBC, 1950-1961), hosted by Groucho Marx. Managed at the time by Svengali-esque first