Phyllis Diller bio mentions Benny

[Melanie]

Phyllis Diller's new bio, _Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My

Life in Comedy_ with Richard Buskin Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin 2005

is an interesting read. On pg. 210 she discusses a stint in "Hello

Dolly" on Broadway in the 70's and a JB mention is made:

"...As it happens, Merrik had already approached Jack Benny to

play Dolly in drag opposite George Burns as "unmarried half-a-

millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. That would have been the greatest

thing to ever happen on Broadway. ...It's a real shame this fantastic

idea never materialized..."

[Roman]

Is it accurate to say that Phyllis Diller was the first female solo standup comedian? I know that Lucy and Gracie Allen came earlier but Lucy wasn't a standup comedian and Gracie wasn't solo.

[LLeff]

Is it accurate to say that Phyllis Diller was the first female solo standup comedian? I know that Lucy and Gracie Allen came earlier but Lucy wasn't a standup comedian and Gracie wasn't solo.

I think of Rusty Warren as being earlier (started her act around 1954). And what about Sophie Tucker?

[Maxwell]

Sophie did more than stand-up comedy, though. There was a whole lot of singing in her act.