Phyllis Diller’s American Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award

This American Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Phyllis Diller in 1991. The American Comedy Awards began in 1987 and are presented annually in the United States to honor performers in the field of comedy. After the death of Lucille Ball in 1989 the statue awarded was named “the Lucy” in her honor. Other recipients of the Lifetime Achievement in Comedy award include Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Red Skelton, Betty White and Johnny Carson.

Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) began her comedy career in the 1950s at the age of 37 and broke barriers in the comedy world to become the first solo female comic to be a household name. She developed a stage persona of an incompetent housewife and dressed in outlandish outfits with wild hair. Her material focused on self-deprecating jokes that tackled the idealized image of American mothers and homemakers. She also created many mythical personas for her stage act including her “husband” Fang, her “neighbor” Mrs. Clean, and her “mother-in-law” Moby Dick.

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