Object Details
- Description
- This yellow and brown full-length dress with white and orange daisy print was worn by Phyllis Diller. 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.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Phyllis Diller
- ID Number
- 2003.0289.04
- accession number
- 2003.0289
- catalog number
- 2003.0289.04
- Object Name
- Dress
- Physical Description
- synthetic fibers (overall material)
- nylon (overall material)
- silk (overall material)
- Measurements
- back: 47 in; 119.38 cm
- shoulder: 13 in; 33.02 cm
- sleeves: 16 in; 40.64 cm
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
- Popular Entertainment
- Phyllis Diller
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Humor
- Comedians
- Record ID
- nmah_1218395
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-115f-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
