Phyllis was an enormous talent who was still hitting her stride when I was a kid. The first time I saw her was on Love American Style (syndicated, I’m not that old). She was playing a version of herself, making jokes about her spouse. This little sense to me. As I got older, I learned about comedians having their schticks plus Fang and his Love counterpart were fictional, Rodney Dangerfield did the same with his “wife.”
After Christopher Hitchens died, I read about his dumb statement regarding female comedians, in short he claimed women aren’t funny unless they fat, ugly or gay. Had the curmudgeon met Phyllis, he would’ve retracted his ignorant statement. Her ugly look was for the stage and to feed her inner clown-attention hound, why else would anybody be a comedian. In private, it was a different matter. Phyllis wore nice clothes, etc. Hell, I saw her do a show documenting her plastic surgery. Who doesn’t want to look attractive for one’s spouse or date?
Back to her comedy.
While Lucille Ball paved the way for women leading in sitcoms and doing slapstick, Phyllis will be remembered as the grande dame of stand-up. She paved the way Roseanne, Joan Rivers, Maria Bamford, Wanda Sykes, Bret Butler, Rita Rudner, Judy Tenuta, Jackie Kashian and a special nod to Amy Sedaris because Strangers with Candy owes some if its ugly angle to Phyllis.
I’m going to miss her signature laugh (or cackle). It was a highlight of A Bug’s Life.