‘Laugh-In’ comedienne Ruth Buzzi dies

Comedienne Ruth Buzzi, who made a name for herself on the 1960s comedy show “Laugh-In,” has died.

She was 88 years old.

Her agent, Mike Eisenstadt, confirmed that she had died at home in Texas, The Associated Press reported. Her husband had posted on her behalf on Thursday morning, thanking her fans for “being so good to her for so many years,” adding, “She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.”

He said that “Because of health issues, she’s must withdraw from writing, but she will still be reading and enjoying your posts.”

The image linked to the post of one of her most famous characters, Gladys Ormphby.

On Friday morning, a post on her Facebook page, said she died peacefully in her sleep after being in hospice care for several years for Alzheimer’s disease.

Buzzi was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, the daughter of a nationally known stone sculptor, The Washington Post reported.

She graduated from high school in 1954 and went to the Pasadena Playhouse in California before working with Rudy Vallee’s musical comedy troupe during summer break. She also performed as Dom DeLuise’s assistant to his magician character on ‘The Gary Moore Show."

She was a regular on “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour” when she auditioned for “Laugh-In,” the Post reported.

Buzzi was the only regular to be in all six seasons, including the pilot, of the ground-breaking sketch comedy show.

It was Gladys Ormphby‘s character that helped get her the job.

“I think I hired her because of my passion for Gladys Ormphby,” creator and producer George Schlatter wrote in his 2023 memoir “Still Laughing A Life in Comedy.” “I must admit that the hairnet and the rolled-down stockings did light my fire. My favorite Gladys line was when she announced that the day of the office Christmas party, they sent her home early.”

As the character Ormphby, Buzzi was known for hitting Arte Johnson’s character with her purse after he would make sexual advances towards her.

“Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the struggler,” Buzzi told The Connecticut Post in 2018, according to the AP. “So when she fights back, she speaks for everyone who‘s been marginalized, reduced to a sex object or otherwise abused. And that’s almost everyone at some time or other.”

She ended up winning a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy twice for “Laugh-In,” the AP reported.

After the show ended, Buzzi would participate in “Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts” in Las Vegas, where she would appear alongside “honorees” such as Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball.

She also lent her voice to cartoons such as “The Smurfs” and appeared on “Sesame Street” from 1993 to 1999 as shopkeeper Ruthie, the Post reported.