Ruth Buzzi
Encyclopedia
Ruth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre
, film
, and television
. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy
-variety show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
from 1968 to 1973.
, in a rock house overlooking the ocean at Wequeteqouck Cove, where her father owned Buzzi Memorials, a business still operated by her older brother, Harold. Her father was born in Arzo
, Switzerland
, in the Ticino – Italian section of the country. He carved the marble eagles at Penn Station in New York designed by artist Adolph A. Weinman (who also designed the Standing Liberty Eagle half dollar for the U.S. Mint), the granite Leif Erikson memorial in Providence, Rhode Island
, the animals seen in relief on the Natural History Museum
in New York City
, and made thousands of tombstones. He was asked to work on the carving of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore but declined, due to a fear of heights. Her father was born in the tiny mountain hamlet of Arzo, Switzerland in the Italian section of the country known as Ticino, just a few miles from the Italian border; her mother was born in the United States to immigrants from northern Italy.
Buzzi attended Stonington High School
where she gained experience as head cheerleader performing before crowds at athletic events. At 17, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse
for the Performing Arts and graduated with honors. She studied voice, dance, and acting, and took courses in cosmetology
in case the acting career failed to attain success. Before graduation from college however, she was a working actress with a union card in musical and comedy revues. Her first job in show business was at the age of 19, traveling with singer Rudy Vallee
in a live musical and comedy act during her summer break from college; it allowed her to graduate with a treasured union card with Actor's Equity Union. She moved to New York after graduation and was hired immediately for a lead role in an off-Broadway
musical revue, the first of 19 in which she performed across the East Coast. Classmates at Pasadena Playhouse included legendary actors Dustin Hoffman
and Gene Hackman
.
In musical and comedy revues from Provincetown, Massachussettes to the Catskills of New York, to off-Broadway, she worked alongside other young, talented performers just beginning their careers at the time, including Barbra Streisand
, Joan Rivers
, Dom DeLuise
, Bernadette Peters
and Carol Burnett
.
Buzzi's first national exposure came when she teamed up with Dom DeLuise
in a comical magic act in which he played an incompetent magician and Buzzi was his "sidekick" named "Shakuntala" who never spoke but always sported a wide grin. Audiences demanded more of the two and they played several major nighttime television variety shows including The Garry Moore Show
, The Entertainers with Carol Burnett
, and Your Show of Shows
with Imogene Coca
.
She was hired by Bob Fosse
to perform with Fosse's then wife Gwen Verdon
in the hit Broadway Musical Sweet Charity
. It was during the run of Sweet Charity that she auditioned for and received a permanent place in the comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, which was the top rated show on NBC for more than five years.
classic Broadway show, Sweet Charity
, with Gwen Verdon
in the original cast; she had to leave the show in which she had several small roles, one of them "the Singing Fairy," to become a regular performer on The Steve Allen Show
, on CBS
. Between New York musical variety shows, Buzzi made numerous television commercials, some of which won national awards including the coveted Clio Award
.
Buzzi's first national recognition on television came on The Garry Moore Show
just after Carol Burnett
was replaced by Dorothy Loudon
on the series. Ruth Buzzi saw her first taste of national fame as "Shakuntala" the silent, bumbling magician's assistant to her comedy partner Dom DeLuise
who played "Dominic the Great". They were an instant hit with the public.
Buzzi was a member of the regular repertory
company on the CBS
variety show The Entertainers
(1964–1965). In 1966–1967, she was in the Broadway cast of the musical Sweet Charity
, playing several roles onstage in the hit musical, including the "Good Fairy".
In the late 1960s, she was featured as a semi-regular on the sitcom That Girl
as Marlo Thomas
's friend while she had been cast as a regular in "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." Before that, she appeared in every episode of a comedy-variety series starring Steve Allen
. Her character parts in the Steve Allen Show sketches led her to be cast for NBC
's new show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi was the only featured player to appear in every episode of Laugh-In including the initial pilot for the show and the Laugh-In television special.
A versatile comedienne, she played everything from dowdy old women, to tipsy drunks, to Southern belles to flashy hookers. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were Busy-Buzzi, Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Sidebottom, a cocktail-lounge habituée who always got riotously smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); and one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses, teaming with Debbie Reynolds
as two totally inconsiderate flight attendants.
Her most famous character is the dowdy spinster
Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her lethal purse, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath.
On Laugh-In, Gladys most often appeared as the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson
's "dirty old man" character Tyrone F. Horneigh. In a typical exchange, Tyrone accosts Gladys and asks, "Do you believe in the hereafter?" "Of course I do!", Gladys retorts defensively. Delighted, Tyrone shoots back: "Then you know what I'm here after!" NBC collectively called these two characters The Nitwits when they went to animation in the mid 1970s as part of the series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
. Buzzi and Johnson both voiced their respective roles in the cartoon.
Buzzi, as Gladys, was featured in most of the Dean Martin
Roasts from the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas
. Memorable shows included her intense comedic dialogue, ranting about notable roastees including Muhammad Ali
, Frank Sinatra
, and Lucille Ball
, to name a few. In each case, Gladys Ormphby pugnaciously attacked the honoree with her flailing purse to the screams and howls of the Las Vegas audience.
Martin would also suffer Gladys' purse assaults for his remarks about her unappealing looks and poor romantic prospects. In one such exchange, Gladys accusingly questioned Martin about who had been chasing her around a hotel room in the wee hours; Martin's response, "The exterminator!" earned him a beating as he broke up laughing along with the audience. Gladys then declared to the audience that, when Martin and other men looked at her, only one thing came to their minds. Martin, still laughing, could barely get out the answer, "Rabies!" which earned him an even fiercer beating from Gladys.
Buzzi starred with Jim Nabors
in The Lost Saucer
produced by Sid and Marty Krofft
which aired from September 11, 1975 – September 2, 1976 (16 episodes).
Buzzi also guested as Chloe, the usually never-seen but often mentioned wife of phone company worker, Henry Beesmeyer on Alice
.
Dean Martin's producer, Greg Garrison, obviously enjoyed Ruth Buzzi's work as a "comedy sketch artist" and hired her for his comedy specials starring Dom DeLuise
.
In 1986, she voiced for the character Nose Marie in the Hanna Barbera animated series Pound Puppies
. She voiced "Mamma Bear" in the Berenstain Bears, and did hundreds of guest voices for many other cartoon series. She is still seen frequently on Sesame Street
in comedy sketch clips from her six years on that show, and is often heard as the voice of outlandish failed torch singer, "Susie Kabloozy". She was a regular performer on Sesame Street
for 6 years, during which time she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as "Ruthie".
Buzzi was a guest star on many television series including 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
, and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams
and Glen Campbell
.
Buzzi performed in numerous national television commercials, most notably for "Clorox 2", Liquid Swan soap, Clairol hair products, Ban roll-on deodorant, and Santa Anita Raceway, but probably most famous as the voice of "Granny Goodwitch" opposite the "Sugar Bear" in the animated commercials for Sugar Crisp cereal.
Buzzi appeared in the "Weird Al" Yankovic
video "Gump
" and similarly appeared in other music videos with the rock groups B-52's and The Presidents of the United States of America
. She also appeared for seven years as a regular performer on Sesame Street
(playing shopkeeper Ruthie, which also allowed her to revive her Gladys Ormphby character, and also voiced Susie Kabloozie), Saved by the Bell
(playing Screech Powers's wacky mother as an Elvis fanatic), The Muppet Show
, You Can't Do That on Television
(during its CTV
-produced incarnation Whatever Turns You On), and numerous other television shows. She was also a voice actress for The Smurfs, The Angry Beavers
and Mo Willems
' Sheep in the Big City
. Buzzi also played the role of the eccentric Nurse Kravitz on NBC's daytime soap Passions
. In 2006 and 2007, she made guest appearances on the children's TV series Come on Over
. Ruth Buzzi recreated her own voice for the Gladys Ormphby character in its cartoon series called Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
with Artie Johnson bringing his character to life on the show, as well.
Buzzi had a successful nightclub act all across the United States including in Las Vegas
at the Sahara Hotel and at the MGM Grand. She only performed the act for one year because she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke and disliked traveling all the time; her shows were all sold out and she was offered an extended stay in Las Vegas but opted out.
Buzzi has had featured roles in more than 20 motion pictures including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash
, Freaky Friday
, The North Avenue Irregulars
, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
, The Villain
, and a number of westerns for the European market known as the Lucky Luke
series in which she plays the mother of the Dalton Gang
and other roles.
from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
in 1973 for her work on Laugh-In.
Buzzi was inducted in 2002 into the Television Hall of Fame (presented by the National Broadcasters Association, which bestowed the honor to Buzzi as well as the producers, director and cast of the top rated television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
).
Buzzi was in 1971 inducted into the Rhode Island
Heritage Hall of Fame
.
Buzzi received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pasadena Playhouse
of the Performing Arts.
Five times, Buzzi has been nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Emmy Awards in several categories from comedy and variety to Best Performer in a Children's Television Program; she was recognized not only for making people laugh, but for her versatility as an actress; she is remembered for a guest starring dramatic role on Medical Center
with Greg Evigan
in which she played the wife of a fatally ill man played by Don Rickles
.
Buzzi received a Clio Award for Best Spokesperson in a television commercial for her series of Clorox
-2 commercials, and was among the few White women to ever win an NAACP Image Award
. Ruth Buzzi guest starred as a music and comedy performer on dozens of prime time television specials with colleagues including Jonathan Winters
, Carol Burnett
, Jim Nabors
, Dean Martin
, Frank Sinatra
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Wayne Newton
, Anne Murray
, Rolf Harris
, Dom DeLuise
, Tony Orlando
and was in a show created for Debbie Reynolds
called Aloha Paradise, to name just a few. She appeared 8 times on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
and has made more than 200 other television guest appearances.
In 2008 Ruth Buzzi was named a "Distinguished Woman of Northwood" by the Board of Regents of Northwood University
.
Ruth Buzzi graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse
in Pasadena, California
and was one of the first recipients of the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni Achievement Award along with her former classmates Dustin Hoffman
and Gene Hackman
.
Buzzi was a presenter at the 2009 Emmy Awards along with several members of her debut series, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, presenting the Emmy trophy to Jon Stewart
for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
American post-hardcore/metal band The Bled
recorded a song entitled "Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back" for their album Pass the Flask
, and later re-released on Pass The Flask (Reissue). The title of the song comes from a line in the movie Wet Hot American Summer
. She has appeared in music videos with "Weird Al" Yankovic
, The Presidents of the USA and the B-52's
.
Buzzi also played the wife of her close friend Kinky Friedman
in the satirical music video "Get your Biscuits in the Oven and your Buns in the Bed."
She is mentioned at the end of the Conway Twitty
- Loretta Lynn
duet "You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly."
Nikki Dodo once impersonated her in "Sawdust and Toonsil" on Tiny Toon Adventures
.
Her famous character "Gladys Ormphby" has been impersonated by many other performers over the years, including a famous sketch on Laugh-In in which Don Rickles
played her (even homlier) sister.
Mark Levin
satirically refers to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
as Ruth "Buzzi" Ginsburg, referring to the Justice's resemblance to the television star's famous character "Gladys Ormphby."
In 2011 a woman in London, England fought off robbers at a jewelry store; the woman used only her purse, which she swung knocking one of the escaping robbers off his motorcycle, leading to his capture. Caught on video, the episode "went viral" and was picked up by news organizations around the world. Several commentators, including the hosts of the Today Show on NBC, referred to Ruth Buzzi when airing the report, e.g. "That was the best usage of a purse since Ruth Buzzi."
, and enjoys spending time with her husband (a retired businessman) at their 220 acre (0.8903092 km²) ranch just west of Fort Worth, Texas
where they raise Black Angus and longhorn
cattle and quarter horses; she has a horse named Gladys, a cat named Ratso Rizzo, a flock of ducks, swans, Guinea hens and chickens, and her hobby is oil painting.
Buzzi has never offered her oil paintings for sale to the public, but has donated original oil paintings to charity where they have sold for more than $6,000.
She supports numerous children's charities including Make a Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics
, The Thalians, St. Jude's Hospital, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
.
Buzzi is active in fundraising for the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch (www.utopiarescue.com) in Medina, Texas and other animal causes.
Buzzi and her husband are avid automobile collectors, with some of their vehicles being currently on loan to and/on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum
in Los Angeles, California
including a red, fuel-injected 1957 Chevrolet convertible, which is annually exhibited as part of the dazzling display honoring the cars of screen legend Steve McQueen
.
Previously, the Petersen Automotive Museum
displayed Buzzi's 1961 Rolls-Royce
convertible in an exhibit they called "Million Dollar Cars", and a the museum has also featured a 1965 Chrysler Imperial convertible previously owned by screen legend Katharine Hepburn
; the Hepburn car was donated to the museum by Kent and Ruth Buzzi Perkins in 2001 and remains there for special exhibition. Buzzi and her husband won first place in their category with their 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II drophead coupe at the Concours d'Elegance
national championship in Amelia Island, Florida. That same vehicle won first place in the Los Angeles Rolls Royce Owners Club's "most elegant car" competition. Buzzi and her husband currently collect post-war English classic vehicles including Rolls-Royce and Jaguar
, but their collection also holds several American muscle cars. Some of her collectible vehicles have been in television commercials, featured in parades, and her blue Bentley convertible was featured on the cover of Vogue Magazine with Jessica Simpson
behind the wheel.
She is a charter member of the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni Association.
She currently has a verified Twitter account @Ruth_A_Buzzi
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
-variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
from 1968 to 1973.
Early life
Buzzi was born at Westerly Hospital, Westerly, Rhode Island, the daughter of Rena Pauline (Macchi) and Angelo Peter Buzzi, a nationally recognized stone sculptor. She was raised in Wequetequock, ConnecticutStonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
, in a rock house overlooking the ocean at Wequeteqouck Cove, where her father owned Buzzi Memorials, a business still operated by her older brother, Harold. Her father was born in Arzo
Arzo
Arzo was a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It had an area of and a population of 1,126 inhabitants ....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in the Ticino – Italian section of the country. He carved the marble eagles at Penn Station in New York designed by artist Adolph A. Weinman (who also designed the Standing Liberty Eagle half dollar for the U.S. Mint), the granite Leif Erikson memorial in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, the animals seen in relief on the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and made thousands of tombstones. He was asked to work on the carving of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore but declined, due to a fear of heights. Her father was born in the tiny mountain hamlet of Arzo, Switzerland in the Italian section of the country known as Ticino, just a few miles from the Italian border; her mother was born in the United States to immigrants from northern Italy.
Buzzi attended Stonington High School
Stonington High School
Stonington High School is a historic school on Church Street in Stonington, Connecticut.It was built in 1888 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978....
where she gained experience as head cheerleader performing before crowds at athletic events. At 17, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
for the Performing Arts and graduated with honors. She studied voice, dance, and acting, and took courses in cosmetology
Cosmetology
Cosmetology is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty including hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, and electrology....
in case the acting career failed to attain success. Before graduation from college however, she was a working actress with a union card in musical and comedy revues. Her first job in show business was at the age of 19, traveling with singer Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
in a live musical and comedy act during her summer break from college; it allowed her to graduate with a treasured union card with Actor's Equity Union. She moved to New York after graduation and was hired immediately for a lead role in an off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
musical revue, the first of 19 in which she performed across the East Coast. Classmates at Pasadena Playhouse included legendary actors Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
.
In musical and comedy revues from Provincetown, Massachussettes to the Catskills of New York, to off-Broadway, she worked alongside other young, talented performers just beginning their careers at the time, including Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
, Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
and Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
.
Buzzi's first national exposure came when she teamed up with Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
in a comical magic act in which he played an incompetent magician and Buzzi was his "sidekick" named "Shakuntala" who never spoke but always sported a wide grin. Audiences demanded more of the two and they played several major nighttime television variety shows including The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
, The Entertainers with Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, and Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows
Your Show of Shows is a live 90-minute variety show that appeared weekly in the United States on NBC , from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca....
with Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca
Imogene Fernandez de Coca was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows....
.
She was hired by Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
to perform with Fosse's then wife Gwen Verdon
Gwen Verdon
Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
in the hit Broadway Musical Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
. It was during the run of Sweet Charity that she auditioned for and received a permanent place in the comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, which was the top rated show on NBC for more than five years.
Career
Before leaving New York for a career in Los Angeles as a television star, Buzzi played in a Bob FosseBob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
classic Broadway show, Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
, with Gwen Verdon
Gwen Verdon
Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
in the original cast; she had to leave the show in which she had several small roles, one of them "the Singing Fairy," to become a regular performer on The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
, on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Between New York musical variety shows, Buzzi made numerous television commercials, some of which won national awards including the coveted Clio Award
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
.
Buzzi's first national recognition on television came on The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer, Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don...
just after Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
was replaced by Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
on the series. Ruth Buzzi saw her first taste of national fame as "Shakuntala" the silent, bumbling magician's assistant to her comedy partner Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
who played "Dominic the Great". They were an instant hit with the public.
Buzzi was a member of the regular repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
company on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
variety show The Entertainers
The Entertainers
The Entertainers was a one-hour American variety show that aired on CBS from September 25, 1964 through March 27, 1965 on the 1964–1965 United States network television schedule. The series, produced by Joe Hamilton, featured three stars, Hamilton's wife Carol Burnett, Caterina Valente, and Bob...
(1964–1965). In 1966–1967, she was in the Broadway cast of the musical Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...
, playing several roles onstage in the hit musical, including the "Good Fairy".
In the late 1960s, she was featured as a semi-regular on the sitcom That Girl
That Girl
That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
as Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
's friend while she had been cast as a regular in "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." Before that, she appeared in every episode of a comedy-variety series starring Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
. Her character parts in the Steve Allen Show sketches led her to be cast for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's new show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi was the only featured player to appear in every episode of Laugh-In including the initial pilot for the show and the Laugh-In television special.
A versatile comedienne, she played everything from dowdy old women, to tipsy drunks, to Southern belles to flashy hookers. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were Busy-Buzzi, Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Sidebottom, a cocktail-lounge habituée who always got riotously smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); and one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses, teaming with Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
as two totally inconsiderate flight attendants.
Her most famous character is the dowdy spinster
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her lethal purse, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath.
On Laugh-In, Gladys most often appeared as the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson
Arte Johnson
Arthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson is an American comic actor. Johnson was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His best-remembered "character" was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase: "Verrrry interesting, but...['stupid', 'not very funny', and other variations]".-Early life:Johnson...
's "dirty old man" character Tyrone F. Horneigh. In a typical exchange, Tyrone accosts Gladys and asks, "Do you believe in the hereafter?" "Of course I do!", Gladys retorts defensively. Delighted, Tyrone shoots back: "Then you know what I'm here after!" NBC collectively called these two characters The Nitwits when they went to animation in the mid 1970s as part of the series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits is a 1977 animated series, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and broadcast on NBC.-Overview:Each half-hour episode contains two cartoon segments:...
. Buzzi and Johnson both voiced their respective roles in the cartoon.
Buzzi, as Gladys, was featured in most of the Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
Roasts from the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. Memorable shows included her intense comedic dialogue, ranting about notable roastees including Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, to name a few. In each case, Gladys Ormphby pugnaciously attacked the honoree with her flailing purse to the screams and howls of the Las Vegas audience.
Martin would also suffer Gladys' purse assaults for his remarks about her unappealing looks and poor romantic prospects. In one such exchange, Gladys accusingly questioned Martin about who had been chasing her around a hotel room in the wee hours; Martin's response, "The exterminator!" earned him a beating as he broke up laughing along with the audience. Gladys then declared to the audience that, when Martin and other men looked at her, only one thing came to their minds. Martin, still laughing, could barely get out the answer, "Rabies!" which earned him an even fiercer beating from Gladys.
Buzzi starred with Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
in The Lost Saucer
The Lost Saucer
The Lost Saucer is an ABC network television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It first aired September 6, 1975.-Premise:The Lost Saucer was about two time-travelling futuristic androids named Fi and Fum who land their flying saucer on present day Earth...
produced by Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
which aired from September 11, 1975 – September 2, 1976 (16 episodes).
Buzzi also guested as Chloe, the usually never-seen but often mentioned wife of phone company worker, Henry Beesmeyer on Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
.
Dean Martin's producer, Greg Garrison, obviously enjoyed Ruth Buzzi's work as a "comedy sketch artist" and hired her for his comedy specials starring Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
.
In 1986, she voiced for the character Nose Marie in the Hanna Barbera animated series Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies is a toyline sold by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, an animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries....
. She voiced "Mamma Bear" in the Berenstain Bears, and did hundreds of guest voices for many other cartoon series. She is still seen frequently on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
in comedy sketch clips from her six years on that show, and is often heard as the voice of outlandish failed torch singer, "Susie Kabloozy". She was a regular performer on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
for 6 years, during which time she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as "Ruthie".
Buzzi was a guest star on many television series including Donny & Marie
Donny & Marie (1976 TV series)
Donny & Marie was an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979. The show stars brother and sister pop duo Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond...
, The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...
, The Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
Music and Comedy Hour, the Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
Roasts, The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
, Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
, and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her work in Hallelujah, Baby! She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.-Singing:...
and Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
.
Buzzi performed in numerous national television commercials, most notably for "Clorox 2", Liquid Swan soap, Clairol hair products, Ban roll-on deodorant, and Santa Anita Raceway, but probably most famous as the voice of "Granny Goodwitch" opposite the "Sugar Bear" in the animated commercials for Sugar Crisp cereal.
Buzzi appeared in the "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
video "Gump
Gump (song)
"Gump" is a song by American musical parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "Lump" by The Presidents of the United States of America and also parodies the 1994 movie Forrest Gump. It is one of several Yankovic songs describing the events of a movie....
" and similarly appeared in other music videos with the rock groups B-52's and The Presidents of the United States of America
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
. She also appeared for seven years as a regular performer on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
(playing shopkeeper Ruthie, which also allowed her to revive her Gladys Ormphby character, and also voiced Susie Kabloozie), Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
(playing Screech Powers's wacky mother as an Elvis fanatic), The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, You Can't Do That on Television
You Can't Do That on Television
You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian television program that first aired locally in 1979 before ultimately airing internationally in 1981...
(during its CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
-produced incarnation Whatever Turns You On), and numerous other television shows. She was also a voice actress for The Smurfs, The Angry Beavers
The Angry Beavers
The Angry Beavers is an American animated television series created by Mitch Schauer for the Nickelodeon channel. The series revolves around Daggett and Norbert Beaver, two young beaver brothers who have left their home to become bachelors in the forest near Wayouttatown, Oregon. The show premiered...
and Mo Willems
Mo Willems
Mo Willems is an American writer, animator, and children's books author/illustrator.-Early life:Willems was raised in New Orleans, where he graduated from Trinity Episcopal School and the Isidore Newman School. He graduated cum laude from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He married...
' Sheep in the Big City
Sheep in the Big City
Sheep in the Big City is an American animated television series which ran on Cartoon Network for two seasons, from November 4, 2000 to April 7, 2002....
. Buzzi also played the role of the eccentric Nurse Kravitz on NBC's daytime soap Passions
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008....
. In 2006 and 2007, she made guest appearances on the children's TV series Come on Over
Come on Over (TV series)
Come on Over is a children's television series produced by the Grand Rapids Children's Museum in association with Enthusiastic Productions. The series was created by Joel Schoon Tanis, and is executive produced by Tanis, Patrick W. Ziegler, and Teresa L. Thome of the Museum...
. Ruth Buzzi recreated her own voice for the Gladys Ormphby character in its cartoon series called Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits is a 1977 animated series, produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and broadcast on NBC.-Overview:Each half-hour episode contains two cartoon segments:...
with Artie Johnson bringing his character to life on the show, as well.
Buzzi had a successful nightclub act all across the United States including in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
at the Sahara Hotel and at the MGM Grand. She only performed the act for one year because she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke and disliked traveling all the time; her shows were all sold out and she was offered an extended stay in Las Vegas but opted out.
Buzzi has had featured roles in more than 20 motion pictures including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash is a 1981 comedy film starring Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, Jack Warden, Ruth Buzzi, and Danny Aiello. It was released in 1981 by 20th Century Fox. Arkin plays a down-his-luck former baseball player and Burnett plays a Carmen Miranda-style performer...
, Freaky Friday
Freaky Friday (1976 film)
Freaky Friday is a 1976 American comedy film starring Jodie Foster as Annabel Andrews and Barbara Harris as her mother.The film is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers, in which mother and daughter switch bodies and get a taste of each others' lives. The cause of the switch is left...
, The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars
The North Avenue Irregulars is a 1979 Disney film distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Edward Hermann, Barbara Harris and Susan Clark. It was based on original work by Albert Fay Hill, as adapted by Don Tait...
, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is a 1979 sequel to the 1975 family film The Apple Dumpling Gang starring the comedy duo of Tim Conway, and Don Knotts. Conway and Knotts reprise their roles as Amos and Theodore. The film also stars Tim Matheson, Harry Morgan, and Kenneth Mars. Laugh-In star...
, The Villain
The Villain
The Villain is a 1979 American film. A parody of western films, it was directed by Hal Needham and starred Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margret, Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Strother Martin, Ruth Buzzi, Jack Elam, and Mel Tillis...
, and a number of westerns for the European market known as the Lucky Luke
Lucky Luke
Lucky Luke is a Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and was for one period written by René Goscinny...
series in which she plays the mother of the Dalton Gang
Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...
and other roles.
Awards
Buzzi received the coveted Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an organization composed of working journalists who cover the United States film industry for a variety of outlets, including newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Today, the 90 members of the HFPA represent at least 55...
in 1973 for her work on Laugh-In.
Buzzi was inducted in 2002 into the Television Hall of Fame (presented by the National Broadcasters Association, which bestowed the honor to Buzzi as well as the producers, director and cast of the top rated television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
).
Buzzi was in 1971 inducted into the Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
Heritage Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
.
Buzzi received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
of the Performing Arts.
Five times, Buzzi has been nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946, just one month after network television was born. It is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry...
Emmy Awards in several categories from comedy and variety to Best Performer in a Children's Television Program; she was recognized not only for making people laugh, but for her versatility as an actress; she is remembered for a guest starring dramatic role on Medical Center
Medical Center (TV series)
Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...
with Greg Evigan
Greg Evigan
Gregory Ralph "Greg" Evigan is an American actor best known for the TV series B.J. and the Bear, My Two Dads, P.S. I Luv U and TekWar.-Personal life:...
in which she played the wife of a fatally ill man played by Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
.
Buzzi received a Clio Award for Best Spokesperson in a television commercial for her series of Clorox
Clorox
The Clorox Company is a US-based manufacturer of various food and chemical products based in Oakland, California, which is best known for its bleach product, Clorox.- History :...
-2 commercials, and was among the few White women to ever win an NAACP Image Award
NAACP Image Award
An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
. Ruth Buzzi guest starred as a music and comedy performer on dozens of prime time television specials with colleagues including Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
, Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
, Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
, Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
and was in a show created for Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
called Aloha Paradise, to name just a few. She appeared 8 times on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
and has made more than 200 other television guest appearances.
In 2008 Ruth Buzzi was named a "Distinguished Woman of Northwood" by the Board of Regents of Northwood University
Northwood University
Northwood University is a private university with multiple locations. The school has four residential campuses: Midland, Michigan , Cedar Hill, Texas , West Palm Beach, Florida and a joint program with Hotel Institute Montreux in Montreux, Switzerland, began in 2001...
.
Ruth Buzzi graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
and was one of the first recipients of the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni Achievement Award along with her former classmates Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
.
Buzzi was a presenter at the 2009 Emmy Awards along with several members of her debut series, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, presenting the Emmy trophy to Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Pop culture references
In a 1988 episode of the TV sitcom, The Golden Girls, the character of Sophia Petrillo (played by Estelle Getty) was asked what her plans for the evening were; she responded by saying that a friend was taking her "to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater to see Ruth Buzzi in Evita."American post-hardcore/metal band The Bled
The Bled
The Bled is a hardcore band from Tucson, Arizona. The group formed in 2001, originally under the name "The Radiation Defiance Theory", but changed it because of its length...
recorded a song entitled "Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back" for their album Pass the Flask
Pass the Flask
Pass the Flask is the first full album released by the Hardcore band The Bled. Track 2 was originally labeled "Dale Earnhardt's Seatbelt", but was changed for legal reasons. It is still listed as "Dale Earnhardt's Seatbelt" on the inside of the album booklet.- Reissue :The Bled originally released...
, and later re-released on Pass The Flask (Reissue). The title of the song comes from a line in the movie Wet Hot American Summer
Wet Hot American Summer
Wet Hot American Summer is a 2001 satirical comedy film written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. The film takes place during the last day at a fictional Jewish summer camp in 1981, before closing for the summer...
. She has appeared in music videos with "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
, The Presidents of the USA and the B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
.
Buzzi also played the wife of her close friend Kinky Friedman
Kinky Friedman
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American Texas Country singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election...
in the satirical music video "Get your Biscuits in the Oven and your Buns in the Bed."
She is mentioned at the end of the Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
- Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
duet "You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly."
Nikki Dodo once impersonated her in "Sawdust and Toonsil" on Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
.
Her famous character "Gladys Ormphby" has been impersonated by many other performers over the years, including a famous sketch on Laugh-In in which Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
played her (even homlier) sister.
Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
satirically refers to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
as Ruth "Buzzi" Ginsburg, referring to the Justice's resemblance to the television star's famous character "Gladys Ormphby."
In 2011 a woman in London, England fought off robbers at a jewelry store; the woman used only her purse, which she swung knocking one of the escaping robbers off his motorcycle, leading to his capture. Caught on video, the episode "went viral" and was picked up by news organizations around the world. Several commentators, including the hosts of the Today Show on NBC, referred to Ruth Buzzi when airing the report, e.g. "That was the best usage of a purse since Ruth Buzzi."
Personal life
Buzzi lives primarily in Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, and enjoys spending time with her husband (a retired businessman) at their 220 acre (0.8903092 km²) ranch just west of Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
where they raise Black Angus and longhorn
Longhorn
Longhorn may refer to:Animals:* Longhorn cattle, a traditional long horned brown and white breed of cattle* Texas longhorn , a breed of cattle* Highland cattle, sometimes called Highland longhorn...
cattle and quarter horses; she has a horse named Gladys, a cat named Ratso Rizzo, a flock of ducks, swans, Guinea hens and chickens, and her hobby is oil painting.
Buzzi has never offered her oil paintings for sale to the public, but has donated original oil paintings to charity where they have sold for more than $6,000.
She supports numerous children's charities including Make a Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, The Thalians, St. Jude's Hospital, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
.
Buzzi is active in fundraising for the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch (www.utopiarescue.com) in Medina, Texas and other animal causes.
Buzzi and her husband are avid automobile collectors, with some of their vehicles being currently on loan to and/on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a non profit organization specializing in the education and history of the...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
including a red, fuel-injected 1957 Chevrolet convertible, which is annually exhibited as part of the dazzling display honoring the cars of screen legend Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
.
Previously, the Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a non profit organization specializing in the education and history of the...
displayed Buzzi's 1961 Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England. It is the current producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles, whose historical production dates back to 1904. The factory is located across from the historic Goodwood Circuit...
convertible in an exhibit they called "Million Dollar Cars", and a the museum has also featured a 1965 Chrysler Imperial convertible previously owned by screen legend Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
; the Hepburn car was donated to the museum by Kent and Ruth Buzzi Perkins in 2001 and remains there for special exhibition. Buzzi and her husband won first place in their category with their 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II drophead coupe at the Concours d'Elegance
Concours d'Elegance
A Concours d'Elegance dates back to 17th Century French aristocracy, who paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during Summer weekends and holidays...
national championship in Amelia Island, Florida. That same vehicle won first place in the Los Angeles Rolls Royce Owners Club's "most elegant car" competition. Buzzi and her husband currently collect post-war English classic vehicles including Rolls-Royce and Jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
, but their collection also holds several American muscle cars. Some of her collectible vehicles have been in television commercials, featured in parades, and her blue Bentley convertible was featured on the cover of Vogue Magazine with Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
behind the wheel.
She is a charter member of the Pasadena Playhouse Alumni Association.
She currently has a verified Twitter account @Ruth_A_Buzzi