Phyllis Diller

With her trademark witch's cackle and wild pre-punk hairdo, Phyllis Diller celebrated modern womanhood by mocking her own comic shortcomings. A housewife who cracked everyone up, Diller became a comic sensation at San Francisco's famed Purple Onion club in 1955. Similar to Rodney Dangerfield, an undercurrent of personal pain runs through Diller's act. Almost her entire show consists of lampooning her inability to keep house or be sexy. Diller seemed to have so much fun messing up her life that she made millions feel better about theirs. Check out her old comedy recordings and TV appearances. Diller is widely regarded as America's first non-Burlesque female standup comic.