This Woman Paved the Way for Female Comedians

Phyllis Diller was the first American woman to have a successful career as a stand-up comic, and the secrets to her success are now a part of the National Museum of American History's collection.
From the Series: Stories From the Vaults: Famous Donors bit.ly/2yM1mai

[@SmithsonianChannel]

When comedians pass on, they leave behind a legacy of laughter. Phyllis Diller contributed an archive of witty wise-cracks when she passed away on this day in 2012. The National Museum of American History tells the story. bit.ly/1sUCRfb

[@marthajulian7064]

I love Phyllis Diller. Always have. Too too bad younger folks won't have the privilege of seeing her perform. Thank you Miss Diller. You're awesome. Have a great time in Heaven :)

[@Waynes-xt9gr]

when you hear thunder in the skies.....thats the Lord kicking the floor cuz she is cracking him UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Marchant2]

What a wonderful lady. She’s missed but is now immortalized at the Smithsonian. That joke catalogue alone is worth the trip to visit the museum.

[@Waynes-xt9gr]

that joke catalogue is worth MORE than a lottery!!!!!!

[@BuddyNovinski]

She was my favorite going back to 1966.

[@heidirotbart4685]

Bravo Phyllis Diller. We all miss you so much. Look forward to our movie.

[@crocodylus73]

R.I.P. Phyllis Diller...National treasure

[@hankaustin7091]

There are only 6017 views of this video!??!?! That's ridiculous! Phyllis Diller was an American treasure!! every single American, who isn't a horrible country-hating snowflake, should be watching this video!

[@SmithsonianChannel]

It's April Fool's Day - any pranksters out there preparing to pull some funny stuff? We'll leave the jokes to the professionals. Phyllis Diller shows you how it's done in Stories from the Vaults: This Woman Paved the Way for Female Comedians

[@Javier636]

Phillys Diller, not with us anymore but still makes me cough violently in laughter at those wonderful jokes... a jewel to be preserved, an american icon and part of the american culture.

[@JabberCT]

Legends never die!

[@Dr.Pepper001]

Before comedy she was a concert pianist with several orchestras.

[@garycarpenter2980]

What a wonderful woman, very funny, hilarious, great looking, costumes were funny, jokes were always good and that laugh, she could give a hyena a run for its money and she could make Dracula laugh

[@flitebiscuit1592]

I vaguely remember my family watching her TV show in the 60's. Apparently it wasn't successful, but I remember my mom laughing a lot.

[@sharksport01]

The Pruitts of South Hampton.

[@InfiniteZombies777]

She is on another level. Not only did she pave the way, but in my opinion her and Joan Rivers are the ONLY funny female comedians to ever exist. Her comedy still actually holds up too! And I think she invented the “your momma” joke.

[@prefershe]

Hi, I would say Ellen DeGeneres deserves some credit even if she's not the most relevant in stand-up right now but I do consider her to currently be the best female comedian. Even when at home she's funny 😆

[@RazvanMihai88]

Betty White, was also funny. especially, in interviews, with Joan Rivers show.

[@sharksport01]

She paved the way for female stand-up, there were scads of female comediennes before her.

[@gerard1657]

For your sentence to make sense, you need a question mark after female stand-up, not a comma. And maybe you don't know what 'paved the way' means. No one said there weren't any female comediennes before Diller. But she's the one that got noticed. She's the one that had equal billing with male comedians in shows.

[@InfiniteZombies777]

And yet Diller was the one who “paved the way”, because the female stand ups before her were trash. Duh

[@sharksport01]

My sentence makes sense. She wasn't the first female comedian, she was the first female stand-up comedian.

[@juddpalmer5445]

They need to come with a program and input all of those jokes in for the visitors to enjoy. Smithsonian call me.

[@johndwyer6111]

Phyllis was great and tremendous but there was another great female comedian before her who may have also paved the way for future female comics. It was Martha Raye.

[@josephharden5592]

It was moms mabley but whatever