Phyllis Diller Dies at 95
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Phyllis Diller Dies at 95

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.”

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