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 »
Phyllis takes us for a ride
Whatever got into Phyllis Diller this particular day, I’m sure I don’t know. She was in a fun and funny mood and decided that she would take us all — secretaries and household staff — for a ride in the Excalibur. And when Phyllis decided someone should do something, it was pretty much a command performance. The Excalibur was a sporty little two-seater convertible modeled on a 1928 Mercedes Benz. Her husband’s car. So on this day, Phyllis put on her “touring outfit” which would have been the normal white slacks and white short sleeved shirt and a white hood over her hair and she added large goggles that you would see people wearing to drive in old, old movies. It was quite bizarre, but no more bizarre than her driving. Phyllis was not adept at driving a car. Well, obviously, she was able to, but in all the time I worked… Read More »
Phyllis Diller’s First Dustbiter Reunion Lunch
It was July 17, 2005, Phyllis Diller’s 88th birthday. The butler pushed open the doors of the formal dining room. “This room was always off-limits when I worked here,” Carole Beams whispered as the butler stood aside and motioned for us to enter. The table was beautifully set with antique silver, elegant china and crystal wine goblets. Linen napkins and place cards marked every place. The tall candles in the center were lit even although it was the middle of the day. Phyllis had invited a select group of former secretaries, whom she dubbed her “Dustbiters” for the first of what would become many annual reunions. (She later explained her name for us on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, “they worked for me as long as they could stand it, then they bit the dust!”). This was the first time in nearly 30 years I’d been back. The house had not changed, but it was very… Read More »
