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Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ruth Buzzi dead at 88: 70s comedienne was best known for TV's Laugh-In with Goldie Hawn
Seventies comedienne Ruth Buzzi has died at the age of 88. She passed away on Monday at her home in Texas while under hospice, it was reported on her official Facebook page. The star was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012 and was disabled from a stroke in 2022. The comedienne was best known for starring in the NBC variety sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In which aired from 1968 to 1973. The show won her a Golden Globe Award and received five Emmy nominations. Her costar was Goldie Hawn. Ruth also appeared on several popular TV shows such as Days of Our Lives, The Carol Burnett Show, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Berenstain Bears, The Pink Panther and 1976's Freaky Friday. Her last acting credit was a starring role in the 2021 movie One Month Out. Ruth's close friends were a who's who of the 1970s: Lucille Ball, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Marlo Thomas and Johnny Carson. Buzzi was born in Rhode Island and raised in Stonington, Connecticut. Her first job was with singer Rudy Vallee in a live musical and comedy act when she was only 19-years-old and still a student. She moved to New York City after graduation from college then worked alongside Barbra Streisand, Joan Rivers, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, and Carol Burnett. Ruth also appeared in numerous television commercials. Her first big TV role was on The Garry Moore Show in 1964 with Dom DeLuise. The star then appeared on The Entertainers (1964–65). In 1966–67, she appeared in Sweet Charity with Bob Fosse's wife Gwen Verdon in the original cast. Next came The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, a variety series starring Steve Allen. And then she landed a part on her biggest show: Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In where she played Flicker Farkle; Busy-Buzzi; Doris Swizzler; and one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses. She could also be seen on That Girl as Marlo Thomas' friend Margie Peterson. Buzzi also guest-starred as Chloe, the wife of phone company worker Henry Beesmeyer (Marvin Kaplan) on Alice in 1981. She was also a guest star on Down to Earth in 1985. Dean Martin's producer Greg Garrison hired her for his comedy specials starring Dom DeLuise. And she popped up on Donny & Marie, The Flip Wilson Show, The Dean Martin Music and Comedy Hour, the Dean Martin Roasts, The Carol Burnett Show, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Monkees, Emergency!, and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams and by Glen Campbell. She also appeared occasionally on game shows and was a celebrity judge on The Gong Show. And she was on Lucille Ball's last comedy Life with Lucy as Mrs. Wilcox in the episode Lucy Makes a Hit. She appeared eight times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. And Ruth showed up on Sesame Street in 1993 as shopkeeper, Ruthie. Later, she was seen on Saved by the Bell, The Muppet Show, Passions and Come on Over. She had featured roles in more than 20 films, including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Freaky Friday, The North Avenue Irregulars, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Villain, The Being, Surf II, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Buzzi lived with her husband, actor Kent Perkins, on a 600-acre cattle and horse ranch near Stephenville, Texas. The TV veteran was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012. In July 2022, it was reported that Buzzi had suffered a series of strokes. Buzzi died at her home in her sleep in hospice care in Stephenville, Texas on May 1, 2025 from complications of Alzheimer's disease, at the age of 88.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Ruth Buzzi Dies: The ‘Rowan & Martin Laugh-In' Star Was 88
Actress and comedian Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame in the 1968 to 1973 NBC variety/sketch comedy Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, died on May 1. She was 88. 'Ruthie left us while peacefully sleeping yesterday evening at home. She'd been in hospice care, disabled from a stroke in 2022 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's ten years earlier,' read a message from her family on Facebook. Born July 24, 1936 in Westerly, Rhode Island, Ruth Buzzi's first job in show business was at age 19, traveling with singer Rudy Vallee in a live musical and comedy act during her summer break from college. She moved to New York City after graduation and was hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 in which she performed around the East Coast. Buzzi debuted on television in variety series The Garry Moore Show in 1964, and she was a member of the ensemble on the The Entertainers in 1965. Following a guest spot on sitcom The Monkees in 1967, she landed the recurring role of Margie 'Pete' Peterson on the Marlo Thomas comedy That Girl. Other guest appearances followed, including Night Gallery, Here's Lucy and Love, American Style until her big break came with Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in. 'We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. It never even felt like I was going to work. It was pure spontaneous fun,' said Buzzi at a session on Laugh-In at the Television Critics Winter Press Tour in 2011. Buzzi was one of only four cast members who were regulars on the breakout hit for its entire six season run. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were spinster Gladys Ormphby; Busy-Buzzi, a gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge patron who always got smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses; and Flicker Farkle. Following Laugh-In, Buzzi appeared opposite Jim Nabors in the Saturday morning comedy The Lost Saucer from Sid and Marty Krofft from 1975 to 1976. In 1979, she co-starred on the Canadian children's comedy show Whatever Turns You On and was active both as a guest star and a voice actor in dozens of TV series (including CHiPs, Alice, Days of Our Lives, Trapper John, M.D., Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Addams Family and The Pink Panther). In 1993, Buzzi joined the cast of Sesame Street as shopkeeper, Ruthie, as part of the Around the Corner set expansion. She also voiced Suzie Kabloozie and her pet cat, Feff in animated inserts that were shown on the show from 1994 to 2008. Buzzi also appeared in numerous TV commercials, including Clorox 2, Clairol and Ban roll-on deodorant, and she voiced Granny Goodwitch for Sugar Crisp cereal. She had a nightclub act across the United States, including at The Sahara and MGM Grand hotels in Las Vegas. She appeared eight times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. And her film resume included ding Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Freaky Friday, The North Avenue Irregulars and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Memorial arrangements will be made by Lacy Funeral Home on Stephenville, Texas. with the details to be announced. The family requests donating to Alzheimer's research ( in lieu of flowers.
