Yesterday afternoon my friend Paula and I watched the auction of the Phyllis Diller Estate live on-line. (She at her house, me at mine.) To begin with, I wasn’t sure that it was possible to watch on-line. My friends Bob and Dottie in Houston had looked at the on-line catalog and decided to put bids on some of the smaller items. “When you register, you have to give them a credit card and there’s a 25% premium,” Dottie told me. “You mean, you have to pay an extra 25% over-and-above the price?” “Yep.” Well, I sure wasn’t going to do anything like that, so I didn’t know if I could watch without registering, but yes, when I typed in “juliensauctions” the “live” button came right up and there it was! As the picture resolved and the sound came on, they were just starting on the wire horse sculpture that my… Read More »
Phyllis’s First Reunion
The thought of the auction of Phyllis’s things made me nostalgic. I came across this picture of the Dustbiters at the first reunion — the first time Phyllis invited us all to her house for a party. I noticed the picture on the wall behind us — it’s in the auction catalog. However, the picture that intrigues me is of us all gathered in the dining room with Phyllis. That was the day I met Corrine The Perfect (standing directly behind Phyllis) and the two other secretaries I didn’t know, Heidi Rotbart and Carole Beams to Corrine’s right. My long time friend/roommate, Ingrid Chapman is to Corrine’s left along with Sandy Beach (yeah, yeah, I know), and Carol Eschler. In the back is Mercer Helms, the magician who was Phyllis’s opening act for the last 20 years of her stage career. And then in front is me to Phyllis’s right and Karen… Read More »
PHYLLIS DILLER’S STUFF GOES TO AUCTION!
Oh, my gosh, it’s here — or nearly. Fellow Dustbiters Ingrid and Corrine both sent e-mails about THE AUCTION! (If you’re new to this blog, Diller’s Dustbiters was the small group of Phyllis’s favorite secretaries and her friend and opening act for many years, Magician Mercer Helms.) It has been a year now since Phyllis died. We had known it was imminent since the cancellation of our annual Dustbiter’s reunion at Phyllis’s house. Still, we all felt a loss. Phyllis Diller had been a big part of all our lives. So we phoned and e-mailed each other, talking about meeting at the service and then going someplace afterwards to reminisce and have our own private memorial. It turned out she had left instructions that there would be no funeral or memorial service. This was a shock to not only the Dustbiters, but I’m sure to her many friends and fellow entertainers. As for the house, Phyllis’s son and executor of… Read More »
