XPost: rec.arts.tv, alt.hollywood   
   From: weberm@polaris.net   
      
   Ruth Buzzi, the effervescent Emmy-nominated comedian and voice actor who   
   starred on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” died Thursday at her Texas home, her   
   family announced on Facebook. She was 88.   
      
   The zany comedian appeared in every episode of the popular variety show that   
   ran for five seasons, playing characters such as the frumpy, hairnet-wearing   
   Gladys Ormphby. On the show, she was known for using her purse as a weapon to   
   whack Arte Johnson’s dirty old man character on the park bench.   
      
   Buzzi won a Golden Globe and received five Emmy nominations during her run on   
   “Laugh-In.” The comedian, who was only 30 years old when she became famous   
   for playing a little old lady, told the AP in 2018, “Gladys is the underdog.   
   Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the   
   struggler. 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.”   
      
   In 1993, Buzzi joined “Sesame Street” as shopkeeper Ruthie and went on to   
   voice other characters and appear in “Sesame Street” specials, as well as   
   making an appearance in the film “The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.”   
      
   Her extensive voice work included voicing Nose Marie on “Pound Puppies” and   
   Mama Bear on “Berenstain Bears.”   
      
   Buzzi also had a recurring role on “That Girl” as Marlo Thomas’ friend   
   Margie. She made appearances on numerous TV series.   
      
   On film, she appeared in the original “Freaky Friday,” in the “Lucky Luke”   
   Westerns and in “Chu Chu and the Philly Flash” and “The Apple Dumpling Gang   
   Rides Again.”   
      
   Buzzi continued working up until 2021. She remained in the public eye through   
   her Twitter account, which continued to post one-liners to more than 200,000   
   followers.   
      
   Buzzi was raised in Connecticut and started performing at the Pasadena   
   Playhouse at 17. She began traveling as a comedian and singer with Rudy   
   Vallee before moving to New York, where she performed onstage and in   
   commercials.   
      
   Her first television appearance came on “The Garry Moore Show.” She went on   
   to make numerous appearances on variety and talkshows such as “The Carol   
   Burnett Show” and “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.” Whether as a guest   
   star or game show celebrity contestant, Buzzi was a staple of TV in the 1970s   
   and ’80s, making her a Gen X favorite.   
      
   “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. We remember her with admiration and   
   appreciation for the joy and laughter she brought to generations of fans,”   
   said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center   
   based in Jamestown, N.Y.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)