Latest news with #NationalComedyCenter
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alan Alda, Mike Farrell Among Those Paying Tribute to Loretta Swit: 'A Supremely Talented Actor'
Hollywood is paying tribute to Loretta Swit after news of her death was announced Friday. According to a police report, the M*A*S*H star died of suspected natural causes at her home in New York City, her publicist, Harlan Boll, announced. More from The Hollywood Reporter Renée Victor, Voice of Abuelita in 'Coco,' Dies at 86 Devin Harjes, 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Daredevil' and 'Gotham' Actor, Dies at 41 Sherry Robb, Literary Agent, Talent Manager and Producer, Dies at 81 Swit appeared in all but 11 episodes of M*A*S*H during its 11-season run, earning two Emmys for her portrayal of Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan. Notably, she was nominated for 10 Emmys, one for every season she appeared in except season one. After her tenure in the medical war drama, she went on to star in several films, including Freebie and the Bean (1974), Race With the Devil (1975), S.O.B. (1981) and BoardHeads (1998). Alan Alda, Swit's longtime M*A*S*H co-star, paid tribute to her on X. 'Loretta was a supremely talented actor. She deserved all her 10 EMMY nominations and her 2 wins. But more than acting her part, she created it,' he wrote on Friday. 'She worked hard in showing the writing staff how they could turn the character from a one joke sexist stereotype into a real person — with real feelings and ambitions. We celebrated the day the script came out, listing her character not as Hot Lips but as Margaret. Loretta made the most of her time here.' Mike Farrell, who joined the series in season four, shared a photo of the late actress on Instagram, writing, 'Loretta… 1937-2025.' In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Jamie Farr, who portrayed Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in M*A*S*H, said, 'Our dear Loretta was so talented, beautiful and an exceptional friend. There is a void in my life now and I shall always have a very special place for her in my heart. May her memory be eternal.' Also in a statement to THR, Journey Gunderson, the executive director of the National Comedy Center, said, 'Loretta Swit's portrayal of Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan was groundbreaking – bringing heart, humor, and strength to one of television comedy's most enduring roles. Her talent extended well beyond that iconic character, with acclaimed work on both stage and screen that showcased her intelligence, versatility, and passion. That legacy endures through the cultural impact of MASH, which is proudly represented in the National Comedy Center.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Japan Today
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series 'Laugh-In,' dies at 88
By BETH HARRIS Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In' and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, has died at age 88. Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas, her agent Mike Eisenstadt said. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in hospice care. Shortly before her death, her husband Kent Perkins, had posted a statement on Buzzi's Facebook page, thanking her many fans and telling them: 'She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.' Buzzi won a Golden Globe and was a two-time Emmy nominee for the NBC show that ran from 1968 to 1973. She was the only regular to appear in all six seasons, including the pilot. She was first spotted by 'Laugh-In' creator and producer George Schlatter playing various characters on 'The Steve Allen Comedy Hour.' Schlatter was holding auditions for 'Laugh-In' when he received a picture in the mail of Buzzi in her Ormphby costume, sitting in a wire mesh trash barrel. The character was clad in drab brown with her bun covered by a hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. 'I think I hired her because of my passion for Gladys Ormphby,' he 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.' The Gladys character used her purse as a weapon against anyone who bothered her, striking people over the head. On 'Laugh-In,' her most frequent target was Arte Johnson's dirty old man character Tyrone F. Horneigh. 'Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the struggler,' Buzzi told The Connecticut Post in 2018. '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.' Buzzi took her act to the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in Las Vegas, where she bashed her purse on the heads of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball, among others. 'Ruth Buzzi brought a singular energy and charm to sketch comedy that made her a standout on 'Laugh-In' and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. Her characters, especially the unforgettable Gladys Ormphby, captured the delightful absurdity of the era," said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. Her other recurring characters on 'Laugh-In' included Flicker Farkle; Busy-Buzzi, a Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge regular who got drunk with husband Leonard, played by Dick Martin; and an inconsiderate flight attendant. 'I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else,' Buzzi told The Connecticut Post. 'I was just thrilled to drive down the hill to NBC every day as an employed actor with a job to do.' Buzzi remained friends through the years with 'Laugh-In' co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley. Born Ruth Ann Buzzi on July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island, she was the daughter of Angelo Buzzi, a nationally known stone sculptor. Her father and later her brother operated Buzzi Memorials, a gravestone and monument maker in Stonington, Connecticut, where she was head cheerleader in high school. Buzzi enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 17. Two years later, she traveled with singer Rudy Vallee in a musical and comedy act during her summer break. That earned her an Actors' Equity union card before she graduated from the playhouse's College of Theatre Arts. Buzzi moved to New York and was immediately hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 such shows she performed in on the East Coast. She got her national television break on 'The Garry Moore Show' in 1964, just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. She played Shakundala the Silent, a bumbling magician's assistant to Dom DeLuise's character Dominic the Great. Buzzi was a regular on the CBS variety show 'The Entertainers' whose hosts included Burnett and Bob Newhart. She was in the original Broadway cast of 'Sweet Charity' with Gwen Verdon in 1966. Buzzi toured the country with her nightclub act, including appearances in Las Vegas. She was a semi-regular on 'That Girl' as Marlo Thomas' friend. She co-starred with Jim Nabors as time-traveling androids on 'The Lost Saucer' in the mid-1970s. Her other guest appearances included variety shows hosted by Burnett, Flip Wilson, Glen Campbell, Tony Orlando, Donny and Marie Osmond and Leslie Uggams. She appeared in Ball's last comedy series 'Life With Lucy.' Buzzi guested in music videos with 'Weird Al' Yankovic, the B-52's and the Presidents of the United States of America. She did hundreds of guest voices in cartoon series including 'Pound Puppies,' 'Berenstain Bears,' 'The Smurfs' and 'The Angry Beavers.' She was Emmy nominated for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on 'Sesame Street.' Her movie credits included 'Freaky Friday,' 'Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,' 'The North Avenue Irregulars' and 'The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.' Buzzi was active on social media and had thousands of followers whom she rewarded with such one-liners as 'I have never faked a sarcasm' and 'Scientists say the universe is made up entirely of neurons, protons and electrons. They seem to have missed morons.' She married actor Perkins in 1978. The couple moved from California to Texas in 2003 and bought a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville. Buzzi retired from acting in 2021 and suffered a series of strokes the following year. Her husband told The Dallas Morning News in 2023 that she had dementia. —- Associated Press National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Chicago Tribune
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series ‘Laugh-In,' dies at 88
LOS ANGELES — Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In' and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, has died at age 88. Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas, her agent Mike Eisenstadt said. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in hospice care. Shortly before her death, her husband Kent Perkins, had posted a statement on Buzzi's Facebook page, thanking her many fans and telling them: 'She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.' Buzzi won a Golden Globe and was a two-time Emmy nominee for the NBC show that ran from 1968 to 1973. She was the only regular to appear in all six seasons, including the pilot. She was first spotted by 'Laugh-In' creator and producer George Schlatter playing various characters on 'The Steve Allen Comedy Hour.' Schlatter was holding auditions for 'Laugh-In' when he received a picture in the mail of Buzzi in her Ormphby costume, sitting in a wire mesh trash barrel. The character was clad in drab brown with her bun covered by a hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. 'I think I hired her because of my passion for Gladys Ormphby,' he 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.' The Gladys character used her purse as a weapon against anyone who bothered her, striking people over the head. On 'Laugh-In,' her most frequent target was Arte Johnson's dirty old man character Tyrone F. Horneigh. 'Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the struggler,' Buzzi told The Connecticut Post in 2018. '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.' Buzzi took her act to the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in Las Vegas, where she bashed her purse on the heads of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball, among others. 'Ruth Buzzi brought a singular energy and charm to sketch comedy that made her a standout on 'Laugh-In' and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. Her characters, especially the unforgettable Gladys Ormphby, captured the delightful absurdity of the era,' said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. Her other recurring characters on 'Laugh-In' included Flicker Farkle; Busy-Buzzi, a Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge regular who got drunk with husband Leonard, played by Dick Martin; and an inconsiderate flight attendant. 'I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else,' Buzzi told The Connecticut Post. 'I was just thrilled to drive down the hill to NBC every day as an employed actor with a job to do.' Buzzi remained friends through the years with 'Laugh-In' co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley. Born Ruth Ann Buzzi on July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island, she was the daughter of Angelo Buzzi, a nationally known stone sculptor. Her father and later her brother operated Buzzi Memorials, a gravestone and monument maker in Stonington, Connecticut, where she was head cheerleader in high school. Buzzi enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 17. Two years later, she traveled with singer Rudy Vallee in a musical and comedy act during her summer break. That earned her an Actors' Equity union card before she graduated from the playhouse's College of Theatre Arts. Buzzi moved to New York and was immediately hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 such shows she performed in on the East Coast. She got her national television break on 'The Garry Moore Show' in 1964, just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. She played Shakundala the Silent, a bumbling magician's assistant to Dom DeLuise's character Dominic the Great. Buzzi was a regular on the CBS variety show 'The Entertainers' whose hosts included Burnett and Bob Newhart. She was in the original Broadway cast of 'Sweet Charity' with Gwen Verdon in 1966. Buzzi toured the country with her nightclub act, including appearances in Las Vegas. She was a semi-regular on 'That Girl' as Marlo Thomas' friend. She co-starred with Jim Nabors as time-traveling androids on 'The Lost Saucer' in the mid-1970s. Her other guest appearances included variety shows hosted by Burnett, Flip Wilson, Glen Campbell, Tony Orlando, Donny and Marie Osmond and Leslie Uggams. She appeared in Ball's last comedy series 'Life With Lucy.' Buzzi guested in music videos with 'Weird Al' Yankovic, the B-52's and the Presidents of the United States of America. She did hundreds of guest voices in cartoon series including 'Pound Puppies,' 'Berenstain Bears,' 'The Smurfs' and 'The Angry Beavers.' She was Emmy nominated for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on 'Sesame Street.' Her movie credits included 'Freaky Friday,' 'Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,' 'The North Avenue Irregulars' and 'The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.' Buzzi was active on social media and had thousands of followers whom she rewarded with such one-liners as 'I have never faked a sarcasm' and 'Scientists say the universe is made up entirely of neurons, protons and electrons. They seem to have missed morons.' She married actor Perkins in 1978. The couple moved from California to Texas in 2003 and bought a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville. Buzzi retired from acting in 2021 and suffered a series of strokes the following year. Her husband told The Dallas Morning News in 2023 that she had dementia. Originally Published: May 2, 2025 at 11:47 AM CDT
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series 'Laugh-In,' dies at 88
Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series 'Laugh-In,' dies at 88 Ruth Buzzi , who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, has died at age 88. Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas, her agent Mike Eisenstadt said. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in hospice care. Shortly before her death, her husband Kent Perkins, had posted a statement on Buzzi's Facebook page, thanking her many fans and telling them: "She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them." Buzzi won a Golden Globe and was a two-time Emmy nominee for the NBC show that ran from 1968 to 1973. She was the only regular to appear in all six seasons, including the pilot. She was first spotted by "Laugh-In" creator and producer George Schlatter playing various characters on "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour." Schlatter was holding auditions for "Laugh-In" when he received a picture in the mail of Buzzi in her Ormphby costume, sitting in a wire mesh trash barrel. The character was clad in drab brown with her bun covered by a hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. "I think I hired her because of my passion for Gladys Ormphby," he 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." The Gladys character used her purse as a weapon against anyone who bothered her, striking people over the head. On "Laugh-In," her most frequent target was Arte Johnson's dirty old man character Tyrone F. Horneigh. "Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the struggler," Buzzi told The Connecticut Post in 2018. "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." Buzzi took her act to the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in Las Vegas, where she bashed her purse on the heads of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball, among others. "Ruth Buzzi brought a singular energy and charm to sketch comedy that made her a standout on 'Laugh-In' and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. Her characters, especially the unforgettable Gladys Ormphby, captured the delightful absurdity of the era," said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. Her other recurring characters on "Laugh-In" included Flicker Farkle; Busy-Buzzi, a Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge regular who got drunk with husband Leonard, played by Dick Martin; and an inconsiderate flight attendant. "I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else," Buzzi told The Connecticut Post. "I was just thrilled to drive down the hill to NBC every day as an employed actor with a job to do." Buzzi remained friends through the years with "Laugh-In" co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley. Born Ruth Ann Buzzi on July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island, she was the daughter of Angelo Buzzi, a nationally known stone sculptor. Her father and later her brother operated Buzzi Memorials, a gravestone and monument maker in Stonington, Connecticut, where she was head cheerleader in high school. Buzzi enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 17. Two years later, she traveled with singer Rudy Vallee in a musical and comedy act during her summer break. That earned her an Actors' Equity union card before she graduated from the playhouse's College of Theatre Arts. Buzzi moved to New York and was immediately hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 such shows she performed in on the East Coast. She got her national television break on "The Garry Moore Show" in 1964, just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. She played Shakundala the Silent, a bumbling magician's assistant to Dom DeLuise's character Dominic the Great. Buzzi was a regular on the CBS variety show "The Entertainers" whose hosts included Burnett and Bob Newhart. She was in the original Broadway cast of "Sweet Charity" with Gwen Verdon in 1966. Buzzi toured the country with her nightclub act, including appearances in Las Vegas. She was a semi-regular on "That Girl" as Marlo Thomas' friend. She co-starred with Jim Nabors as time-traveling androids on "The Lost Saucer" in the mid-1970s. Her other guest appearances included variety shows hosted by Burnett, Flip Wilson, Glen Campbell, Tony Orlando , Donny and Marie Osmond and Leslie Uggams. She appeared in Ball's last comedy series "Life With Lucy." Buzzi guested in music videos with "Weird Al" Yankovic, the B-52's and the Presidents of the United States of America. She did hundreds of guest voices in cartoon series including "Pound Puppies," "Berenstain Bears," "The Smurfs" and "The Angry Beavers." She was Emmy nominated for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on "Sesame Street." Her movie credits included "Freaky Friday," "Chu Chu and the Philly Flash," "The North Avenue Irregulars" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again." Buzzi was active on social media and had thousands of followers whom she rewarded with such one-liners as "I have never faked a sarcasm" and "Scientists say the universe is made up entirely of neurons, protons and electrons. They seem to have missed morons." She married actor Perkins in 1978. The couple moved from California to Texas in 2003 and bought a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville. Buzzi retired from acting in 2021 and suffered a series of strokes the following year. Her husband told The Dallas Morning News in 2023 that she had dementia.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Contributor: Trump's cost-cutting alone can't save the budget, but the budget does need saving
The Department of Government Efficiency draws two extreme reactions from budget-focused observers. On one side, you have cynics rolling their eyes and arguing that the truly consequential problem is not overpriced government boondoggles but rather entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security and interest on the national debt. On the other, you have optimists who believe that if we just find and eliminate enough waste, fraud and abuse, we can balance the budget — unless much of the savings is handed out as 'DOGE dividend' checks. They point to outrageous spending on 'gambling monkeys' and luxury pickleball courts as proof that government is a bloated, reckless disaster. Others think the piecemeal savings could wipe out our government's $2-trillion annual deficit. Both perspectives are half right and half dangerously wrong. I spend much of my time warning people that ever-larger chunks of the budget are consumed by entitlement spending, about which President Trump's cost-cutters can do little without Congress. Around half of the budget is consumed by just three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Add in the growing cost of interest payments on our $36-trillion national debt — thanks to both reckless overspending and rising interest rates — and we're talking about 70% of spending being essentially automatic and untouchable unless real reforms happen. That's why the first group of critics shrugs off the cost-cutting work, arguing that finding waste in discretionary spending is like bailing water out of the Titanic with a teacup. They're missing part of the point. After all, politicians do spend large sums without restraint, much of it borrowed, on boondoggles that most Americans wouldn't support if they knew what was happening. It's also a matter of good sense. Imagine telling a family drowning in debt that they shouldn't bother canceling unnecessary streaming subscriptions or eating out less because 'the real problem is the mortgage.' It's a bad argument when applied to household budgets or the federal budget. Now to be fair, what one person considers wasteful, another person might see as an essential or efficient investment. But this isn't just a fight over efficiency; it's a fight over what the federal government should be doing in the first place. As for me, I look at federal dollars being showered on state governments for local projects — whether for infrastructure, education or pork-barrel transit grants — and see violations of federalism. Should all federal taxpayers really foot the bill for $1.7 million in federal grants to the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y., to build holograms of dead comedians? Defenders of Trump's cost-cutting are right that every billion spent by government is a billion taken from the pockets of today's taxpayers or added to our debt. Every grant, redundant agency and special-interest handout is either a current or future tax hike. This is true for both obvious 'waste' and debatable 'investments.' Meanwhile, if the cost-cutting team's defenders wrongly insist it can fix the budget, that's no excuse to look away from utterly ridiculous spending. Nor is it a reason to put aside questions about whether Americans should shoulder all these well-meaning programs that make little to no difference in most people's lives. That's why we should know where all the money goes. Would you support $12 million to fund a luxury pickleball complex in Las Vegas? There are billions more in examples, including $28 million once spent on Afghan army camouflage uniforms with a forest pattern, chosen based on an Afghan official's personal fashion preference, despite most of Afghanistan being desert. The Washington establishment has no incentive to stop the spending on small, ridiculous stuff or on large, unpaid-for programs. Congress doesn't have to balance the national budget as the rest of us must balance our own household's. Where does that leave us? With the same old truth that we must soon reform entitlement spending to make Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security sustainable. But we must also cut as much as possible of the absurd waste that infects the budget. Rather than endorsing a false choice, we, the people, should simply demand that Congress be the good steward of our tax dollars that it was intended to be. Regardless of what the Department of Government Efficiency does. Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate. If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
