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Comedienne Phyllis Diller Dies - Age 95

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Mark S

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Aug 20, 2012, 6:53:54 PM8/20/12
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Worth mentioning in rmcr as I heard her play Beethoven's First Piano
Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Center back in
the mid-70s.

hiker_rs

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Aug 20, 2012, 7:05:16 PM8/20/12
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aka Dame Illya Dillya

-Rich

William Sommerwerck

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Aug 20, 2012, 7:51:12 PM8/20/12
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I remember hearing play some of the Bach Inventions on Johnny Carson. She
was pretty darned good.


Kip Williams

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Aug 20, 2012, 9:41:21 PM8/20/12
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Mark S wrote, On 8/20/12 6:53 PM:
> Worth mentioning in rmcr as I heard her play Beethoven's First Piano
> Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Center back in
> the mid-70s.

Wow! I didn't know.

I hope her end was peaceful, and her last years were good.


Kip W

Edward Cowan

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Aug 20, 2012, 11:10:41 PM8/20/12
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I heard her play that Beethoven concerto in Dallas. This was in a hall
at the "InfoMart," a place devoted mostly to exhibits of computer
material. I can't recall what orchestra was performing with her. She did
say, upon coming out into the auditorium, that this was the first time
she had played "inside an angelfood cake"! --E.A.C.
--
hrabanus

William Sommerwerck

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Aug 20, 2012, 11:22:42 PM8/20/12
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> I hope her end was peaceful, and her last years were good.

She'd had lots of plastic surgery, and she really looked good. (No kidding.)


Jenn

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Aug 20, 2012, 11:43:28 PM8/20/12
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In article
<ac1a26ae-fabb-42a8...@wi5g2000pbc.googlegroups.com>,
I was out of work and living in Orange County during the OJ Simpson
trial. I got kind of addicted to watching it, so I drove up to
Brentwood to see his house and the scene surrounding it. On driving
away, I see an older woman tending the garden at the house across the
street. I do a double take. Sure enough...Phyllis Diller. She smiled
sweetly and waved.

I thought that the neighborhood sounded musically familiar, so when I
got home I checked a reference. Turns out that Schoenberg rented the
house two down from Ms. Diller.

My Phillis Diller encounter from years before: I was directing the
Tournament of Roses Honor Band (the official Rose Parade band) in 1984,
and we were hired to parade around Robert Preston, playing 76 Trombones
on a stage at the Century Plaza Hotel. It was a Hollywood community
fundraiser held each year where they honored a colleague...that year it
was Preston. Every celebrity you could think of seemed to be there.
Shirley Jones sang Till There Was You...that kind of thing. Hollywood
performing for themselves and writing checks.

Anyway, we're outside doors to the room, in the lobby, waiting for our
cue, and up walks Ms. Diller, probably on her way back from the rest
room, drink in her hand, and SO very wasted. She started flirting with
the guys in the trumpet section, and it was hilarious and a little
pitiful at the same time. She stumbled back into the dark performance
space, but left us all smiling.

--
www.jennifermartinmusic.com

Mark S

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Aug 21, 2012, 12:48:07 AM8/21/12
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On Aug 20, 8:22 pm, "William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgee...@comcast.net>
wrote:
> > I hope her end was peaceful, and her last years were good.
>
> She'd had lots of plastic surgery, and she really looked good. (No kidding.)

Diller joked that she had had so much plastic surgery that none of her
body parts were the same age.

Matthew B. Tepper

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Aug 21, 2012, 1:17:49 AM8/21/12
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Kip Williams <mrk...@gmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters
to be typed in news:6HBYr.19678$BI5....@newsfe09.iad:

> Mark S wrote, On 8/20/12 6:53 PM:
>> Worth mentioning in rmcr as I heard her play Beethoven's First Piano
>> Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Center back in
>> the mid-70s.
>
> Wow! I didn't know.

I recall reading in the Los Angeles Times in the early 1970s that she had
given a performance of this work with some local community orchestra as a
fund-raiser. Apparently she did this quite a bit, with many orchestras.

> I hope her end was peaceful, and her last years were good.

I hope she realized how much joy and laughter she had given the world with
her comedy. Actually, I'm pretty sure she did.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers.

patterbear

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Aug 21, 2012, 2:33:23 AM8/21/12
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Why this is marked as abuse? It has been marked as abuse.
Report not abuse
On Aug 20, 10:17 pm, "Matthew B. Tepper" <oyþ@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Kip Williams <mrk...@gmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters
> to be typed innews:6HBYr.19678$BI5....@newsfe09.iad:
Yep...I heard her play the Beethoven with the S.F. symphony back in
the early 70's before Davies Hall, when the orchestra played at the
Opera house. I believe it was a pension fund concert - with either
Ozawa or maybe Niklaus Wyss. She played quite well and took it
seriously.

Lawrence Chalmers

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Aug 21, 2012, 10:22:01 AM8/21/12
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One of the few comedy albums I ever bought and listened to with friends
was 'Wet Toe in a Hot Socket'. I had no idea she played/performed
classical music. She was a real trailblazer.
RIP Phyllis.

Mark S

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Aug 21, 2012, 1:21:37 PM8/21/12
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Her obit says that she played with over 100 orchestras.

Kip Williams

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Aug 21, 2012, 1:36:44 PM8/21/12
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Mark S wrote, On 8/21/12 1:21 PM:

> Her obit says that she played with over 100 orchestras.

A short tribute by Reynaldo Hahn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foUEX-kT2Ms


Kip W

Steven Bornfeld

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Aug 21, 2012, 2:06:37 PM8/21/12
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Lovely.

S,

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001
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