Phyllis Diller arrives on the set of the Liberace Show with her entire wardrobe. She has a conversation with Wallace and Liberace, then performs a brief stand up routine. From the 1969 Liberace Show filmed in London.
Two legends that entertained everyone in different genres. There will never be another Phyllis or Liberace. Phyllis was a living legend. Good clean jokes no cuss words. She was awesome. Phyllis is dearly missed. I love them both 🎹🤣❤💙💜
Phyllis Diller was a GENUINE comedic talent who never made a malicious joke about anyone. Her "husband", Fang, was a fictional character Phyllis had created to be the butt of her jokes. This alone puts her WAY ABOVE Joan Rivers. Rivers' humour(?) was malicious, spiteful and vindictive. Rivers would tell nasty, cruel stories about others in show-business or just people in general, with these people having no means of redress against Rivers' maliciousness. Phyllis Diller belongs in the Comedians' Hall Of Fame(if there is such) while Rivers belongs in History's rubbish bin.
@Elizabeth Brower Phyllis Diller could have the audience laughing hysterically before she even uttered a word! But the one thing NO-ONE could EVER accuse Phyllis Diller of being is "malicious"! Phyllis NEVER spoke ill of her colleagues in showbusiness. The "butt" of her jokes, her husband "Fang" was a fictional character. Phyllis was a GENUINELY FUNNY person and the world is so much the richer for her existence, but so much the poorer for her passing.
Meh! Phyllis Diller was a real trailblazer. Liberace had very limited appeal. My Grandmother and aunts loved his schtick. Fluffy piano playing and talking about his jewelry would bore most people. I know it would all cure my insomnia.
Liberace with a talented great musician with a great Style and taste such a gentleman and Phyllis Diller what a beautiful lady love her laugh so funny love them both
I wish she had played the piano. Considering she herself was an aspiring concert pianist but didn’t pursue it because she didn’t think she was good enough. Oh she was good enough, I wish she had played the piano here
Members of my parent's generation: "Look at all these queers on TV! Back in my old day, they kept to themselves, like Paul Lynde and Liberace! They didn't go shovin' it in your face! Goddamned people of your generation!"
It is funny you say that because I remember Liberace and he always seemed very nice and actually quite humble for a showman such as himself. My daughter saw a clip of him from the movie "Good Night and Good Luck" and heard about his and that show aired with Michael Douglas but asked me about him and I told her what I could and came on here looking for old footage of him and she watched it and said "Aw, what a sweet, nice man. Man, did he always dress up like that." I couldn't help but laugh because that is just who he was and I wish he were still around. So much talent, if I had an enth of it I would be happy.
Everyone knew. Everyone knew. My uncle was part of "the scene" back in the 1960's, and everyone that was even on the very fringe of that scene, knew what his sexuality was. Liberace, Paul Lynde.. people knew, they just had the good sense not to bring it up around people that might not like it shoved in their faces.
In the early 80s I drove a limo in LA. The clientele was almost exclusively show business types and studio executives. I got a call to pick-up Ms Diller at Burbank Airport. I was excited. She was arriving by private plane after a show somewhere. I walked toward the plane as she got off, introduced myself and she was a bit surprised that her management company had sent a limo. Her personal driver would pick her up in what I remember as an older SUV style vehicle. Got her luggage, about as many pieces as in the clip and headed to terminal where her driver was waiting. She said go with him you bring the luggage. Got it loaded and was off to Brentwood never really getting to talk with her. It was hilarious in my mind. $80K limo full of her luggage.
John Edward Jones, good story. Always been a big fan of hers since childhood. Those were the days. I'll watch anything pretty much, from the fifties and sixties. I love to hear the network identifications from sixties, especially Nbcs' call with that old peacock. Takes me back to better days and family watching family suitable programming.
I watched this show...I was age 9 back then, but I understood the jokes, and thought Diller was a hoot.Liberace always seemed like a nice person, not arrogant.The late 1960's and all during the 1970s had alot of variety shows on TV, but they were very good, with clean humor. I always wondered what Fang looked like, and why she called him that.
Liberace was the centerfold in the February issue of Playboy magazine 1954. It flew under most radars. It’s worth a fortune now! Let me know if you have one or find one!
I wonder how many of us remember a VERY short-lived sitcom starring Phyllis Diller, ca. like 1968? If you remember it, [I think it lasted about 2 months, MAYBE, on ABC, on a weeknight]. It was a terrible vehicle, although she was - as always - was hilarious!!! [The name of the sitcom was "The Pruitts of Southampton," for those who are wondering.]
@@andrewthornhill7042 That one I don't remember. Sometimes we didn't get all the network shows, as I lived in Chicago at the time, and although all three of our network affiliates were actually OWNED by the networks ["O&O's"], I later found out they didn't always carry everything their network would offer.
The butler was Wattis, not Wallace, played by Richard Wattis. Two years later, Liberace would be guest on Australia's King Of Pop Awards for 1971, where he was enthralled by then-14-year-old Jamie Redfern.....the rest is history.
Phyllis never had to resort to being dirty or having any swearing in her act. Later on she said bitch a couple times....but even said "wee wee" still. I loved her, She was my great aunt too.
Back then there were many flamboyant entertainers. I don't think fans cared what their sexual preference was. They just made us laugh and that was good enough in our book. Today we have to learn every intimate detail about every entertainer to the point that it is shoved in our faces whether we want to know or not. Their sexual and political preferences becomes what defines them in the public's eye. In my opinion it makes our society more divisive.
Ciel Phantomhive first of all, people didn't speak about homosexuality publically the way we all do now. People mostly knew, and if they did know they would just not talk about it. Homosexuality just wasn't a comfortable topic for most ordinary people (especially men) back then. But don't be fooled - people knew - but they would make euphemisms about him: "he's so flamboyant" or "so artistic" or "eccentric" - all these words were code for "gay" and it was just understood. Men especially in those days didn't refer to anything homosexual because just by mentioning it even, it was then a concern that you might be considered homosexual (no one said the word gay then) by association with the word. That's how repressed society was back then! And this attitude lasted well into and through the 1980s and it only began to dissipate around 1995 with the introduction of the internet and more global digital media. Even in the very early 90s, a lot of the resistance to homosexuality was still around. So much is taken for granted now. Phyllis Diller was camping what it meant to be an ugly woman in a society and industry which values youth and beauty. And Liberace was camping what it meant to be a gay man. In those pre-political correctness days, everything had to be done via code and clever dialogue. Strangely, repression in societies means that it actually garners a great deal of creativity. The more liberal a society becomes, ironically the less creative it gets. Because there is no longer anything to express against or right against. Liberace and Diller were wonderful examples of extremely expressive individuals who understood the art of persona (mask-wearing).
Back in the day when entertainers weren't afraid to be OTT. These two were MADE for each other! I sure miss Phyllis; I'm a lifelong fan. (Loving Richard Wattis as the butler!)
I now that you and Grandpa Willy Nelson are twins and Janis Lynn Joplin and Robert Anthony plant are also twins and they are my grandparents and parents and am I proud of all of you all ❤️❤️ you ❤❤ you all ❤❤❤❤❤❤ plus ❤❤❤
I had a friend when I worked at a large, well known theater where Liberace was performing. He once quipped about Liberace, "No, he's bisexual. He likes men _and_ boys."
