Comedy icon Ruth Buzzi, best known for her role as the purse-wielding Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” died on May 1 at her home in Texas at age 88.
Buzzi died due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to her agent Mike Eisenstadt. She had been in hospice care for several years after being diagnosed with the disease, and had suffered a series of strokes in 2022 that left her bedridden.
Shortly before her death, her husband Kent Perkins posted a statement on Buzzi’s Facebook page, thanking her many fans. “She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them,” he wrote.
Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, on July 24, 1936, Buzzi was the daughter of Angelo Buzzi, a nationally known stone sculptor. She grew up in Stonington, Connecticut, where her father operated Buzzi Memorials, a gravestone and monument maker. During her high school years there, she served as head cheerleader.
Buzzi enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 17, and two years later, she gained valuable performance experience touring with singer Rudy Vallee in a musical and comedy act during her summer break. This early opportunity earned her an Actors’ Equity union card before she even graduated from the playhouse’s College of Theater Arts.
After moving to New York, Buzzi quickly found work in off-Broadway musical revues and television commercials. She received her first national television break on “The Garry Moore Show” in 1964, shortly after Carol Burnett had left the series.
Her career took a significant turn when “Laugh-In” creator and producer George Schlatter spotted her performing various characters on “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour.” As Schlatter was holding auditions for “Laugh-In,” he received a picture in the mail of Buzzi in her soon-to-be-famous Gladys Ormphby costume, sitting in a wire mesh trash barrel.
Buzzi became the only regular cast member to appear in all six seasons of “Laugh-In,” including the pilot episode. The NBC show ran from 1968 to 1973, and her performances earned her a Golden Globe award and two Emmy nominations.
Her character Gladys Ormphby, with her distinctive hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead and her purse used as a weapon against anyone who bothered her, became an iconic part of television comedy history. On “Laugh-In,” her most frequent target was Arte Johnson’s dirty old man character Tyrone F. Horneigh.
In a 2018 interview with The Connecticut Post, Buzzi reflected on the character’s appeal, saying that Gladys represented those who had been overlooked or marginalized in society. She explained that when Gladys fought back with her purse, she was speaking for everyone who had been taken for granted or mistreated.
Beyond “Laugh-In,” Buzzi made over 200 television appearances during her 45-year career. She was a semi-regular on “That Girl” as Marlo Thomas’ friend, and co-starred with Jim Nabors on the mid-1970s children’s show “The Lost Saucer” as time-traveling androids.
Her other television work included guest appearances on variety shows hosted by Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson, Glen Campbell, Tony Orlando, Donny and Marie Osmond, and Leslie Uggams. She also appeared in Lucille Ball’s last comedy series, “Life With Lucy.”
Buzzi extended her Gladys character to the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in Las Vegas, where she famously used her purse to strike celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Lucille Ball.
Her voice acting career was equally impressive, with hundreds of guest voices in animated series including “Pound Puppies,” “Berenstain Bears,” “The Smurfs,” and “The Angry Beavers.” She received an Emmy nomination for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on “Sesame Street.”
Her film 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 until near the end of her life, delighting thousands of followers with her witty one-liners. She was known for quips such 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.”
In 1978, she married actor Kent Perkins, her husband of over 45 years. The couple moved from California to Texas in 2003, purchasing a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville. Buzzi retired from acting in 2021.
Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, commented on Buzzi’s legacy, saying her characters captured the delightful absurdity of the era and that she would be remembered for the joy and laughter she brought to generations of fans.
Throughout her career, Buzzi maintained a humble perspective on her success. “I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else,” she once 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 is survived by her husband Kent Perkins. The couple did not have children, which she once jokingly addressed in a 2015 social media post: “I would have probably had kids, but my cat’s allergic.”
