05-05-2025
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.
